A Day of Dining Near Museum Row in Los Angeles
Whether your destination is the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Petersen Automotive Museum, Craft and Folk Art Museum, or any of the other cultural institutions along Wilshire Boulevard’s famed Museum Row, there are plenty of dining options in the neighborhood. From buttermilk hotcakes for breakfast to a late night bowl of matzoh ball soup, here are the best restaurants you can enjoy throughout your day exploring Museum Row.
The breakfast menu at this classic coffee shop is offered 24-7, and includes thick-cut brioche French toast dusted with powdered sugar, and chicken fried steak for savory palates. The buttermilk hotcakes are legendary - Frisbee-sized and nearly one inch thick. The short stack has three hotcakes, and when the waiter asks if you want butter on top, the answer is, “Yes, please.” Served with a ramekin of warm maple syrup, the hotcakes are fluffy and just right on the sweet-o-meter. Du-par’s also bakes up excellent pies, including holiday favorites like pumpkin and Southern pecan.
The soft scrambled eggs dotted with ham are delicious, especially with the accompanying warm cheddar biscuit sandwiching a thin disk of soft butter. And the BLT is the standard by which you judge all others. But the best thing on the brunch menu - the best egg dish in town, in fact - might be thefried eggs, slicked with harissa and topped with toothsome garbanzo beans, salty kalamata olives and fried parsley. A dollop of cool creamy yogurt is served alongside - who knew eggs and yogurt were such a happy pair? - along with a thick slice of grilled olive bread. The weekend-only brunch attracts a steady crowd, but reservations are accepted. The restaurant even welcomes well-behaved dogs on the sidewalk patio.
Lunch: Andre's Italian Restaurant
Heaping portions of pasta and 25-cent garlic bread have earned this 50-year-old Los Angeles institution a devoted and eclectic clientele. Located in the shopping center that also houses Whole Foods and K-Mart, Andrés Italian Restaurant is ultra-casual - customers queue up with trays and order cafeteria-style. Best bets include the ravioli with marinara sauce: big, square, cheese-filled ravioli that bear little resemblance to the delicate pasta served at more fashionable spots. Pair this with a simple chilled salad in a tasty, mayonnaise-based dressing, with a hint of garlic (bottles are available next to the register for purchase), and a piece of that aforementioned garlic bread. For anyone who grew up with this sort of Italian American food, a meal at Andrés is practically primal, and wholly satisfying. Cash only.
Standing in line with tourists is standard at this cafeteria-style Brazilian churrascaria in the Original Farmers Market. But the payoff is beautiful, flavorful, juicy beef and chicken, sliced before your eyes. The buffet also includes various salads and hot dishes like julienned collard greens strewn with fried garlic, and tender, ping pong ball-sized cheese bread. But the meat is the big lure. Don’t miss the tender, juicy, super-beefy picanha with its salty, caramelized crust. The spicy chicken thighs are also irresistible. Grab a can of ice cold Guarana, sort of a cross between 7-Up and Crème Soda, to counter that heat. You can gorge yourself for a fraction of what it costs at those shiny, banquet-type churrascarias.
Big chunks of succulent carnitas (slow-cooked pork) nestled in warm, chewy house-made corn tortillas, topped with a dollop of chunky guacamole, are among the highlights of the happy hour at Mercado, the little sibling of the Santa Monica original. The extensive happy hour menu is offered at the bar and at the oversized high top tables, which are sometimes shared by strangers. Add in the brilliant hued, tart-sweet hibiscus Margaritas (also featured on the happy hour menu) and a lively soundtrack, and you can’t help but get into a party mood. Even if you don’t like flan, Mercado’s version is a must. The staff calls it “the best flan in the universe” - the sort of claim that begs for a rebuttal - but it’s absurdly good: creamy with a capital “C,” firm and not cloyingly sweet.
