Rate-A-Restaurant #375: My Two Cents (Mid-City)

Restaurant: My Two ¢ents

Location: 5583 West Pico Blvd (Mid-City)

Type of restaurant: Southern/Soul Food



We stipulated: For the 11th annual Great Los Angeles Walk, we returned to Pico Boulevard. There were many options between La Brea and Fairfax to stop for lunch, but I wanted to try something new, and the people I was walking with -- Anthony and Joni -- were also game. My Two Cents sounded like a good alternative.



They stipulated: "From the Soil to Your Soul We are committed to using fresh LOCAL organic Ingredients."



What we ordered: Mike: Oxtail tacos ($10), sweet potato crumble ($5)


High point:  The tacos were flavorful, especially when dabbed with a bit of BBQ sauce.

Low point:  Truly slooooowwwww service.



Overall impression: Nice option on Pico -- and when Anthony's crab cake order came short one crabcake (they ran out), the restaurant comped him a bowl of black-eyed pea soup, which ended up being his favorite part of the meal. Also: There's no signage, so you may miss it from the street. Look for the mural.

Will we return: Perhaps, if we're in the neighborhood.

Rate-A-Restaurant #330: Sweet Rose Creamery (Ice Cream)

Restaurant: Sweet Rose Creamery

Location: 7565 Beverly Boulevard (3rd/Beverly/Fairfax)

Type of restaurant: Ice cream



We stipulated: After an afternoon in Beverly Hills, we were looking for a treat on the drive home. We could have gone to Scoops, but we always go to Scoops. We wanted to try something different and Sweet Rose Creamery's artisan ice cream has been long on our "to eat" list.

They stipulated: "At Sweet Rose Creamery we make small batches of homemade ice cream using only the best ingredients. We use organic milk and cream from Clover Organic Farms and eggs from Chino Valley Ranchers. Both suppliers are antibiotic and hormone free! We also make every effort to purchase our produce from farmers who use organic and sustainable agricultural practices, and support our local farmers by purchasing our produce at the Santa Monica Farmers Market (You’ll see us there every Wednesday!). Sweet Rose Creamery pasteurizes on site and makes all ice cream, sorbets, and dairy free ice creams on premises from scratch every day. We never use any stabilizers in our ice cream bases, and we never use pre-mix bases for any of our products. We also make our own hand-made cones, frozen novelties, cakes, pies, and toppings in house from scratch (except for sodas, sprinkles & coco nibs)."



What we ordered: Maria and I shared a banana split with Caffe Luxxe Coffee ice cream and Salted Caramel ice cream ($7.50); Blogger Kid 2.0 tried a kids scoop of mint chip ($3).



High point:  The flavors are fresh and powerful. I've never had a coffee ice cream as strong as the Caffe Luxxe flavor

Low point:  I wish I knew they were going to sprinkle nuts on our banana split. I've never been a fan of nuts on ice cream.



Overall impression: Maria and I decided to share the banana split since, at $7.50, that was the cheaper route than getting separate scoops. $4 for a scoop of ice cream is still a little crazy to me, especially when you get two scoops for $3 at Scoops. But the ice cream was tasty, and the flavors adventurous. Maria recently tried Salt & Straw, which she complained was waaay too overpriced. Sweet Rose is a nice middle ground.



Will we return: I'm not sure we would go out of our way, but if we were in Mid City looking for a treat, we'd stop by again.

Rate-A-Restaurant #320: La Brea Bakery

Restaurant: La Brea Bakery

Location: 468 South La Brea Avenue (Mid-City)

Type of restaurant: Bakery/Coffee Shop/American

We stipulated: After picking up Maria from the airport on a Sunday morning, we wanted to celebrate her return with brunch. Driving up La Cienega and then La Brea, we realized we hadn't tried La Brea Bakery in its new location (once the home of Rita Flora).



They stipulated: "When the original La Brea Bakery in Los Angeles opened its doors in 1989, no one knew that the small bakery would spark an artisan bread renaissance and eventually lead to La Brea Bakery breads being sold at the finest grocery stores and restaurants across the country."



What we ordered: WOOD OVEN TURKEY SAUSAGE FRITTATA 12.75 (grilled scallions, shredded potato, white cheddar); EGGS ANY STYLE 11.95 (three eggs served with breakfast potatoes, toast, & applewood smoked bacon); BREAKFAST BREADS 5.50 (a daily selection of fresh breads, toasted & served with jam, honey, butter & cinnamon-sugar); KIDS' PIZZA



High point:  They smartly told us to order the smaller basket of breakfast breads -- combined with the bread that came with our plates, it was more than enough.

Low point: Poor service. Our orders were wrong, so our food came late. We were promised things (like coffee refills) that never came.



Overall impression: We should have kept to the Baked Golden Rule: At a bakery, stick with the baked goods. The breakfast was just OK. For one thing, my frittata was too greasy (I had to remove the cheese).

Will we return: I might stop by to pick up a baked item to go one day. But I don't think we'll be back to the restaurant.

GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK 2009: Eight Hours and 17.4 Miles Later, We Did It!

OK, so it was a tad longer than expected. I had promised 13.5 miles, but walker Will Campbell's mileage counter said 17.4 miles. That sounds a lot more impressive, so let's go with it!

For the fourth annual Great Los Angeles Walk, we decided to make it more about just walking down a major Los Angeles boulevard. With so many amazing homes, buildings, mansions and churches in the West Adams district, it made sense to do Adams.

But I also wanted to start the walk at some place grand -- and the Shrine Auditorium fit the bill. (Plus, we were able to walk by the always cool Felix Chevrolet.) But with Adams' interesting sights petering out by Mid-City, the solution was obvious: Let's finish the walk on Washington -- and for the first time, wind up in Los Angeles City Limits (Venice Beach) rather than Santa Monica.

So approximately 250 of us gathered early in the day (some had been up super early, parking in Venice and then taking the bus out east) for the event. We started at the Shrine at about 9:30 in the morning (accounting for stragglers, and folks spinning the Yelp wheel), and after I smartly eliminated a plan to walk down to the Coliseum, we headed north on Figueroa.

It was at the St. Vincent de Paul church that West Adams Heritage Association member Laura Meyers told us about the history of West Adams -- including the endangered Woolen Mills Zanja, the last evidence of the concrete irrigation system that brought water to folks down there more than a century ago.

We then headed West on Adams, through Mount St. Mary's campus (where the amazing Doheny Mansion stands), through St. James Park (Stearns/Dockweiler mansion) and back down to Adams (Second Church of Christ Scientist, now closed). Another detour took us down Hoover, to see beautiful Victorians like the Cockins House, the Salisbury House and the Forthmann House. Back to Adams again by way of 27th and Magnolia, we saw the Roger Williams Baptist Church, the Menlo Ave. National Register Historic District, the First AME-Zion church and the Van Buren Place Historic District.

It was then up Normandie to hit the Angelus Rosedale Cemetery at Washington, and later the Ray Charles RPM International recording studios. Back down Gramercy, we saw the Marvin Gaye house (right smack next to the 10!). We walked through the Kinney Heights and Gramercy Park neighborhoods and got back to Adams, where we saw the Britt Mansion (now home to LA84) and the Fitzgerald mansion.

It was then another detour, on Arlington to see the Six Feet Under house and the South Seas house. Back down 4th, we saw the Gray Residence (used on "Numb3rs") and then on Adams gaped at the Guasti Villa/Busby Berkeley estate and the MacGowan mansion. We walked to the McCarty Memorial Christian Church, then turned around and headed up 10th to Washington -- and through Mid-City (spotting Magic Johnson at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center!) to our midway point, the Atomic Cafe.

Whew! The second half of the walk wasn't nearly as eventful, but we took Washington through Culver City, past Marina del Rey and finally to the Venice Beach pier.

And then we celebrated at Venice's Baja Cantina.

It was cool to hear from a number of USC grads who noted that they lived around there for four years -- yet had never ventured out into the neighborhood. (It's definitely a much safer and gentrified area than it once was -- but I know several of you were warned by cops to be careful!)

I've uploaded a ton of photos at our Flickr group site: www.flickr.com/groups/glaw09/. If you were on the walk, feel free to add your pics to the group as well!

And please send me the web addresses to your blog posts and photo collections, we'll post all the links here, for easy access.

THANKS to the West Adams Heritage Association (especially Laura!) and the Mid-City Neighborhood Council (especially Bruce Durbin) for making this walk extra special.

Now, some shots from my camera:


Will and Joni, ready to go!


And they're off!


Thomas Stinson mansion


The crowd gathers in the St. Vincent de Paul parking lot for a talk from WAHA's Laura Mink


Marching down Adams


Doheny Mansion


Cockins House


Forthmann House


First AME-Zion Church


I'm not sure what's going on here, or whether it makes me want to cash more checks.


The imprisoned trees of Washington Blvd.


Ray Charles' RPM recording studio


Marvin Gaye house


"Six Feet Under" house


House used in "Numb3rs"


South Seas house


McCarty Memorial church


You hear that, 10 Freeway? No stopping at any time!


Crossing over the 10


We're on camera!


The Great LA Walk's big celeb sighting: Magic Johnson, at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center.


Cool "GEM" sign on Washington


Walkers take a break at the Atomic Cafe


The Mid-City Neighborhood Council provides a rest stop at the Atomic Cafe for walkers


Pooped!


The youngest walker -- 4 mos. old! (Blogger Baby 2.0 was in the car, so he doesn't count.)


Apparently you can put a price on romantic notions -- and they're half-off!


Wedding at the Culver City City Hall.


Winner for sketchiest business on this year's route. A few walkers poked their head in and asked what he sells -- and he couldn't tell them!


Now that's a wash that went horribly wrong.


One of several groups to make it to the very end.


We'll see you again next year, on Saturday, Nov. 20, 2010 for the fifth annual Great Los Angeles Walk!

OTHER ACCOUNTS OF THIS YEAR'S WALK:

e*starLA

Green LA Girl

Frenchy But Chic

And check out the Great Los Angeles Walk 2009 Flickr photo pool for pics from the event!