Eating in LA...

I've been promising a few friends a list of my favourite spots to eat in LA, so I thought rather than enclosing it in top secret individual emails, I'd sit down on this warm Sunday morning and deliver the long overdue list here... Just in case anybody happens to stumble across my blog in their travels!

Hollywood Area:

Coffee plus Food (5630 Melrose Avenue) - This is one of my favourite spots to sit quietly, write in my journal and eat delicious food. I'm pretty sure I ate the same thing everytime I went there - a warm vegan (lentil and bean) patty with avocado salsa and a side of their shredded kale salad. The corn fritters are amazing too...and their house-made granola. Oh, and if you're home sick, they have VEGEMITE! This is definitely the spot to go if you're longing to hear an Australian accent, whilst munching on a piece of toast, smothered in that iconic, salty spread. Their coffee is also really good (compared to the other sub-standard hot beverages you're bound to find on every other corner in LA).

Larchmont Bungalow (107 N Larchmont Blvd) - Two words: Iced coffee. One of the best. A pleasant spot to sit outside and people-watch too...I didn't spend much time exploring the menu, but I've heard that their pancakes and french toast are outrageously good.

Lemonade (There's a few of these around LA, but the two I went to regularly are at 626 N Larchmont Blvd, Mid-Wilshire and 1661 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice): If you want healthy, fresh food when you're on the go, this is the place to hit up. It's set up kind of like a canteen, where you can mix and match gourmet salads (think raw beetroot; lentils; roast carrot, sesame seed and nori; shredded cabbage and kale etc.) with home-style hot dishes, rice and various proteins (the roast salmon is amazing). Also, just once, try their home-made lemonade. Thank me later...

Joan's On Third (8350 West 3rd St) - I became slightly obsessed with Joan's after an LA friend strongly recommended I go there one morning. Between seeing Javier Bardem walk through the door (at least, I think it was him) and me taking the first mouthful of my Southwest salad, I was very quickly roped in to the Joan's culture. I literally ended up there four days in a row within my first week in Hollywood. It's a bustling cafe/deli/gourmet grocer with seriously good food (go for an egg white omelette and grapefruit juice at breakfast or a crusty baguette apres-midi) and lots of interesting people to watch. You can also pick up essentials like an Ottolenghi cookbook (*drooling), a fresh loaf of bread, home-made ravioli, quality oils, vinegars, artisan chocolate and a bottle of prosecco (you'll need it after eavesdropping on some obnoxious 'Hollywood-esque' conversations, trust me).

Food Plus Lab (7253 Santa Monica Blvd) - Go for the chicken and rocket salad with mandarin segments and candied pecans...and the iced tea (think white tea with pomegranate or chilled earl grey with lavender). The vegan sandwich with grilled vegetables and pesto is also really good.

Cafe Gratitude (639 N Larchmont Blvd, Mid-Wilshire or 512 Rose Avenue, Venice) - This is where you go when you want to sit amongst fascinating people and eat delicious (albeit a bit wanky) vegan, raw, gluten-free food. I'm not the first to say it, but Cafe Gratitude certainly knows how to make vegetables interesting, though you can't help but chuckle at how funny the whole culture of the cafe is when reading their menu. The dishes are named things like "I am happy" "I am nourished" "I am alive"...how on earth the kitchen handles dockets like that is beyond me. I had a green juice (only for the brave) and this amazing sun-dried tomato/flax wrap with 'live' falafels and raw vegetables. Definitely worth visiting...I'm still dreaming about their vegan pancakes. 

Venice:

Gjelina (1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd) - I'm really not sure where to start with Gjelina (pron. jew-leen-ah as far as I'm concerned). This is the BEST food I ate in the US. It's simple, seasonal and wholesome food done exceptionally well. It is essential that you try the wood-fired pizza (even if it's just a slice of someone else's), the grilled asparagus with romesco, tuscan kale salad and the slow-cooked lamb if you're there for dinner. Just EAT IT ALL (and make sure you book, unless you're having an early dinner). If you don't want to wait for a table, go next door to their hole-in-the-wall pizza joint 'GTA', eat your pizza (or salad) on a milk crate and enjoy watching the crazies walk past, high as kites (them, not you, of course)...

TOMS (1344 Abbot Kinney Blvd) - Sooo, I may or may not be directing you to a cafe that just happens to shell shoes in the same space that it serves coffee and delicious, spicy chai lattes in large, hipster-ish glass jars. That being said, buying a pair of TOMS shoes (or sunglasses) means you're supporting an amazing cause through their One For One program. You buy a pair, a child in need somewhere in the world gets a pair of kicks (or a sight-saving operation on their eyes) too - simple, no? Makes me feel warm and fuzzy. Comfy couches covered in cushions (wow, that was too much alliteration), an open-air courtyard and free WiFi makes this a perfect spot to sit and wile your afternoons away...Eat a gluten-free cookie as large as your head.

3 Square Cafe + Bakery (1121 Abbot Kinney Blvd) - Full of sun in the mornings for a late breakfast (the omelette specials are always good) or early lunch. Eat the Mediterranean salad (grilled chicken skewers with hummus, crusty bread and a massive pile of witlof with tangy dressing) and admire the attractive waiters...

Honourable mentions in five words or less (i.e can't be bothered writing any more):

Forage (3823 W Sunset Blvd, Silverlake) - Colombian iced coffee; quiche; kale.

Whole Foods (You'll find one within a 5km radius of wherever you are) - DIY ORGANIC SALAD BAR. AMAZING.

Intelligentsia (3922 W Sunset Blvd, Silverlake) (Literally across the road from Forage) or (1331 Abbot Kinney Blvd) - Coffeeeeee. Good looking baristas in hats.

Magnolia Bakery (W 3rd St, Hollywood...just down the road from Joan's) - Coconut cake with meringue frosting. I have memories of it so fond I could cry.

I could go on forever, but I'm going to stop before my eyes go square and my neck-ache becomes unbearable. Probably should've picked a better place than the floor to type this out... 

P.S If you see a food truck on Abbot Kinney Blvd that has Korean/Mexican food - EAT IT. The tacos I mean, don't eat the truck...It's there most weekend evenings, as far as I know and the vegetarian tacos with some kind of sriracha sauce are stupidly good. I've heard the pulled pork goes down a treat too, if you're into that kind of thing.

xx

ELB 

LA Numero 5

Today's soundtrack: Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience

From a cool, underground cave beneath a warehouse in Santa Monica, to a mansion in the tree-lined streets of Hollywood, my studio experiences in LA are proving to be extremely diverse...and boy oh boy does it make for some seriously exciting songwriting! I feel like I'm settling into the pace of life over here - finally I'm able to wake up at a reasonable hour, not end up in a ghetto when I bravely disconnect the GPS and eat meals at standard times (actually, consuming cereal at 11pm makes that last one not entirely true). That first week of feeling like a tourist sucked.

Next week's goals:

1) Avoid eating cake from Magnolia Bakery (or any baked goods, for that matter).
2) Drink fewer iced-soy-lattes-with-cinnamon. (In the high risk category for addiction).
3) Watch less TV.
4) Walk more.
5) See a chiropractor.
6) Go to church.
7) Find where all the young, eligible Californian boys are hiding.
8) Say what I mean and mean what I say.
9) Be awesome.


Off to a night session! I think I need a coffee...or a B12 injection...or a nap. Anything will do.

P.S NOBODY PREPARED ME (or my suitcase) FOR HOT WEATHER! Hello people, it's meant to be cold in the northern hemisphere...isn't it?

xx ELB

LA Numero 4

I'm so tired, I don't think I can form a proper sentence right now, so I'm going to say a few short words about the pictures above...

SO. MUCH. DELICIOUSNESS.

(I literally feel like all I do is sleep, drive, write, eat, take pictures of what I eat and watch Sex & The City over here...and the scary thing is, I'm not completely displeased about that.) 

Thanks to a few speedy lunch recommendations via Instagram the other day, I was able to switch on the trusty ol' GPS, hop on my noble steed (a zippy white Yaris) and drive 10 minutes down the road to Joan's On Third (West Hollywood) - a bustling, white-tiled cafe/gourmet grocer with many waiters of the male species. Dee-light. Every time I walk through the double doors, I'm instantly transported to what feels like a lovechild of my favourite haunts in Sydney (i.e youeni foodstore, Bread & Circus, The Grounds of Alexandria and ham). The salads are fresh, packed with flavour and healthy, therefore I've come to the conclusion that I've found my "spot" for the next month in LA. (Though I'm told that I'll change territories once I visit Cafe Gratitude later on this week...we'll see.)

Amidst my immense excitement over Joan's, I happened to conveniently spot a Benefit Cosmetics store across the road (where I willingly let an overly rosy-cheeked woman apply many 'necessary' products to my visage), several vintage boutiques, and last but not least, the famed Magnolia Bakery...I couldn't resist a giant, lemon syrup-drenched, coconut-filled, meringue-frosted slice of cake. Sorry gluten-intolerance, I really am (no I'm not).

P.S I'm so in love with my furry Timberland's - they kept my feet so toasty on a couple of freezing days here, though now it's so bloody hot, I'm wondering why I didn't pack more t-shirts...Whassup with LA weather, you guys?

P.P.S Apparently there were a few minor earthquakes in California over the last 48 hours? I was neither shaken, nor stirred. (But I'll still take a 007 on the rocks any day...oh my goodness, did I just type that? Just kidding Nanna!)

P.P.P.S Can't. Stop. Won't. Stop. Drinking. Soy. Iced. Coffee

P.P.P.P.S I refuse to take standard tourist-y pictures of touristy shiz because a) I hate crowds and b) touristy things are usually overrated anyway...

P.P.P.P.P.S I may cave on that last one, if I become enamored by the sight of the HOLLYWOOD sign.

xx ELB

Adventures in LA: Episode Uno

Adventures in Los Angeles: Episode Uno from Emma Birdsall on Vimeo.

I promise I will get better at:

a) Not telling myself to "calm down" every 15 seconds

b) Not yelling in the car

c) Not gargling water on camera

d) Not offering such abrupt endings to my terrible videos

xx ELB

LA Day Three.

 After one croissant, two headaches, two baths, two writing sessions, three cups of black decaf coffee and four hours of watching the Kardashians, I am finally sitting back in my pajamas enjoying a home-cooked meal. It's 2345 and jetlag has been haunting me in the middle of the day and waking me in the still of the night, but I feel like after just three short days in Los Angeles, I'm starting to settle in to the groove of city life. Driving is getting a little easier, streets are looking slightly more familiar and I've got this really clichéd sense of renewed independence. I feel like such a grown up!

I finished my session at about 7pm tonight and decided to make a stop over at The Grove on the way home. Never in my entire life have I been so happy to be at a mall (and if you know me, you'll know that I DESPISE shopping. In fact, I dislike it to the point of suffering multiple psychosomatic symptoms every time I walk into a department store. I swear, I go home with a fever and aching joints at least 8 out of 10 times)...Anyway, back to why I like The Grove. The beautiful white buildings are all structured around this gigantic fountain and the cobbled, tree-lined streets are consistently filled with the sound of festive, jazzy music (i.e Michael Buble, Harry Connick Jr.), and IT'S NOT EVEN CHRISTMAS, YOU GUYS! I had to stop myself from skipping with glee between Topshop and Abercrombie & Fitch. So, um, yeah, basically, it was a good time. My only purchase was a really nice scarf from Anthropologie, and that was purely because it was freaking freezing outside.

P.S Note the previously referenced gold head in the above picture. Creepy, right?

P.P.S My favourite boots from Seed are getting a serious workout. I love the quilting and the hardware around the heel, it all feels very Chanel. I need to find an outlet and stock up on Converse whilst I'm here too...

P.P.P.S I made soft tacos for dinner in my tiny kitchen (which happens to be devoid of tea towels, dishwashing liquid, utensils and standard appliances) (Note to self: must invest in aforementioned ASAP). They were delicious. Very simple: sauté an onion, sliced mushrooms and chicken in a splash of olive oil. Add a little taco seasoning and cracked pepper. Make a salad of cucumber, shaved radish, coriander and lemon juice. Dress with a touch of salt. Serve with warm brown rice and sliced avocado on a corn tortilla.

P.P.P.P.S I'm off to write in Calabasas tomorrow with a man that's written for Michael Jackson and Luther Vandross. One word: boss. 

I'm done with the post-scripts.

xx ELB

LA Day One.

You know you're delirious when a bag of baked snacks gets you excited about life.

Well well well, here I am in the big smoke - Los Angeles: The city of broken dreams. It's 2129 (I have to use 24 hour time or else, in amongst my jet lag/migraine hangover I will get extremely confused) and Hollywood Blvd is still abuzz with activity. I know this because I'm residing directly behind it for the next month in a little studio filled with all white furniture, a random orange elephant on the desk, a large gold foot stool shaped like a head (also quite random) and a mink throw on the bed (just to spice things up a bit). Apartment number 5 - all part of a charming block of flats owned by a super friendly guy with all the classic symptoms of anal retentiveness. (He had a check list of EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING in the apartment and insisted on me signing off on each item...including the knives and forks). Bless.

Beside me I have a half-devoured pack of Goldfish crackers, which were a cheeky treat in amongst the $150 worth of groceries I just unloaded into my tiny kitchen. Uh oh, here were go, don't get me started on the supermarket...I can't believe how cheap organic produce is here...and how they're allowed so many magical super strength painkillers on the shelf...and how many types of yoghurt they have. It's amazing! I could go on for days about the wonders I found in my local Ralph's, but I'll just let you in one bit at a time.

In amongst all the vegetables I bought, I also snuck in a cheeky box of corn pops too (my childhood dreams were shattered when they stopped shipping them to Australia...). Can't wait to get into those bad boys in the morning. (Mum, if you're reading this, don't freak out - I'm not going on some kind of sugar/wheat/salt binge).

2200: I'm going to eat a cucumber, drink my body's weight in Aqua Panna, take a bath and go to bed. Best to get straight on LA time, methinks. Tomorrow I brave the drive to Santa Monica for my first song writing session...Wish me luck!

P.S Wolfgang Puck has his own brand of pasta sauce here. Of course I bought it.

P.P.S I was tripping out big time as I drove myself from LAX to the apartment this afternoon, on the wrong side of the road, in the wrong side of a car...Not gonna lie, I had a few heart attack moments whilst turning corners.

xx ELB