To Die For

I've posted about this downtown gem before, and I'm going to do it again.
Nickel's Smac and Cheese (yes, Smac and Cheese, not Mac and Cheese) to die for.
Killer with a shot of hot sauce.

Wash down with a Bananina. (A banana soda. Sounds gross? Try it and get back to me.)

Nickel Diner
524 South Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013-1422
(213) 623-8301

MORE.

I adore Joan's on Third.
Though I'm not fond of the lack of table service (meaning, I don't like having to wait in line to order at the counters and then having to hover like vultures over other Joan's patrons in order to snag a table), I absolute love the food. Fresh, seasonal, clean flavors.

Tad pricey? Yeah. But I still think everything served is well worth the price paid.

Above photo: spinach and mushroom quiche, vegetarian lasagna, tomato and mozzarella salad (SO GOOD), and a choco-cupcake.


Joan's on Third
8350 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 655-2285

Cheaper Than Airfare

An extremely handsome French brasserie with a beautiful bar that my fiance would envy.

Went for dinner with my cousin and her friend, and we were seated upstairs. The ambience upstairs may not be as nice as the ambience downstairs (the soft, "gold" lighting downstairs would make any person's skin look flawless), but in exchange one is provided the opportunity to hold an actual conversation. (It can get really loud on the ground floor!)

Our chummy server was a tad strange. He kept on touching the shoulder of my cousin's friend - which probably wouldn't been okay if it weren't for the fact that my cousin's pal is OCD, and wanted to punch the server. But anyway.......

The food. The food was terrific. I ordered the duck. YUM. My cousin ordered the mussels. Even yummier. LOOOOOOOOVED the skinny frites that accompanied her mussels.

Profiteroles for dessert. I'm actually not a huge fan of cream puffs, but ice-cream puffs drenched in chocolate? I can do this.

An overall pleasant experience. I'd totally return, but there wasn't any one item that made me yelp, "I'll be back tomorrow!"

Anisette Brasserie
225 Santa Monica Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 395-3200

Too Cool For School

I rarely hang out in Silverlake as I'm hardly cool or hip enough to do so; But last week, when my vintage-loving cousin was in town, I decided to venture beyond my comfort zone and spent an entire day mingling with Silverlake's boho-chic.

Our morning began at Casbah Cafe. I'd been there once and totally dug the Moroccan vibe but hadn't ordered any food, and was therefore, wary of putting in a review. This second time around, I ordered their sweet corn salad, mint tea and strawberry tart. (I shared with my cousin.) The salad was extremely fresh and refreshing - just as I'd hoped and expected. But what I didn't expect was the perfectly crusty and chewy consistency of the rolls that accompany the salad. YUM! The mint tea was also nice. Not as sweet as traditional Moroccan mint tea (yes, I've been), but still good. As for the strawberry tart, I don't think I'd ever order it again. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't all that great either.

An overall pleasant experience. We'd stopped on by around 11am, yet even at that hour, the cafe was already full of nerd-wannabes with books and laptops sprawled before them. My cousin and I sat outside and pretended that we weren't actually sitting at a cafe located alongside a big street when we actually were.

Great place to brunch/lunch if you plan on shopping in the neighborhood. Speaking of shopping, there's a shop within this cafe! I didn't get a chance the fare out though. Next time?!

Pictured: Hummus salad that Josh ordered the first time we went to Casbah Cafe.

Casbah Cafe
3900 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 664-7000