The best food and restaurants for today. Atwater, Hollywood, Silver Lake, Thai Town, Hollywood, New York and wherever my travels take me.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Clifton's Cafeteria



A lot has changed in LA's downtown since Clifton's opened near the corner of Broadway and 7th St seventy years ago. The same stretch of pre-WWII movie houses are still standing, but in various states of repair. I'm pretty sure the Mexican apothecary shop next door is new to the area, give or take 20 years. What hasn't changed is the chance to get a full meal of so-retro-it's-cool-again classics as mac & cheese (no shaved black truffles here), creamed corn or stuffed peppers. This restaurant is a relic in more ways than one. Once a small chain or restaurants which were each individually and exotically decorated (the last one that closed had a South Seas theme), this particular location is done up as a High Sierras/National Park lodge including various stuffed moose, deer and pheasants as well fir trees and a waterfall or two. In fact, Smokey the Bear himself might feel right at home if he didn't mind eating off of a tray. The food is more of a walk down nostalgia lane than a gustatory experience (I was particularly excited to see that they serve Texas Toast) but I highly recommend it if you're ever downtown and looking for a uniquely LA diversion. Clifton's is something of a treasure.

Clifton's Cafeteria
648 South Broadway
Los Angeles
213.627.1673

Monday, July 09, 2007

Larkin's

Located in a ramshackle Craftsman cottage on Colorado Boulevard, Larkin's has found in its location what must be the perfect expression of its Southern, soul food-inspired menu. Fried catfish, an heirloom tomato salad with fried okra, a hot skillet of creamy mac and cheese, spicy jambalaya, sauted collard greens, mashed potatoes and gravy--all the hits are here, expertly done. For now it's BYOB (the excellent Colorado Wine Company is just down the street) and the waiter will gladly uncork your bottle and pour into clever Mason jar glasses. Sure you're within a stone's throw of the 210 Freeway, but pausing for a moment after dinner on Larkin's front porch you can almost hear the long chirp of cicadas and smell the sultry air of a Southern summer night.

Larkin's
1494 Colorado Blvd
Los Angeles (Eagle Rock)
(323) 254-0934


Larkin's in Los Angeles

Monday, July 02, 2007

Frank

Admittedly, dining after 10 pm is much easier to do in New York than it is in LA. Still, one doesn't want to eat just anywhere. So when trying to think of a place to go for a late dinner, somewhere lively but where I could sit alone, my thoughts turned to Frank. I grabbed a stool at the open window by the bar which perfectly framed the street scene of al fresco diners and Second Avenue passers-by. A huge arugula salad with goat cheese and a glass of chilled Rosa Giulia from Puglia made a nice starter. Rigatoni al Ragu this night was inexplicably served as rigatoni with links of Italian sausage. Refills of wine were slow to come and I had to ask repeatedly for water. Still, I get the impression that the crowd at Frank (and it was a crowd, even at this late hour) come for reasons not entirely related to the food. I'd go back for the same.

Frank Restaurant and Vera Bar
88 Second Ave (between 5th and 6th)
New York
(212) 420-0202

Frank in New York