If you’re like me, there will be only 3 things you need to experience about the huge, heavenly and happening Porto’s Bakery in Burbank to keep you coming back for more:
1. Guava.
Tangy, fresh… bright pink. Guava cheese strudel. Guava roll. Guava cake. Give it to me now tropical pastry king.
→ 1 CommentTags: Restaurants · Reviews
Markets and hardware stores are starting to seduce us with that whole “do it yourself” thing, but unlike scanning spray paint cans or looking up SKU numbers for kiwis, serving your own frozen yogurt is actually kinda cool! Maybe it’s something that hearkens back to those days at Souplantation when I would pile up the soft serve and rain down spoonfulls of rainbow sprinkles, but I was amazed at how great it felt to “dispense” my own frozen yogurt at YogurTree in Studio City. (Or maybe I just like places that double-up on their middle letter like that…hmmm).
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Imagine, if you will, that your heart is singing a song. While that song rings through your chest and back into your mouth it creates a stirring combination of taste so harmonious and aromatic that every sense vibrates with a sweet, open chord of happiness.
That was me after 2 hours at Funnel Mill Rare Coffee and Tea. Such hazy love is usually only reserved for hour long massages and, well… you know. But if you get the infamous glow after having a cup of coffee then damn, you’ve struck gold.
Totally surprising since, when I first walked in to Funnel Mill, I felt the layout was sort of odd and not very cozy at all. It was calm and quiet with some lovely displays, but I can’t say it felt too much like a cafe, let alone a place where you’d come in to crash and hang out as though it were your own eclectic living room.
But honestly, after what I drank, I could care less. For the first time I can remember, the quality of (and care for) what I was consuming was so incredible that it didn’t matter where I was.
→ 15 CommentsTags: Food and Drink · Reviews
“Sabor y Cultura”means “flavor and culture”. Stepping into the spacious, mellow cafe, it certainly looked like the kind of place that hosts a healthy attempt at “culture”: Local art hangs casually on the rich purple and light pumpkin colored walls, a local “community board” advertises local happenings, while relaxed, youthful Hollywood types tap quietly away at their laptops.
I loved the wide open windows that let in the cloudy-day light along with the calm created by some classic jazz music, but like a lot of cafes, Sabor y Cultura sells a little more than I personally think a coffee house needs to: A rack of snack-pack nuts, a glass case of jewelery and other odds n’ ends tend to ruin the aesthetic cohesiveness of a what could otherwise be a nicely concentrated local hangout.
→ 4 CommentsTags: Beverages · Reviews
On June 8th my boyfriend and I had the good fortune to stroll through the enchanting, amber-lit grounds of UCLA at dusk. We were there to see Organica, a collaborative, improv-based performance utilizing the “spellbinding versatility” of the organ, as stated on the website. Unfortunately, we were late and so I feel I should make it clear that though I think the performance was of mostly the same variety, we did miss the first half. Therefore, my opinion is based entirely on the second part of the show.
Brain-child of the passionate, talented and enthusiastically humble German organist Christoph Bull, Organica performs sort of like an awkward love note to the intrinsically impressive instrument. Combining improvised, illuminated painting by Venice based artist Norton Wisdom, video art by Benton-C Bainbridge, and additional organ performances by Chelsea Chen and Maxine Thevenot, the show rang with the heartfelt hope of giving organ music either more appreciation or more artistic clout. [Read more →]
→ No CommentsTags: Local LA · Reviews
Take everything that describes the cusp of Santa Monica and Venice Beach - arty, beach-breezy with hidden flashes of homelessness and a bit of hippie “crunch” - roll it into a dark, wooden-laced cathedral of a cafe for young, laptop wielding men and women and you’ve got Novel Cafe.
I used to visit my own hardworking-writer-friend here and it still maintains that Beatnik breathiness that I remember: quiet and peaceful yet lending an impression that for some reason I’m being watched. Double-deckered with an intimate balcony overlooking the bottom floor, Novel Cafe creaks like the den in your grandfather’s house, colorful paint worn smooth and chipped, tables sticky without being gross, and paved with shelves crammed full of weathered books that may or may not be read. The aesthetic recalls some of the well-worn, chalk-menu cafes I know and adore in Northern California but with a touch of Los Angeles’ edge that make it feel a bit more ‘too cool for school’.
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Let’s get one thing straight, LA Mill is not a normal coffee house.
It’s an overwhelming, vacation-worthy destination. Greg Torres, VP business developer of LA Mill, says the coffee here is intended to be a “culinary experience” and believe you me, that is precisely what I got.
Set in artsy Silverlake, the brand new cafe is light and reflective, grounded in colorful, modern design that reads at once “Urban Outfitters meets fashionably posh”. A paradox of a diner, this self professed “coffee boutique” is an educational mecca of coffee cupping that offers an eye-opening, international menu of extraction methods above and beyond what one normally encounters with their beloved bean. (Not to mention extraordinary food that could do with an article all for itself. Just ask Jonathan Gold).
→ 12 CommentsTags: Beverages · Reviews
If you want to experience Joni’s Coffee the way I did, bring your boyfriend along and watch as he gets force fed a spoonful of “ultimate oatmeal” by Joni herself. At once over the top and oddly charming, that one moment pretty much sums up the whole visit.
Claiming repeatedly that she “takes no prisoners”, Joni sat me down and dove into her explanation of how she had the best coffee in the world, no contest. Knowing that Joni used to be a real estate agent might help immensely in imaging this continual selling of things that are, yes, fresh, well prepared and tasty, (my boyfriend had a yummy egg salad sandwich) but not as mind blowingly special as the verbal marketing attempts to make it seem.
→ 5 CommentsTags: Beverages · Reviews
J’adore Intelligentsia.
I “heart” it. Straight up.
Tattoo me on the arm and call me Sailor, I don’t care, just keep Intelligentsia branded somewhere on my body so I don’t forget that Los Angeles can actually get something right for a change.
And by “right” I mean give us a cafe that cares about their product, a place that loves ’said product’ personally enough to share it in a focused, welcoming, high-quality manner, and who can achieve that without looking like they did anything other then roll out of bed, throw on some really cool clothes and just, you know, look great.
→ 15 CommentsTags: Beverages · Reviews
With the ubiquitous local-art on the walls (which I actually liked), a simple yet well-spaced seating area and a door that opens just blocks from the beach on the quiet, Northern end of The 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Infuzion Cafe seems at once common and special.
Reminiscent of a spiffy little “downtown” cafe where office-types pop in at lunch hour to grab a quick sandwich or the morning coffee, it has a “little bit of everything” menu, serving coffee drinks and boba, ice cream, sandwiches, breakfast pastries and even vases.
→ 28 CommentsTags: Beverages · Reviews
Imagine if Ikea spawned a coffee house! That’s Swork! According to the website the word Swork means “The synergy of success and work”. I sort of liked it better when I thought it was a nonsense word, but that’s ok, it still has the enigmatic appeal of all those cool Swedish names that Ikea gives their furniture.
It also has something to do with their interior design, which is irresistably Ikea-color-bold and minimilistic-chic meets London coffee house chain. A place that you can see would be easy to reproduce but would still maintain that essential edge of individuality with bright, affable charm.
→ 21 CommentsTags: Beverages · Reviews
Greetings Cityzine reader!
We’re on a mission to find the very best independent cafe in our LA.CityZine Coffee Competition: The Quest for the Best Bean!
We’ll have open voting starting the 13th, and you’ll be able to pick your own top cuppa (the winner will be announced on the 23rd). Got something nice to say about the place being reviewed? Then leave a comment for a chance to win a $30 gift certificate! Ain’t that swanky?
Our first contender is Venice’s Abbot’s Habit, and here’s the low-down…
→ 7 CommentsTags: Beverages · Reviews
