Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Within Walking Distance #1: Cafe Los Feliz


No one walks here--my oft-repeated lament about living in Los Angeles. However, while I'll never walk across the city exploring new nooks and crannies, happening upon hole-in-the-wall restaurants as I used to on sunny Sunday afternoons in DC, it's unfair to say no one walks. In certain neighborhoods, including mine, the blocks are heavy with foot traffic on evenings and weekends. People don't walk long distances like they would in NY or DC (the streets in LA just aren't pedestrian friendly and there isn't the same urban density), but they do walk. I've realized instead of complaining, I need appreciate what I have and enjoy the places I can walk to, which drew me to this neighborhood in the first place. Hence, the first in an occassional series.

Within Walking Distance #1: Cafe Los Feliz

For some reason, I always forget about the block of Hillhurst between Los Feliz and Ambrose when it comes to eating options in my neighborhood. Therefore, though I'd heard many good things about the Cafe Los Feliz, I hadn't tried it (also, unlike many of my neighbors, I have a day job and its daytime-only hours rarely work out). Holiday break gave me some weekdays at home, so I finally tried this French/Armenian bakery that serves breakfast and lunch. According to the menu, Thursday is homemade dolma day, but I was there on a Friday so settled for the BLT with a side salad. Tasty sandwich, with a gorgeous salad--olives, cucumbers, tomatos, mixed greens. Most of the other patrons (a mix of older Armenian women and aging hipsters) were enjoying the soup of the day, which came with toasted homemade bread.


bad photo of mystery hazelnut cake

The real treat was dessert--a small hazelnut cake, which had a French name that I asked the waitress to repeat twice, but I still didn't catch. I think it started with an M--anyone have an idea after looking at the picture? Regardless, it was delicious, rich with hazelnut flavor and slightly chewy. Many other treats in the pastry case looked fabulous, so I'll have to go back to taste test, but unfortunately only on weekends due to the cafe hours.

Los Feliz Cafe
2188 N. Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
323.664.7111

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

My favorite too! And one of the very few places that uses REAL ingredients for their foods...like actual(rather than chemically similar) chocolate and custard for their eclairs.

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