Upscale Yet Casual. Huckleberry Cafe and Bakery in Santa Monica

Lunch at Huckleberry Bakery and Cafe on Wilshire and 10th in Santa Monica is a nice experience. A bit pricey, but the baked goods and prepared salads are tasty. Everything looks freshly made. At lunch time, even after 1:00 pm, the place is packed. You go to the counter, order your food, take a table number, and the staff will bring your order to you. The process is quite efficient and after a very short wait, we found a seat.

While the food at Huckleberdy's is generally good, their interpretation of the huevos rancheros is ingenious.: two deep fried taco shells smothered with black beans, queso, a fried egg and salsa. Beautiful and delectable: a perfect combination. Highly recommended.

Restaurant Review: HOME in Los Feliz. Could Have Been Better.

I hope this was just a one off experience. 

We went to Home for the first time on a Sunday evening to pick up my daughter from a play date in Los Feliz. Los Feliz is in a charming part of Los Angeles, but we don't usually go there only because living on the Westside, it's a bit hard to get to on a regular basis. Not knowing what to eat around there, I searched on Open Table for restaurants in Los Feliz, and Home was one of the choices. I checked out the website for the restaurant and it looked beautiful. There was an image of its Lemon Chicken Piccata that just looked mouth watering. I then booked through Open Table to get 100 dining points. 

Chicken Piccata Promo picture on Home Website.

 When we got there, the restaurant was expecting us. They have a nice corner table on the outdoor patio waiting for us. Beautiful lanterns hung from the arching trees in the patio. We were charmed. I ordered the chicken piccata from the photo. My husband ordered the chicken Tuscany.My daughter just wanted fried calamari. My chicken piccata tasted good, but a few pieces of the accompanying roasted vegetables were still frozen. That was a bit sloppy in execution, but I didn't ask them to take it back or anything. My husband's chicken Tuscany arrived with the bed of pasta and no chicken. When he asked the waitress if he was supposed to get chicken with his dish, she goes "whoops, looks like you got the Tuscany without the chicken!" That was kind of humorous, and we laughed. She apologized and had the kitchen later bring a side plate of the chopped chicken breast for my husband to toss into his by now cold bed of Tuscany penne pasta, and offered to give us a free dessert. That was nice. 

Well, when it was time to order the dessert, we ordered the cheesecake. Our waitress said it was her favorite. But when she came back, she informed us that they were out of the cheesecake. This was around 8:15 pm. Okay, so we ordered the flan. When the bill came, they charged us for the dessert anyway. Forget about the offer of complimentary dessert. Despite the chicken dishes mishap, my husband was too chicken to point this out and paid the bill in full. I didn't want to leave much of a tip, but he didn't like to make a point the way I felt he should, and decided to tip 12% as a compromise as opposed to his normal 20%. 

The location and ambience of Home with dining under the trees was really nice and magical. It's just that the shoddy execution of the chicken dishes left a fowl taste in my mouth.

Grand Central Market.

The downtown LA Grand Central Market is in the midst of transforming into a more upscale food market. It is currently a mix of foodie hangouts such as Eggslut, Wexler's Deli, C and G Cafe, and many ethnic, been there forever food stands. Hope it stays that way. You don't want the upscale yuppy foods to drive out the traditional Chinese, Salvadoran, or Mexican stands. 

Using Discount Coupons to Try New Restaurants: Bronzed Aussie

I joined Amazon Local and bought an $11 certificate for $22 worth of food from a restaurant called Bronzed Aussie in downtown Los Angeles. The restaurant specializes in small meat and vegetarian pies, and I was craving a pot pie, so we decided to try it.

Bronzed Aussie is located near the fashion district in DTLA. In a courtyard surrounded by new lofts, the restaurant location is a quiet contrast to the hustle and bustle of the fashion district. Unfortunately, one hour of street parking costs $4, which added to the overall cost, making it less of a deal than anticipated. But it's good to try something new right?

The restaurant decor is spare with a few tables, a counter, and a glass cabinet that displayed the kinds of food available. When we walked in, there was only one couple ahead of us and no one was eating at the restaurant. I was thinking that this place is probably relatively undiscovered, hence the willingness to give out half off coupons. After we ordered the ground beef pie, the chunky beef pie, lattes, an apple pie, and fish and chips, we sat down to wait for our food. Next thing I know, customers trickled in one after another, and soon there was a steady line of customers placing orders and the two ladies working the counter and register got their hands full taking orders and serving food. Luckily, the pies were already made and sitting in the oven. It didn't take long to serve the food.

The meat pies were very tasty. The fillings were savory and the pie crust was flaky. They hit a spot for sure, and I felt guilty because I am sure I ruined my diet by eating this comfort food. We didn't try the vegetarian pies although I heard other customers praising the chicken mushroom pie and the Thai curry pie. The lattes were good and strong too.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend braving the horrible traffic to the fashion district, pay an exorbitant parking fee just to eat here, but if you happen to be in the neighborhood already, picking up a pie here is highly recommended. It's even better with an Amazon Local coupon.

Bronzed Aussie 
714a S Los Angeles St, Los Angeles, CA, 
1.213.243.0770