Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Urban Adventurin’ in Downtown LA

Being on the West Side of LA, there is a certain kind of life I'm accustomed to. It is congested but there is a layer of laid-backness that takes us with the wind - some people even argue that there is lack of strong personality. Whatevas.

Speaking of w/e, the thought of Downtown LA makes me cringe. I do visit on occasion to get my fix of concerts and pro ball games. Not this one Spring Saturday afternoon though. I felt relaxed after an easy night of Tivo, and was ready to take on the world, or better yet Syrup Desserts at the heart of downtown.

GAH! I always am amazed by the amount of traffic on the freeway. Where is everyone going at 2pm on a Saturday? You should already be at the beach, or you're a damn fool if you're heading East where the hotness resides. Well I am neither, I just wanted a waffle with a visiting friend. Silly? Not if you know my track record. After over an hour of agony and heat on the 10E, I exited 6th Street and landed at a convenient (but expensive) meter across the street from this place. It has been listed on Yelp's hot list for as far as this year goes and I was ready to verify its high reviews.

Syrup Desserts. What a pleasing combination of words. Waffles. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. Ice Cream. What music to my ears!, and this was just the beginning. They had an intense menu of sweets of all combinations and unique flavor pairings. Strawberry Jasmine Tea and Pistachio Truffle Ice Cream were the flavors of the day - just to give you an idea of the ammo they packed. They stack these over fruit-infused or plain Belgium waffles with a generous decoration of fruit and syrup. I love waffles since I saw my first Eggo commercial during Saturday morning cartoons, so naturally, my eyes fixated on this end of the menu. There were a few that I wanted to try but I decided on one (I am trying to portion control despite how affordable everything was) which was a Blueberry Lemon Waffle with Blueberry Black Tea Ice Cream and Custard topping. Go anti-oxidants!

My friend, as health conscious as she was, knew I was a fan of Mascarpone and ordered the Little Italy crepe which consisted of berries, the cheese, and a scoop of Pistachio Truffle ice cream. Not much of a crepe lover, I actually really enjoyed this – even moreso than the waffle. It must have been the delicateness of the batter and the silkiness of the ice cream. No, really, it was the block of Mascarpone cheese that they layered on top of the crepe. Oh my fat belly this combination was so good! The best part was that you feel less guilty because the crepe was so light and fluffy. In comparison, the waffle was tough. It must be the Belgium-ness in it – it has a resistance to your bite which is ok if I was training for the annual teeth-athon.

The two desserts were pleasant but those two alone would not be enough to draw me to this place. Enter the dĂ©cor. Syrup Desserts has that real downtown vibe. It is the blast of culture you'd expect in LA as you appreciate its sights from the top level of the loft. There's a rough black coldness to it – industrial – as you think downtown should be, yet there's a sophistication and chicness echoed in the white couches and tabletops. Being here took me away from LA for a minute. I almost felt the livelihood of NY and it was, ironically, refreshing. I really do need to find more places like this or just get out of West LA. There are so many different experiences and they are usually just a 20 minute (or 1 hour+) ride from me.

To life!

Syrup Desserts

611 South Spring St.

Los Angeles, CA 90014

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