Vacations are a part of life. But eating well on vacation doesn’t always have to be expensive because talented chefs with fine dining experience are constantly opening casual and inexpensive restaurants. I recently spent a long weekend in Los Angeles and was able to eat delicious food every day, all while sticking to my budget.
Huckleberry Café
1014 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica
310-451-2311
www.huckleberrycafe.com
Huckleberry Café is open all day, but a friend and I went for breakfast and we were not disappointed. The poached eggs over sugar snap peas and cherry tomatoes with pesto and bread crumbs was fresh, crisp and light ($12.25), but the maple bacon biscuit was incredible ($3.75). Flaky, crispy, salty and sweet, I just could not get enough. I should also mention the coffee. Huckleberry serves Caffe Luxxe coffee and the house-made syrup is what makes the hot drinks special. A simple mocha was transformed into something truly special with the addition of Valrona chocolate sauce ($4.50) and the vanilla latte ($4.25) with house-made vanilla syrup had visible, tiny flecks of vanilla. I also heard that their fried chicken, which is available only on Fridays, is also worth a stop.
Umami Burger
4655 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles
323-669-3922
www.umamiburger.com
Umami Burger is a mini-chain with four locations in Los Angeles. After sweet, salty, sour and bitter, “umami” is the fifth taste. The Umami Burger ($10) is a savory combination of meat, tomato and Parmesan cheese that’s been baked until crispy. Imagine a taco in burger form and you’ve got the Carnitas Burger ($12). It’s a fresh ground pork patty with house-made carnitas, guajillo sauce, jalapeno sour cream, guacamole and tortilla chips. The only thing missing was a slice of lime.
Chego
3300 Overland Ave, Los Angeles
310-287-0337
www.eatchego.com
Chego is a casual place with community tables and a laid-back vibe. Nothing on the menu is over $10 and pretty much everything was amazing. My favorite, the One Chubby Pork Belly rice bowl with fried egg, pickled watermelon radishes, water spinach, cilantro, cotija and peanuts ($8) was a harmonious explosion of contrasting flavors, textures and temperatures.
Street
742 N. Highland Ave,
Los Angeles, CA
323-203-0500
www.eatatstreet.com
Street is a new restaurant that serves street food from all around the world. In the span of about an hour, I had eaten a light lunch from three different countries. While other restaurants serve complimentary bread, Street serves millet puffs from India, which are kind of like sweet-savory rice krispy treats. The Vietnamese corn with five-spice pork belly, hot chile pepper and scallions ($6) was more sour than spicy, but still addictive. Kaya Toast, toasted bread with coconut jam, soft fried egg, dark soy and white pepper ($11) is a Malaysian dish, traditionally eaten late at night or for breakfast as treatment for a late night. Because it’s so important to get all of the components in one bite, the server delivered the plate with those exact instructions. I’ve tasted toast, egg, coconut and black soy sauce before - but never all together. And I’m happy to report, every sweet and salty bite was a revelation.
Pizzeria Mozza
641 N. Highland
Los Angeles
323-297-0101
www.mozza-la.com/pizzeria/about.cfm
Pizzeria Mozza’s egg, guanciale, escarole, radicchio and bagna cauda pizza ($16) was one of the best I’ve ever tasted. The crust was simultaneously chewy and crispy; the ingredients were fresh and the flavors were perfectly balanced. One of the most memorable desserts of my life, the Butterscotch Budino ($9), was intense, salty, cool and rich. The rosemary pine nut cookies served alongside provided a gentle crunch which complemented the silky pudding. The experience was absolutely mind-blowing and forced me to recalibrate and rethink everything I had eaten before that significant meal.
You can have just about any culinary experience in Los Angeles. If you are planning to eat your way through Los Angeles or another city some time soon, be sure to decide what you want to experience ahead of time so that you can research restaurants before arriving. But also be open to being a little spontaneous and trying a new spot or two that maybe recommended along the way. It makes the experience more enjoyable.
