Frozen yogurt at Oasis Ice Cream/Valentina Silva
By Valentina Silva
If you live in the Northeast corner of Los Angeles (and you’re like me), you’ve probably been jonesing for some serious ice cream. It seems to be one of the glaring omissions in the area—if you live in or around Highland Park, and you’re in need of a scoop, you’re pretty much stuck at Rite Aid.
Not that I have anything against Thrifty Ice Cream. I grew up on Chocolate Malted Crunch, and I still crave it now and again, but a drugstore is not an ice cream parlor. For that experience, I usually trek out to Alhambra for a Fosselman’s fix because nothing really fills that niche around here.
Or so I thought…and then I found Oasis Ice Cream.
Oasis is a proper Mexican ice cream parlor and juice bar hidden away on Monte Vista Street. And, get this: the ice cream and frozen yogurt are made in house every day by a very nice woman named Doris, who serves up over 20 flavors. She also takes a lot of pride in her fresh juices—she has a concoction for everything from acid reflux to weight loss—as well a huge menu of raspados, milkshakes, candy apples, chocolate bananas and even candy-coated marshmallows.
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Thursday, February 16, 2012
Photo by Laura Gutierrez
The Highland Park building that housed the short-lived Cafe Lobos and before that Marty’s bar is now sporting a new name – HPK – and a picture window overlooking York Boulevard. Some of the reader comments on a previous Eastsider story said the windowless building was not welcoming and suggested that a window would help. Said a commenter named Marino:
He needs to tear down the front wall and open it to the street like the York or his own Mia Sushi and/or take some of the huge parking lot and turn it into outdoor dining.
It seems the building owner, Rudy Martinez, owner of Eagle Rock’s Sushi, also thought a window would help and applied for a permit to replace a window that been covered up. What will diners be eating behind that window? Stay tuned.
It’s been a long time coming but Elf Cafe, the tiny Echo Park vegetarian restaurant on Sunset Boulevard, has acquired the storefront next door as the owners prepare to apply for a beer and wine license. But don’t expect the new space to be crowded with tables. Instead, owner Scott Zweizen said much of the additional 600 square-feet to the east of Elf will allow him to expand his kitchen and provide other amenities. “Though it will probably not translate into that much more seating, it will offer us the opportunity to build up our kitchen’s capabilities and give us a second restroom,” Zweizen said.
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Hermon
Monday, January 30, 2012
Photo by Valentina Silva
By Valentina Silva
A decent donut is a fairly easy find, but a stellar one? That can be an enigma unless you’re willing to drive to Inglewood or Glendora, which is quite a commitment to quench one little donut craving. It’s not like there’s a shortage of donut shops on this side of town. They’re as ubiquitous in this corner as any other in Los Angeles—just pull into any strip mall, and you can probably emerge with a bearclaw or cruller in seconds. No sweat. But, let’s be honest: it will most likely be just so-so, all kinds of ho-hum, a little waxy, on the dry side, too dense, or just plain eh.
You deserve better.
That’s why I’m letting you in on the best kept donut secret in Hermon. If you passed by it, you wouldn’t even give it a second glance. There’s no gigantic, beacon-like donut sign to reel you in, no buzz to spark your curiosity… nothing.
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The once low-key strip of storefronts at the northeast corner of Sunset Boulevard and Micheltorena Street has in recent years attracted some upscale tenants, including Lark Bakery, The Hive Salon and Stark waxing studio. Now, the one-story building across from the Micheltorena Elementary playground is preparing for new and expanding businesses.
The former dry cleaner at the corner has been replaced with the new studio – and future store – for handbag designer Clare Vivier, who already shares a storefront around the corner with jewelry designer Kathryn Bentley. Meanwhile, the narrow storefront next door is being converted into what neighbors say will be restaurant. The restaurant owners could not be reached but apparently they plan to feature grilled cheese sandwiches on the menu.
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Toasted Lemon Chiffon Cake/Valentina Silva
By Valentina Silva
I’ve heard great things about Proof Bakery but never the pleasure, so when a friend suggested lunch there, I said “Oooh! Sure.” I don’t get to see Atwater Village on weekdays or by sunlight too often, but since I started working from home (no more east-to-west commute!), I’ve been trying to squeeze in local lunch spots.
Proof Bakery doesn’t bowl you over on first sight. The small, unassuming space is all clean lines, modern airiness and marble tables. The dessert case/counter doesn’t have Marie Antoinette-esque decadence of many bakeries these days, so there aren’t the stacks and piles of cakes and cobblers of, say, Huckleberry in Santa Monica. That said, the restrained set of offerings does hit the right sweet and savory notes—think chocolate chip cookies, cheese and chive biscuits, croissants, tarts and morning buns.
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The Eastsider in November reported that chef Jasmine Wolf and Northeast restaurant and bar owner Rudy Martinez teamed up to transform Martinez’ former Highland Park bar – Marty’s – into a full fledged restaurant called Cafe Lobos. But, after undergoing a renovation inside and out, the York Boulevard restaurant has apparently shut down after only about two months in operation. The Cafe Lobos Yelp listing said the restaurant is closed and visitors to the cafe’s website are greeted with this message:
Cafe Lobos Highland Park is relocating. Please look for us at the Little Lobos Cafe in Beverly Hills and coming this March, the Lobos Truck!
What happened? Wolf, a Highland Park resident, said she will soon be issuing a statement about the fate of the cafe and a new location. The Eastsider has contacted Martinez, who also owns Mia Sushi in Eagle Rock, for comment.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Photo by Valentina Silva
By Valentina Silva
I’ve had a three prevalent/overwhelming cravings throughout my pregnancy: peanut butter, shredded wheat cereal and wet burritos. Of the food-obsessed trinity, the wet burrito urge is my favorite as it plays right into my blogging schemes, allowing me to “research” various versions around town. My latest and greatest discovery is the adobada burrito at Highland Park’s El Huarache Azteca Restaurante.
El Huarache is one of the most prized restaurants on York Boulevard—it’s always packed, and it’s hard to find many who will deny its superiority. As the name implies, they’re most famous for their huarache, an oblong-shaped slab of fried masa covered with cojita cheese, meat (avocado in this case because we ordered it veggie), crema, lettuce and onions. And, yes, their huaraches are good, but to me, their adobada burrito shines even brighter.
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Eagle Rock mac ‘n’ cheese lovers should save up their calories. Larkin Mackey is closing his Mac & Cheeza outlet downtown and plans to open a quick-service outlet in his Eagle Rock restaurant, Larkin’s Joint. S
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