Tuesday, April 21, 2009

3 Sq Cafe + Bakery = 2 Star Happy

LA's first taste of summer hit this past weekend and what better way to spend it than biking along the beach then Venice for shopping and good eats? Selfishly, I dragged my friends after an exhausting, hot day to a place where I had heard about the next best thing to steak: a Pretzel Bun Burger.

3 Square Cafe + Bakery
Situation: 3 Square Cafe + Bakery is a cute, happening place on a corner of Abbot Kinney. I
have passed it by several times, always wondering what people are talking about in there and whether or not I can afford what they are eating. (There are plenty of surprises on this street after all.) It was not until my friend told me about the Pretzel Bun Burger that I made my way into this restaurant. Eclectic, clean, even eco-friendly looking (judging from the Astro Turf on the table). Cool. Menu is simple, but included a twist on traditional items--Avocado Fries, Truffle Macaroni 'n Cheese Croquettes, Pretzel Dumplings, Truffle French Fries, Cauliflower Puree Soup with Chorizo.

Food: The menu is oddly organized and priced, to which I heard the waitress bitch about the entire time I was there (service sucked and they were so negative about the restaurant)! Appetizers read like sides and entrees are mixed with 1 sandwich and random other things. My eyes drew to all items pretzel and the macaroni cheese, and so I ordered. The Pretzel Bun Burger included a generous piece of perfectly charcoaled meat--medium the way I liked it--with grilled onions and melted Swiss cheese. Not many ingredients to take away from the highlight of the meat-complementary pretzel bun. I added a bit of ketchup, mustard and a tad of El Cholo (we are in CA after all). CHOMP! And it was one of the best burgers I have had in a while! So, I could not taste the pretzel much outside of its texture (not enough salt crystals, which let's face it, makes a pretzel). BUT, it was only because the burger patty was so well done that nothing else mattered, and so the party in my mouth continues without...
Until I had the Mac 'n Cheese croquette and Pretzel Dumpling. The croquette style was different. Lot more breading than I would have wanted, and definitely cooled before I was done finishing my 3rd bite. I liked the marinara accompaniment but I much would have rathered Pizza Hut's bread sticks to go with. There were black pieces of truffle, but I could not really taste what made it decadent. Moving onto the Pretzel Dumpling which looked more like a pancake and had the texture of a Chinese Turnip Cake than an actual dumpling. Maybe my childhood was warped, but I always thought they'd be plump, round and ideally, surrounded in soup? Veto, I should have opted for the boring Truffle Fries instead of both of these!

Verdict: The Burger got me craving red meat again and that is a statement in itself. I am a fan, but next time I would probably just go to the Bakery part of 3 Squares and order the Pretzel Burger rather than get everything else
and then have to pay tip to the unprofressional waitress. Nothing else on the menu really caught my eye (gasp I know, I don't care for avocado). I did venture to the bakery next door and was aroused by the various breads. However, let me warn you that the goods do not have a good shelf life. Leave it out for 1 day and it turns stale hard! But if you can stomach many carbs in one sitting, go for the pretzel types (hello, what have I been telling you their specialty was?) They have ones with cheese, jalepeno, etc. and they are even better when toasted!

Ask yourself, when's the last time you had a good
pretzel with depth? I am not talking the thin, twisted kind you eat at a ballpark, I am talking indulgence in the finer things of life-kinda pretzel. Ch-check it!

1121 Abbot Kinney Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90293

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Toe Jam, Blue Jam?

It seems old age comes with burnt taste buds and the re-generation of new ones. I can't really complain but I wish some fat was burnt in the process of chewing as well. With that said, brunch seems to be making its way on the top of my craving list. Eggs and bacon... can you really not like either? Melt some cheese on top and serve it with a side of crisp, thin hash and say my name because I am there.

Blue Jam Cafe
Situation: I won't lie, I'm still a brunch-noob so I let my friend do the researching. She picked a place near Melrose area of West Hollywood called Blue Jam Cafe. It sounded like a hoot and their comprehensive menu had me wearing sweat pants to the place.

Food: I like sweets for bfast, but it can't ever be my only dish. Luckily, I coerced a friend to split a sweet
and savory with me! First up, the Gourmet Eggs Benedict. This bougie dish consists of smoked lox instead of the traditional canadian ham, croissant instead of the english muffin and a nice touch of chives. Definitely a notch up and tasted yumm! One of my biggest peeves with benedicts is when chefs go overboard with the Hollandaise sauce. Blue Jam poured just the right amount and allowed the egg yolk to do more of the toast coverage. It's not as heavy as traditional benedicts, so it left me with enough room to eat my next dish. The only thing I would change is for the croissant to be lightly toasted to get a bit of crispness to it. Next up, the Blue Jam French Toast--stuffed with cream cheese and surrounded by fruit (the bacon rule applies to cream cheese too where it makes everything better). It sure looked like a decadent dish, but after I bit into it... Ehh. Ok. Why isn't the cream cheese warm? Why isn't it a bit sweeter? Where's my damn jam to balance the CC? It was pretty disappointing. So b*tch, give me back my couch!

Verdict: Blue Jam Cafe is ok. Mind you, the wait on the weekend is 1hour terrible. You can occupy yourself with shopping on Melrose, but I don't know about you, I am damn cranky when I am hungry. My critique might also be a bit harsh. I am spoiled. I had the best brunch experiences in San Francisco at Canteen and Toast. Everything was perfect up there. So LA... show me something good and hopefully not over-priced!


Well it isn't all bad, here are some quick recommendations of good brunch places in LA:
  • Amandine - Best Almond Croissant (very crispy, non-traditional buttery pastry)
  • 26 Beach - Order the Polar Bear which is a crazy french toasted croissant with 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream, plethora of fruit and caramel and fruit sauce drizzled on top, and the Monte Cristo which is a french toasted ham and blackberry jam sandwich (dabble in the sweet & savory in one bite)
  • Griddle Cafe - Their Chili Omelette My Soul inspired me to make bfast again, and their Nutella French Toast is simply heaven (their portions are extremely large so order half sizes!)
7371 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90046