The Financial District in LA can be foreign ground to even the most knowledgeable Angelenos. With the hustle and bustle of downtown traffic, it is easy to forget about the cultural diversity of the city. In just three hours, Six Taste travelers are reminded of the rich experience Los Angeles has to offer through six restaurants and 18 blocks of exploration. Accompanied by an energetic guide to lead the journey through hidden alleys, tour-goers may find a diamond in the rough on their gastronomical adventure: Lost Souls Café.
Settled in a narrow alley, shadowed by tall, brick buildings is Lost Souls Café— a quaint, yet artsy coffee shop that is home to an eclectic downtown crowd. What may seem to be a hole-in-the-wall on the outside is actually a spacious, tranquil lounge, equipped with a small stage for open-mic nights.
Isolated from busy streets, one step into the café and the atmosphere changes to a cozy, comfortable getaway. As the first stop on Six Taste’s Financial District tours, the server behind the coffee bar will notice the small crowd and begin preparing a sampling of food that will soon awaken virgin taste buds to a taste of the Philippines. A tray filled with slices of bread is placed on the counter.
As the tour guide explains the delectable, sweet and crispy bread, called pandesal, another tray lands on the counter, but this time the appearance is not as familiar. It’s a thick, purple concoction, called an Ube shake. An Ube shake is composed of yams, ice cream and milk, and topped with a dollop of whipped cream. It may pose a challenge for some, but the tray will soon be empty as tour guests realize it tastes much better than it looks. The hardest part is now over and with a small lining of heaven on their stomachs the group begins to chat as they make their way out of the restaurant and back on the streets to the next destination.
Afterwards, tourists will taste pastries, gourmet sandwiches, Thai food and spicy Mexican cuisine. At the end of the tasty journey, patrons may realize that Six Taste Food Tours are not just fulfilling, but also an amazing way to discover LA. Six Taste’s tours show hometown-tourists that a walk in their own backyard can open up their eyes (and taste buds) to a world of new things. What begins as a tour often ends in friendships, a mind-opening cultural experience… and food coma.
Love love love this place. Joan’s on Third is a great Gourmet Marketplace, but they also serve lunch and breakfast. I stopped by here on a Friday morning to try their omelettes that I heard so much about.
The girlfriend had the French Toast. I’m not a huge fan of sweet things for breakfast, but she’s a big French Toast fan. She gets it whenever we get breakfast, and I always try it. Joan’s French Toast was pretty good. The portion size was not too big, and the French Toast wasn’t heavy at all. I like my french toast thick, and these were a little thin for my taste.
French Toast
French Toast, Again.
I had the Bonne Femme. The Bonne Femme is a bacon, cheddar, and potato omelette. The first thing I noticed was the size. This isn’t a huge hulking omelette that you can find in most breakfast places in Los Angeles. It’s the perfect size to satiate your appetite without making you too full to eat lunch. It was accompanied by some light sour cream.
This picture doesn't do it justice. It's so pretty in person.
After taking my first bite, I noticed something else: Joan’s omelettes are softer, slightly ‘runny’ but in an amazingly delicious way. It’s not undercooked, and it makes you feel as though you’ve had overcooked omelette’s your entire life. Apparently, it’s made in more of a french style, and if you’ve seen the Perfect Scrambled Eggs, you’ll know how the French like their eggs. To be honest, I wasn’t paying too much attention on the filling, which was flavorful and excellent, but paled in comparison to the preparation of the egg and the different consistancy than what I expected. The omlette was excellent, and I dare to say one of the best in Los Angeles.
Bacon, Potato, Cheddar deliciousness.
I also had a mocha latte, which I appreciated because it used a non-sweetened chocolate to flavor the coffee. I have to say, it was a great start to the morning.
Mocha Latte
In addition, the ambiance of this place is great. We saw a few B-List celebs in the place, and it was quite busy. It’s so nice eating your omelette and sipping your coffee in the front of the store. This is a must if you’re a breakfast-lover.
Love it.
Name: Original Tommy’s Hamburger
Location: Beverly and Rampart. 2575 Beverly Blvd.
Prices: You can get a full meal for under $10!
Ambiance: Unless you go to the original location, it’s going to seem like a run-down fast food joint. I’ve been to three different Tommy’s and none of them are something to talk about. The original location, however, really feels like something special. When you arrive there it’s almost as if you’ve traveled back in time 15-20 years ago. Everyone is eating in front of their cars, and it has a great down-to-earth feel.
Burgers: The star here is the chili, which overpowers everything. But to be honest, who cares? People go here for the world-famous chili. Hands down, it’ll be like nothing you’ve ever tasted. A less chunky-type of consistency, its great on your burger, its great on your fries, its great on anything. I’d put it on a doughnut and I bet it would still taste delicious. It’s a chain, so you can find the same quality chili all over, but go to the original location.
Burger Accessories: What better to go with your chili burger than chili cheese fries? Again, the chili overpowers all other flavors.
Final Rating: 7/10. No matter how good the chili is, it’s hard to give it a higher rating. You can’t really talk about the patty, the bun, the fries, or anything else because the chili is like Jenna Maroney on 30 Rock. Hogs the limelight and its hard to pay attention to anything else.
Tommy's Chili = Jenna Maroney
Yesterday, Alex and I met our friends Will, David, and Candice from Artemis Clover Photo. After a thrilling game of mini-golf, we ate at Kabuki Restaurant for a sushi dinner
Hole-In-One on the 18th Hole!
We got a variety of rolls, and I was enjoying the conversation so much that I didn’t really get a chance to take pictures. The ikura sushi was pretty standard…nothing to rave about.
Ikura (Salmon Roe)
However, the garlic roll is an interesting point of discussion. A really unique mix of flavors, and definitely a flavor profile different from traditional Japanese food. There was a hint of mint in this roll, and the garlic chip added an intense flavor that sat at the top of your palate. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good thing. The garlic overpowered the sushi. My first bite wasn’t that bad, and I thought it was interesting…but the second bite was just not that great.
I used to be the kind of sushi eater in which I most enjoyed the ones that strayed away from traditional Japanese flavors, but I’ve learned to love the kind that simply showcases the fish through simple, clean flavors…even the Tuna sushi had too many frills on it for me to truly enjoy.
During our dinner, our friend Will mentioned a YouTube video that I thought would be great to showcase here. If you haven’t seen this yet, you’re in for a treat.
Six Taste brings a brand new series: The Best Burger Quest. Follow us as we try and find the best burger joints in Los Angeles.
Name: 8 Oz. Burger Bar
Location: Middle of Melrose near West Hollywood. 7661 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046
Prices: Fairly standard for a sit-down burger joint. A little more pricey than usual because of the ‘construct-a-burger’ concept.
Ambiance: Darkly-lit, filled with a lot of the younger, trendy bar-going crowd. Friendly service and usually quite busy.
Burgers: Not the tastiest patty in the world, but some of the sauces are great. Great selection of cheese beyond your usual cheddar, and the size is enough to fill you up. You can’t really go wrong with any combination. However, I highly suggest adding the House Cured Bacon. Incredibly crispy and adds a whole level of texture complexity to your burger.
Burger Accessories: GET THE TRUFFLED POTATO-SKINS! Don’t get anything else. In fact, don’t even get a burger. Just order a giant mount of truffled potato-skins. These things are delicious. Crispy, but thick enough to have a soft center. Seasoned perfectly, not too salty, and with a good kick of cheese flavor. Not too greasy, and a great compliment to both the burger, and a tasty beverage.
On that note, also get a beer. Great selection of both heavy and light and all of them don’t overpower anything you’re eating.
Final Rating: 7/10. Solid showing but the burger isn’t the focus on this place…it’s really all about the truffled potato-skins. Also, while the sauces are good, the taste of the patty itself was a little bit lacking. All in all, worth trying once or twice.
Tim Ferriss, author of the 4-hour week and leading the lifestyle design movement, is a pretty awesome guy. Alex and I both love...
Name: Original Tommy’s Hamburger Location: Beverly and Rampart. 2575 Beverly Blvd. Prices:...
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The Financial District in LA can be foreign ground to even the most knowledgeable Angelenos. With the...
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