where is the foodie food?
The following is a guest editorial on the local dining scene by Peter Johnson.
Am I the only foodie who is broiling mad about the Downtown dining scene?
Sure, we have expense account standouts like Patina, the Water Grill, and Blue Velvet, but where are the really great, delicious, neighborhood haunts? We’re ahead of the game in bars. Block for block, we’ve got bars to compete with any neighborhood in the city. But – with a few notable exceptions like Tiara Café, Colori Kitchen, and Wood Spoon — the restaurant scene in Downtown is severely lagging behind.
The sad truth is you’re more likely to get a transcendent, appropriately priced meal from a taco truck on the streets of Downtown, than you are from some of the new restaurants that are opening up. Admittedly, we have some really fine taco trucks, but that’s not the point. I have enormous respect for the gutsy people who put their heart and soul into opening a restaurant. It’s far from easy and too often doesn’t pay off or pan out.
With that said, for some strange reason, Downtown seems to attract restaurateurs determined to open one of two things: a gourmet coffee shop or a high-end nightclub serving a small plates menu of the top 10 googled dishes of 2002.
(Note to chefs: I don’t want to have to dine in a group to order a balanced meal; not every night is a birthday party. Unless you’re serving actual tapas or cooking in an Izakaya, enough with the small plates. It’s just a racket to get people to order more courses than they actually want. If you must serve small plates, call them appetizers and let your customers share.)
As a Downtown resident and booster, it pains me to say it, but the taste level in many of Downtown’s kitchens doesn’t stack up with what’s cooking in other parts of the city – especially when you compare us to our rival emerging neighborhoods: Culver City, Silver Lake, and Hollywood.
Too many Downtown menus manage the appetite-squelching trick of being both bland and eclectic at the same time (French fries, tuna tartar, and pizza, anyone?); the food itself is, at best, fair and usually topped off with a Visa-melting price tag.
Downtown is full of creative, progressive, artistic people. I know my neighbors. They appreciate good food and drink. The fact that we are anxiously counting the days before a Wokcano opens is — to put a fine point on it — depressing, not to mention a harbinger of real dining desperation.
Someone needs to deliver us from the suburban chain, chicken caesar salad of it all. Why won’t you save us, Suzanne Goin? Where is Downtown’s version of the Hungry Cat? Father’s Office? Canele? Angelini Osteria? Mozza? Where is the good, honest, local food? Where are the restaurateurs who’ve heard of the slow food movement and Alice Waters? This is the core of one of the most vibrant, stylish, creative cities in all the world, why am I eating tepid, greasy French onion soup and reheated frites — and why am I paying 17 dollars plus tax and tip for it?!?
Is there something about the neighborhoods themselves, the cost of retail space, the poor street-lighting, the homeless in the doorways, the cloying city center red tape, the bottom-line busting challenges of building out kitchens in adaptive reuse buildings, the hit or miss pockets of residential density, the gaping, black holes of surface parking lots, that is preventing the Downtown dining scene from keeping pace with the rest of LA? Is the city’s center destined to become a culinary backwater?
I hate even to consider the question, but, when it comes to dining, is Downtown in theValley? Is that an insult to the Valley?
I ask you, fellow Downtowners, for the love of all that is slow-roasted, brined, basted and perfectly seared, where is the foodie food?
— Hungry in DT
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29 comments
So, you did mention Wood Spoon, Tiara Cafe and Colori Kitchen.
Of course, there are well-established stand-bys like Pete’s, The Original Pantry and the restaurant at the Standard Hotel.
The only other non-chain, relatively new spot I would mention (that’s not in Little Tokyo or Chinatown) where you can get a decent, simple meal is the Redwood Bar and Grill. That’s pretty sad.
I went to Redwood Bar and Grill recently and wasn’t impressed… food was good enough but the service was not.
Since you mentioned Chinatown and Little Tokyo, those neighborhoods are packed with affordable, delicious food - and I think Blossom deserves some recognition. Although I understand that not everyone is as devoted to Chinese, Japanese and Korean (and Viet in this case) food as Rich and I are.
Also, we went to Angelique Cafe this past weekend for the first time in while… it’s gotten bad - real bad. What a waste of prime resto space.
I think the above 2 posts miss the point. Peter isn’t looking for recommendations, I’m pretty sure he’s hit them all up. Even Chow has hit up all that is downtown. The point of the article is where are the CHOW places the foodie places in DT and the answer is a list of about 4 at best.
I agree 500% with Peter.
I think Downtown can learn a good lesson even from close neighbors eagle rock and highland park.
While I mostly agree with this post, I feel there are several places coming soon which sound like they fit the foodie bill. I imagine it will come in time. I wish someone would do a copy of the now deceased Noura Cafe …remember that place on Melrose in WeHo?
I can’t agree more with the article. We have our fair share of fine dining restaurants as mentioned, but that’s not the honest affordable foodie food. I love my neighborhood and glad to see all the bars/lounge are bringing in traffic in the weekend, but we need good neighborhood restaurants to serve the people who live in downtown; people cannot just live on drinks. I would love to spend my meal money in my neighborhood instead of driving to Culver City. I hope all the retail landlords/brokers are reading this post.
I agree with Anita. If I were opening a restaurant downtown, I would research reviews on Yelp to see what people really respond to, along with all the relevant blogs. Or ask directly through these venues…like the gentleman who asked for input about his mexican restaurant plan.
I would have to agree. As a South Park resident, the dining options in my neighborhood are quite poor. I don’t feel like paying $30 for a meal at Riordans, Liberty Grille, ; $10 for low quality food at Pantry, Denny’s, or IHOP. My remaining option is Ralphs. I really like the dining options in the Old Bank (Pitfire, Rocket Pizza, Warung cafe, Liliya Bistro, Pete’s, and Blossom). We need those reasonable, neighborhood-type restaurants in South Park. The closest thing we have to reasonable prices with decent food is Gill’s Indian Cuisine.
i’m a foodie and long-time downtown resident - i get the point of the rant and can somewhat agree. i admit, i often have to leave downtown to get my foodie fixes, but DThound, i don’t think that this guy has “hit them all up”. he asked for other downtown foodies’ suggestions on where to fix that jones, “I ask you, fellow Downtowners, for the love of all that is slow-roasted, brined, basted and perfectly seared, where is the foodie food?”
my suggestions:
1) try the lechon kawali at asian noodles on spring street in chinatown. i wasn’t impressed with their service, mixed adobo, or the rice - but with my first bite of lechon, the birds sang the flowers bloomed and the heavens opened up. i don’t think the rest of their menu qualifies, but their lechon is serious foodie sh*t.
2) across the street is the spring street smokehouse, which has amazing spicy, vinegar-based pork and beef barbecue. like the lechon above, it is both “transcendent” and “appropriately priced”.
3) koraku on 2nd street has the best mabodon. i’ve driven all over southern california to verify this.
4) hama sushi is across the street. i was just there last night to confirm - their monkfish liver is sublime. buttery, melt-in-your-mouth perfection.
5) doner kebab is opening down the street, in the hikari. you’ve heard of them, they’re that foodie kebab place on colorado in eagle rock. now if we could only get the oinkster to move in next door, 2nd street would be a block of foodie heaven.
6) traxx at union station. try the panko-crusted crab cakes, the pork chops, the desserts. great space, great service, and great food. take that, hungry cat.
7) ciudad
those are just off the top of my head. if i think of more, i’ll come back to comment again. but writing this made me very hungry and it is lunchtime.
Applause, applause for the commentary. It is very difficult to find good food in reasonable quantities with respectful service anywhere downtown and that does not touch the price issue. Not all of us entertain out of town guests with each foray into the restaurant scene. One nominee that approaches the desirable is the Promenade restaurant at First and Hope.
Sadly, I have eaten almost everywhere DT has to offer. A few places I haven’t ventured and I appreciate the suggestions. I am by no means expert in Asian dining so those suggestion are most helpful for me. In truth, the best dining in DT (other than expense account kind) is in Little Tokyo.
My post was meant as a rallying cry for downtown eaters. We should expect better than we’re getting. Being legally open (nod to the benighted Mode) shouldn’t be enough for us. I guess I am trying to start a movement of hungry types who are determined to entice some real culinary talent into our beloved DT.
If downtown wants to be taken seriously as thriving LA neighborhood, it needs to step up its dining game. Pronto. What worries me is all the future restaurants I hear about, don’t fit the bill. They sound like more of the bloated, tasteless same.
Some thoughts on places people have mentioned:
If Pete’s were in Culver City, it would be starved for customers. It benefits from the lack of competition. It’s great that it’s there and open — and kudos to them for being first on the scene — but the food isn’t foodie food. Dining-wise, it’s not in the same league as the places opening on Melrose or even in Echo Park. If Pete’s closed up, and the Village Idiot showed up in its place, then we’d talking.
If you know what to order, Spring Street BBQ is decent, but probably not in the top 20 BBQ places in LA.
Traxx is serviceable, but seems more suitable for a business lunch. The space is the thing. It’s the one time Wow factor. The food is okay. But sitting in that vast train station, it doesn’t exactly feel inviting as neighborhood haunt.
The Standard. Hotels almost never have good food. The Standard is not an exception. You can tell a lot about how tight a kitchen is by how they cook eggs. When an order of scrambled comes out with scorch marks and in a pool of water, you know you’re in trouble.
Ciudad is a mystery to me. I have never had a meal there that wasn’t awful. Twice, I’ve been served hot food that was frozen in the middle. Shocking. For Latin cooking, you are better off finding a street vendor.
The Pantry is cute. You can tiptoe around the menu and special request your way into a dining experience that is cheap and fairly tasty. But, in general, the attraction is the novelty, not the food.
I’ve eaten a decent meal at Redwood. They’re in the ball park.
I’m excited about Doner Kebab. Like Hama. Sushi Gen obviously. R23. Blossom is good, tasty value — as is Phillipe’s. Pitfire, for a chain, isn’t evil. I ate one meal at Lilya and felt no desire to go back.
Oh, and my advice to anybody opening a restaurant in DT…
Be open. Serve drinks. And do one thing really, really well.
We need more Bistro, Cafe and Brasserie food. Also a GREAT Argentinean, Indian and Thai restaurant. I generally agree with Peter although I have to say the Standard Restaurant has the best pancakes. The last time I went to Cuidad, the dinner was not edible. They had to comp me the meal.
This fall we will get a Farm (Beverly Hills), Katsuya and an upscale Wolfgang Puck restaurant along with many others set to open in LA Live.
We need more residents. This year should be a great year with so many lofts opening up. I think the next couple of years will be great for the downtown dining scene. The Union Lofts, Chapman, Roosevelt, Coulter and Mandel Lofts, The Brockman, Evo, the Hanover etc…will help attract more and more foodie restaurants.
I’m not a “foodie” so I don’t really know what qualifies as “foodie” food. But I do agree that more affordable but tasty food options are needed. I’ve gone on and on about Colori Kitchen, I think it should be the standard that all new downtown restaurants attempt to emulate: great food, great prices, casual but urban atmosphere, and family-like staff.
“We need those reasonable, neighborhood-type restaurants in South Park. The closest thing we have to reasonable prices with decent food is Gill’s Indian Cuisine.”
Well, in South Park (or at least very close to South Park) you will also find Colori Kitchen and Wood Spoon. Also, I don’t think it qualifies as “foodie” food, but the new Lula Kabob on Broadway and 9th (I believe) is some incredibly tasty middle eastern food… some of the best I’ve had really.
I absolutely agree with Peter as well. When I want that “foodie” neighborhood meal and feel, I tend to go to Little Tokyo where I can browse and find the food I am craving. The infrastructure of Little Tokyo was built up over time and justifiably created a neighborhood. When we talk about a “foodie” or “chowhound” type restaurant I find that it often comes with a feeling of authenticity and some sort of provenance. Like saying, “this restaurant reminds me of an old polish kitchen” or “I have no idea what I just ordered, but I know it is going to be fantastic.” The look, smell and then of course taste of the food brings a moment that can only happen now, at this place, in this city.
Does downtown LA have that? Isn’t that what is troubling us? That downtown LA for all its character has yet to find its provenance. There is a typical growing pain period but isn’t it also in this period that a city finds itself and what it is going to be? I think that is why Peter and myself are so frustrated. If we grow too quickly, become too affected and hence have such a false front as many of the people of our city then the very reason we have moved downtown will be for naught. Thank you Peter for opening the discussion in a constructive and thoughtful way, I hope we can all be active participants in helping steer the downtown restaurant scene in the right direction.
I like Tiara a lot. I think it’s delicious and healthy and the truth is that its still gotta be difficult for ANY restaurant to keep weeknight hours in that neighborhood. The reason we don’t have the choices of those other neighborhoods you mentioned is that there really aren’t THAT many of us living in the area who go out to eat on weeknights.
Compared to 5 years ago, the food scene has greatly improved, especially after hours. I’d love to see more options, and I think we will over time. We have come a long way, even though we still have a long way to go.
There are a TON of places downtown that have great food only at lunchtime. Many of these places have existed for years, but see no need to open late. If we can identify a select group, and work on getting them open later, we can have a better selection in a short time. It’s so much faster than a new place going through the entitlement process.
Bit by bit others will see the buzz and join in. Neighborhood building takes many years. I like the way it is going and have a lot of faith in the future. But patience is needed.
peter,
try gil’s (indian) on grand on the ground floor of the stillwell, the pork broth noodle place (can’t remember the name….diasakyu??) with the yellow curtain on 1st in little tokyo, or blue star down in the industrial district (south of washington) which is damn good.
Great post, DT Joe. Could not agree more.
I have a theory about the evolution of the “new” Downtown LA, that there are a few unusual cultural and financial forces conspiring to stunt a healthy and organic redevelopment of the area. We’re not getting a homegrown, artist or other creative professional inspired and led gentrification. We’re getting big developer enforced gentrification that is posing as the real thing. It’s a bit of a Frankenstein’s monster.
It doesn’t mean the result won’t be good. It just means the new (and old) residents, the individuals, need to jump in quick and become spirited stakeholders who shape their neighborhood. For their parts, the city and the developers need to make sure that the barriers to entry for small businesses aren’t so great that the only restaurants and stores that can open are those supported by huge financial backing — in other words, the dreaded chains.
ITts not going to happen for a while. Gas prices and traffic have basically killed off “destination places” and no high end chef is going to open until she or he is sure that the locals will support such a place.
“reasonable neighbor-hood place” doesn’t equal Mozza and Campanile and Lucque. Creative and artistic people doesn’t equal disposable cash.
I’m not asking for high end chefs necessarily. Just chefs who get it. Talent, can be established or unknown.
And I didn’t mention Campanile and Lucque for the reasons you state. Too expensive. Pizzeria Mozza, on the other hand, is fairly economical. Foodie places don’t have to expensive; in fact, they usually aren’t.
Agree about the cost of driving and traffic. All the more reason to be in downtown where people can walk to your restaurant.
And, last, studies have shown the median income of DT residents is one of the highest in the whole city. Within the next year, there will be over 750 people living within a block of my building, most of whom will have an income over $100,000.
Kate, what about Water Grill, Noe, Zucca, and Patina? The problem is not the high end, we have that, and they ARE destinations. What’s missing is the middle ground, the good quality locally owned place.
Also, I don’t completely agree with PeterJ, but it is true in some parts of Downtown. South Park is definitely large developer driven, but the Historic Core and Little Tokyo are not. What’s actually great about what’s happening downtown is the development of micro-scenes. The locals DO support most new things, as long as they are good and reliable.
Nobody’s mentioned Boyd Street. Once you get past the horrible flourescent lighting and run down 80’s decor… the food is F***N TASTY! The 410 BLT with Brie… holy shit… and the max burger - its in a dead heat with the Hellman as downtown’s best.
nobody here mentioned L’Angelo cafe right next door to Wood Spoon. I really like this place and the prices are pretty reasonable for most things.
They’re only open till 9pm, but they are pretty dependable.
I actually found L’Angolo to be a bit overpriced. It’s a different kind of Italian than Colori, with L’Angolo focusing more on presentation and gourmet, but when the two are so near each other… it’s no wonder L’Angolo is always empty.
I don’t understand why the great food choices in Little Tokyo and Chinatown don’t count as “foodie.” Is only European food considered seriously foodie?
Jef, I didn’t get the impression that PeterJ was drawing any distinction between European and Asian cuisine. I got the sense, he was not as familiar with Chinatown and Little Tokyo eateries. Frankly, as a “foodie” I suspect his love for food knows no ethnic bounds. Hopefully, he will chime in to clarify.
Just noticed this old comment, thought I should clarify. David is correct. I love all food cultures. I know more about some than others. As I said earlier in the comment section, Little Tokyo has probably the best dining in the area. Much of what is good in LT has been around since before the residential boom in the rest of DT. The LT dining scene has evolved over time to serve a strong local community.
What inspired me to write the editorial was my sense that the restaurants that are now opening to serve the growing new community haven’t been very good. For whatever reason, this residential wave has attracted restauranteurs with curious tastes. To this point, the”loft craze” has created a bar culture but not a food culture. I hope that changes.
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