Laurel Hardware in WeHo: Great Space, Cool Atmosphere and Delicious Oozing Egg Sandwiches

I love discovering gems in my own 'hood. Laurel Hardware was one of those places you always drive by but never got a chance to try. It was actually a real hardware store before going through a transformation into the coolest restaurant that I'm happy to report has pretty good food.

Let's deconstruct this fried chicken biscuit sandwich that came with a side of pancetta gravy. I'm not a big gravy person. I find it rather distracting. So I just used a small dollop of gravy for my sandwich but frankly, I don't think it needed it -- especially in light of this perfectly oozing egg. Kudos to the kitchen for getting the egg just right -- a beautiful soon-to-be runny sunny side up.

True, I didn't think the chicken was nearly as mind-blowingly crispy and juicy as the one in Son of a Gun. But it was a thicker cut and managed to stay quite moist and nicely seasoned. It came with collard greens in a biscuit bun that wasn't my favorite biscuit but it was ok. Think the biscuit could have had a harder crust but I still appreciated the different experience of a fried chicken biscuit sandwich.

I liked the Gangster cocktail that was cucumber vodka with watermelon and lime juice. It was so refreshing -- the perfect summer drink. Very appropo considering it was 100+ weather.

I didn't care too much for the mojito that came with a "summer float," which I found too sweet.

I did, however, love the decor and vibe of this place, at least during the day. It features floor to ceiling windows and has different spaces in the back with booths, communal tables, couches and an outdoor patio area. It's a very long and slightly narrow space and I loved it. I wonder what it's like for late night drinks. Note to self: must try.

My brunch companion had the turkey bacon sandwich in a pretzel bun with heirloom tomato and homemade ranch sauce. I usually never rave about turkey -- sorry but what's there to rave about -- but this turkey tasted home-roasted and freshly sliced. The bacon was chunky and cooked just crisp. I didn't mind that the sandwich came with fries, which were good but not terribly memorable.

I'd like to return soon to check out other brunch items and dinner/drinks menu -- and perhaps sit in the outdoor patio in the back. The space looked so inviting. Service was good too. Recommended.

Country Family Cafe in Anaheim: Decent Chilaquiles for Breakfast

I'm going to feature the eats from OC every day of the week -- the good, the bad and the ugly. Today's entry: Country Family Cafe in Anaheim. It's close enough to the hotel area but also far enough that it's not a zoo, as in tourist trap.

We wanted a low-key diner-type place for breakfast-y goodies and this place hit the spot. The vegetable omelet was just above average but the clincher was the chilaquiles.

Crispy tortilla chips topped with tomato sauce with cheese paired with scrambled eggs and perfectly browned potatoes and refried beans. I liked that the potatoes weren't oversalted.

I cleaned up my plate nicely.

Just don't expect the coffee to be any good, or the juice, for that matter. Ok, they could have used a better salsa too but let's look at the bright side.

Food+Lab in WeHo: Good For a Ham Gruyere Omelet + Latte-Kind of Brunch

I've always driven by Food+Lab, a cafe in West Hollywood that I finally visited and gave it my thumbs up.

Sure, it had its downsides, like mixing freshly squeezed orange juice with concentrate, which shouldn't be done. It offered many different kinds of juices, but the bad experience with the OJ didn't make me want to try the pomegranate or other good-sounding ones. But overall, it was a respectable breakfast/brunch spot with decent coffee and omelets.

We got the omelet with avocado, fresh cheese and another one with ham and gruyere cheese. The ham -- and there were layers and layers of it, to my delight -- was very good and took me back to Paris (maybe it was because it was called Paris Ham and I became a victim to marketing), or at least those really cool complimentary breakfast buffets they have at European hotels where they have all sorts of yummy cold cuts displayed next to the cheeses.

But I digress. So the ham was good but I was surprised to see slices of gruyere cheese in my omelet, which for $10 should really be shredded rather than be layered like the ham. So there wasn't much stringiness to the cheese -- in fact, the layers got lumped and stuck and made it clunky to eat.

As much as the flavors melded well, I prefer the ingredients to be incorporated into the omelet batter rather than have a cooked omelet as a pocket for the ham and cheese. Ok, I'm getting picky but again, it's these small things that make an omelet a great omelet.

I did like that it came with a green salad, although I wouldn't have minded having the option of hash browns or home fries. The omelet came with two sad slices of bread, one like a sourdough and another walnut raisin. They were both good but should be heated when served.

Coffee was good -- it came in what could only be described as a bowl. Here's your bowl of latte...

Good vibe and decor, with a nice outdoor patio that I hope to visit on warmer days. Parking lot in the back and it also sells packed ham and ready-made food to go. Ah, I may try some of its picnic fare for the Bowl this summer. Looked promising.

Silver Lakers -- it has a location in your hood too.

Square One: Great French Toast, Plum Topping and Ham

I ventured into the thick of hispterland for brunch at Square One, a solid breakfast and lunch joint smack across from a bright blue art deco building with an imposing sign that reads "SCIENTOLOGY." The wait is bad (20-30 minutes) unless you go before 10 but the line moves somewhat quickly because it has quite a bit of tables in its patio, which are the best tables in the house anyway.


I was torn on whether to get the French toast or baked eggs but I settled for French toast with a plum and almond topping and smoked ham on the side (gotta have my protein).

The brioche bread was delicious and the plums were super sweet and interesting since I'd never had it with French toast before. The French toast was browned just right with some crunchy edges.



The only thing I would have liked better was that the egg batter covering the toast be less sweet. I liked the crunchiness from the almonds but a tad sweet.

The prices are definitely on the higher side but it's obvious the cooks use fresh quality ingredients so it's worth it. The ham was  juicy and very salty, just like any ham should be. It was thick enough to satiate my craving for something meaty and savory to balance out the sweet carb I was having.

The outdoor patio is the perfect place for a Sunday brunch on a nice sunny LA day, which is pretty much any day.

The breakfast quesadilla with squash blossoms, feta cheese, jalapenos and scrambled eggs was ok but nothing fantastic. I liked the tomatillo salsa that came with it. The quesadilla came with a green salad (or choice of potatoes).

The restaurant also has breakfast tacos and I would definitely like to try the baked egg dishes.

The freshly squeezed orange juice was good, as was the service.

Besides the wait, most everything was positive.

Brunch Roundup: Best and Worst Pancakes in West LA

I usually don't like to go out for breakfast or brunch but circumstances have "forced" me to eat out on these occasions and as a result, I've sampled seven places famous and not.

Here's my rundown:


BEST FRENCH TOAST
Although I can't say I've tried all joints offering French toast, I can safely say that Amandine Cafe on Wilshire serves up a pretty good one. It's two slices of what tasted and looked like brioche bread, well-toasted on the outside and soft on the inside, and you can top it with your fruit of choice (I chose bananas once and strawberries another time). The cappuccino was also good. I would skip the omelet and stick with what it does best. The plain and chocolate croissants weren't bad but not as good as in Bread Bar.

The space is a bit cramped but it has its own parking lot so that's always a draw. I haven't tried the sweets but I'm sure they do a decent job of those.

BEST BREAKFAST SAUSAGE
I liked Bread and Porridge's sausage that are locally made gourmet sausages that come in seven varieties. Being a spice fiend, I, of course, chose spicy Portuguese and it didn't disappoint. Besides being a good sausage to begin with, the sausage was grilled to perfection, complete with beautiful grill marks. As I bit into it, I tasted the smokiness from the grill and the juiciness from the inside exploded with spicy and salty flavors.

The nice thing about this place was that it didn't look like the kind of place that would but accompanied with our order came a small bowl of black beans and another bowl of pico de gallo -- that wonderful fresh salsa! Unexpected but a very pleasant surprise that definitely complemented the food very nicely.

The other stuff, on the other hand, were nothing to write home about, including its supposedly famous corn bread, which was bland and dry, and its pancakes, which were mediocre.

BEST PANCAKES
Speaking of which, I'm not even a huge pancake person but I have to give it up for John O' Groats close to Westside Pavillion for making the lightest and fluffiest buttermilk pancakes this side of town. Its biscuits aren't bad either, but its ethereal pancakes will lift up your spirits, no doubt.

BEST EXOTIC BREAKFAST/BRUNCH SPOT
Ok, maybe the corn-based arepas from Venezuela aren't that exotic. But when you're not in the mood for the same ol' same ol', head over to Coupa Cafe in Beverly Hills for some hearty Venezuelan fare.

There is a special breakfast arepa that comes with scrambled eggs, gouda cheese and bacon. Not your thing? An item called perico has an arepa with scrambled eggs, peppers, onions and tomatoes. The latter, according to the menu, is allegedly a favorite dish of the new big-haired conductor at the Philharmonic Gustavo Dudamel, who's Venezuelan.

It's worth trying their other non-breakfast-y items like empanada, which is deep fried corn dough filled with anything from ground beef, chicken to "fresh young shark," which I haven't tried.


The pabellon, filled with shredded beef, black beans, sweet fried plantains and queso paisa (stringy white cheese), was delicious. I also liked the sauces it came with, some infused with cilantro, parsley and some kick. Gotta love kick.

The Venezuelan coffee was not too shabby either. It also has outdoor seating, which makes for good people watching, if that's your thing. On one lazy Sunday a while back, I saw a sunglasses-wearing Julianne Moore walking by. So LA...

BEST BRUNCH BUFFET
If you don't really know what to eat but want something healthy and good, go for a drive to Malibu and get thee to Inn of the Seventh Ray.

It's run by a bunch of new age hippies who appreciate solidly-made food. I usually don't like buffets unless it's Indian food, but this one had a variety of interesting salads, grilled vegetables and flavorful sauces that came with grilled fish. I didn't mind the steamed crab legs that I made sure to grab enough of. Another perk is the beautiful outdoor surrounding. You're smack in the middle of nature. It's also romantic if you need an unusual date spot. The ocean-side drive there filled with greenery is also spectacular. I felt transported out of the urban craziness and into the serene nature.

Now for the duds --places that get a lot of raves for certain specialties but did nothing for me. Wouldn't return to any of them.

Most overrated pancakes, fried chicken and waffles: Pann's Restaurant (Dry chicken, flat pancakes and waffles and hash browns that were drowning in bad-quality butter.)

Most overrated (and overpriced) pastries: Huckleberry (I love Rustic Canyon, as you may recall my recent post raving about its burger that just may rival my all-time favorite one at Houston's. But the brunch items were bland and weak.)

Worst overall brunch experience: Jack n Jill (That this place has lines despite poor food and mediocre service is a clear indication of a dearth of good brunch places in Santa Monica. So unremarkable.)

Euro Pane: Best Croissant it is Not

I admit I had high expectations for Europane, the venerable bakery in Pasadena whose chocolate croissants sell out so quickly I haven't yet sunk my teeth into one. Maybe I should defer my review until then, but I have to say, if the chocolate croissants are anything like its regular croissants that I have tried, I haven't been impressed. Breadbar has a far superior croissant. It wasn't as flaky or buttery and just didn't do the trick. Europane's quiche was no contest to Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, which is as delicious as it is decadent. The macademia nut tart was too hard and not seasoned right. Its sandwiches sounded good on paper -- roast beef with horseradish sauce on cranberry walnut bread. The bread was fantastic -- fresh and flavorful. The sandwich? Not so much. Meat was hard to bite into because of all these connective tissues and it was a bit bland. Still, Europane seems to be doing something right to expand to an Old Town location that's decidedly bigger. I just need more flavor that lives up to its hype.

Beretta Overshadows Bar Tartine in SF

I've always believed that L.A. is a better eating city than San Francisco (I know I'll be flamed for this) but there are definitely some things you just can't get here, like an incredibly juicy Hot Link from Top Dog, the wonderfully cheesy and tomato-ey Chicago-style deep dish pizzas from Zachary's Pizza in Berkeley or the sumptuous quiches, bread puddings and crunchy breads at Tartine Bakery. So naturally, I headed straight for the oldies and also made some new discoveries along the way at Beretta.


Before I even go into new discoveries, let's take a moment to appreciate the classics, so perfect that you can't help but return over and over again -- even if it means standing in line in cramped quarters. Yes, that's the downside and the charm of Tartine bakery. It's a quaint little place where lines begin forming early even on weekdays. The quiches are incredibly hearty, creamy, perfectly salty with a crunchy top. There's something in that dairy (creme fraiche) the bakery uses. I think this is a case of excellent ingredients combined to produce the most exquisite breakfast, brunch, snack, whatever. I'm not even a big quiche person but no matter. I can't get enough! Then there are the plain and chocolate croissants and amazingly delicious bread pudding. I've tried the banana and apple bread puddings and I like the banana one better but they're both solid. I got greedy and brought one chocolate croissant to L.A. and can I say, that following morning's breakfast in my car was one of the best I've had in a while? Warm croissant with coffee for the road...Traffic? What traffic?

Finding a new gem is almost as satisfying as the tried and true and thanks to my foodie hosts, I did just that at Beretta. As much as I like the deep-dish pizzas, I am more particular to thin-crusted ones that aren't as heavy. I initiallly didn't think I'd like the combination of potato, rosemary, radicchio and crescenza that much but behold the first photo on top. Isn't that a beauty? We substituted gorgonzola on the menu with the creamy crescenza cheese I don't I was familiar. Apparently it had been recommended by a food critic and she was right on. The razor-thin slices of fingerling potatoes with the rosemary and grilled radicchio (which I usually find too bitter raw) all mixed with the buttery texture of the crescenza cheese were fabulous.

The cannellini beans and pancetta with pepper bruschette was also the right combination of salty and creamy with a bit of a bite. A note to self was to cook more with cannellini beans, especially in mashed form, since they're good for you and tasted so good here. Another revelation was the porcini mushroom risotto with barbera (red Italian wine grape variety). Everything about it was right -- the deep mushroom flavor, the creamy texture and the al-dente rice pellets, dyed a light burgundy from the barbera with a touch of grape flavor. It was so comforting, much like jjuk, Chinese or Korean porridge, only its flavors were stronger.

One thing that was off, however, was the margherita with burrata pizza. This is my favorite kind of pizza and my pizza-meter, if you will, since everyone has it on the menu and mastering this most basic pizza would pretty much be a vote of confidence for everything else. Complicated California-style pizzas a-la-Wolfgang Puck? No, thank you. Although the crust was great and the burrata was creamy like buttah, this margherita had too much tomato sauce that it overpowered everything. The crust and burrata reminded me of the margherita I had at Pizzeria Mozza, which was very good albeit overpriced.

A slight disappointment was Tartine Bakery's offshoot, Bar Tartine, which served mediocre food with inefficient and somewhat snooty service. We had many things with long and fancy names like cauliflower soup with meyer lemon, piment d’espelette and cilantro pistou; truffled grill cheese with king trumpet mushrooms, thyme, red onion and small salad; Liberty farm duck confit panini with blood orange marmalade, mizuna and shoestring fries; open face pork belly sandwich with avocado, egg salad, pickled jalapeno and shoestring fries and polenta hash with braised brisket, celery sofrito, parsley and fried eggs.

I lament to say that the best thing about the restaurant was the bread -- fresh and sturdy peasant bread with a great crust and moist interior. Much better than La Brea bakery and on par with Acme or Balthazar's bread in NYC. The duck confit panini was completely overpowered by the blood orange marmalade, which was a very bad match -- stuck out like a sore thumb. The open faced pork belly sandwich was ok but a royal pain to eat (open faced sandwiches simply should not exist). The polenta hash with braised brisket was probably the best dish by a small margin. I think the fried eggs did it for me. Like Anthony Bourdain said in a recent episode, "is there anything that doesn't taste better with an addition of a gratuitous egg?"










The soup looked beautiful and tasted decent but a bit thin and not as deeply flavored as it could have been. The shoestring fries were virtually cold, my biggest pet peeve being served lukewarm food that's been sitting underneath the lamp. They tasted kind of stale too. Unacceptable. The grilled cheese sandwich was good but not transporting. Next time I'm in town, I'll probably skip Bar Tartine (maybe give it a second chance for dinner) and go for the crusty pizzas at Beretta and dessert (or breakfast or brunch) at Tartine Bakery.

Beretta
1199 Valencia St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 695-1199

Bar Tartine
561 Valencia St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 487-1600

Tartine Bakery
600 Guerrero St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 487-2600

Eating Healthy at a Westwood Greasy Spoon

I'm on a roll with comfort food. Next up, we head to our trusty ol' brunch destination, the no-frills, 50's-themed greasy spoon where portions are decidedly huge and atmosphere student-friendly: Headlines Diner & Press Club, aka. Headlines. Unless you're a truck-driver or a college student with a voracious appetite and sky-high metabolism, one order of the omelet should be enough to feed two.

My favorite omelet is the healthy omelet, which isn't that healthy save for the fact that it has vegetables. It also has optional cheese that I gladly opt for.



I like that a host of chopped green bell peppers, zucchini, onions, tomatoes and avocados are fully integrated into the omelet with the cheese holding everything together. Too often I have encountered omelets where the egg is separate from the filling like a pocket and everything falls out when I lift to eat it. Believe it or not, it's pretty rare to see such well-integrated omelets, even in fancy establishments.

The omelet comes with a choice of toast or English muffin and hash browns or fruit. I usually get the wheat toast and hash browns (I can only do so much healthy). It's hard to resist the tempting pile of potatoes stacked on the griddle in the open kitchen, in plain view of customers sitting on the counter nursing their coffee. The hash browns aren't exactly the thinly-shredded-and-cooked-to-brown-perfection kind I am partial to, but they still have some brown bits and more importantly, are hearty.



If you're not a butter and jam person, extract chunks of the avocado from the omelet and spread them on your crunchy wheat toast and sprinkle with some salt. It's healthier (yes, it's a theme) and so much more flavorful! In Chile, people spread palta, or avocado, on bread all the time, not to mention hamburgers, hot dogs, etc.

I have tried other omelets but this one is my favorite. I have also tried the breakfast burrito, which come in two's and are appropriate if you're desperate but inappropriate if you're heading to East LA or Orange County, where you can get a better one for a fraction of the price.



One thing I didn't have this day but highly recommend are the classic diner fare -- curly fries. It's spicy, crispy and plentiful. What's not to like? My companions were also seduced by the inviting look of the fries on somebody else's plate. While you're at it, you may as well try the fish and chips, which are surprisingly good. Sure, Headlines is no Irish pub. But it's decent. I wouldn't get the burger, however, which was not that different from Fatburger across the street.

It gets crowded on weekends, so come before 11am and you'll be ok. I can't speak for its coffee, but I always order Naked Juice OJ, which is good enough for me. So visit your friendly neighborhood diner, sit on the counter and devour that massive omelet. Occasionally, you'll sit next to hung over kids or extremely loud kids, but they're generally innocuous. Besides, it's owned by Koreans so we support the peeps and it's run by the super-efficient and friendly Mendez brothers, who have worked there for years and love soccer.