Sadly, The Spice Table isn't open for lunch anymore

Pizzeria Mozza
Cooks County
Ricky's Fish Tacos

Osteria La Buca has a really nice private room and can arrange family-style dinners in your price range. I think their food rivals any Italian restaurant in our city.

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La Buca
5210 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038

LA Mill sounds like your best bet. They have a nice menu designed by Michael Cimarusti and it's a pretty comfortable place to talk. I can't think of many places in Silver Lake that have table service at lunchtime.

Menu here: http://lamillcoffee.com/media/pdf/201...

For a more casual, order-at-the-counter experience, Food Lab has some really good and creative sandwiches and salads. Tables are pretty close together, though.

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LA MILL Coffee
1636 Silver Lake Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Cookbook in Echo Park carries salumi and sausages from Boccalone, which are pretty damn good. They're made in SF, but Cookbook brings them down often and they're always fresh. I'm sure they could order whatever you want as well.

Boccalone website: http://www.boccalone.com/

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Cookbook
1549 Echo Park Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90026

The Cafe at the Colburn School is quite decent for eggs and breakfast burritos and is run by the Patina group. It's quiet and spacious and open for breakfast Tues, Fri and Sat at 7. They have Peet's coffee.

I like to go there and pretend I'm on the set for Fame. I'm always secretly urging the kids to break into a raucous number around the tables.

It's a bit tricky to learn much info about it online, but here's a link to their lunch menu that also includes contact info: http://www.colburnschool.edu/uploaded...

Hello Paris brain trust.

I never posted on this board, though I pored over it extensively prior to our first visit to Paris two weeks ago. Many of your posts were very informative and helped us winnow down our choices for the trip. I feel that I owe you all a recap of highlights – some of the details are fuzzy. I blame the wine.

Saturday Dinner
Spring – An absolutely fantastic meal. We started our meal downstairs and then were switched to a table near the kitchen for our last main (pigeon) and dessert. Chef Daniel Rose was fun and gracious. Highlights: the first course included a small cup/large thimble of the best, springiest chicken broth I’ve ever tasted. I’d never have thought that broth itself could be complex and pure at the same time. We also had some lovely radishes, bread and delicious, salty butter and an amuse that included a slice of fois. The next course was scallops and a umami-filled vinaigrette. These were my favorite part of the meal and truly fantastic. We also had john dory in a cockle foam, the aforementioned pigeon, and 4 desserts (poached pear rolled in almonds with chocolate, cocoa-dusted marshmallows, chocolate mousse with intense coffee granite, and another something lovely that I was too drunk to file away at the time). Wines were superb and well-paired. We had a glass of an unusual chardonnay from Champagne with the first courses that was especially notable.

Sunday Lunch
Lunch at Au Père Louis. This wine bar has excellent country-style food and we were the only non-locals there. Beautiful cassoulet and brandade. Nice wines by the glass and reasonably-priced. Perfect stop after a trip to Musée d'Orsay.

Sunday Dinner
Le Relais de l'Entrecôte. We were looking for an easy/simple dinner and had heard this place was good. We felt a little like tourists coming here, but the steak frites was tasty and fun. We actually had a reservation at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon and canceled it because it felt like too much hoopla and money after the previous lunch and dinner. Mistake? Maybe, but I don’t regret it on this trip.

Monday Lunch
Le Verre Volé – It’s kind of ridiculous how far we trekked for meals on Monday, especially after going to the Louvre in the morning. Le Verre Volé was another great local wine bar with extremely fresh food. We had mussels with sausage and the duck confit. We also started with a very refreshing and spicy ceviche. Wine selections were interesting and solid.

Monday snack
Du Pain et des Idées - We were nearby and hadn’t tried any bakery items yet. We lucked out and got a baguette straight out of the oven. Steam poured out of it when we cracked it open on the street. We couldn’t resist trying a bite even though we were stuffed from lunch. It was the baguette that all others will aspire to in the future. We also bought a pain au chocolat and a fresh apple pastry that made for a perfect breakfast the next morning.

Monday dinner
Jadis – The restaurant is in kind of a strange room in an unlikely neighborhood. We both opted for the 34 euro 3-course meal which is surely one of the best deals in Paris. All of the food was exquisite and unexpected. I was especially impressed with my veal medallions which came alongside something that I believe was described as saffron macaroni with popcorn. All of the food was extremely creative. The cheese was also ton notch.

Thanks for all of your posts and recommendations! You helped us craft a visit that felt perfect.

Meg with Large Marge Sustainables does a great job with veg and budget. They recently catered the Jamie Oliver show when they were shooting in town: http://www.largemargesustainables.com/

Bill's Liquor on Glendale Blvd. in Atwater has a surprisingly good selection of microbrews at reasonable prices. It's not fancy inside.

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Bill's Liquor
3150 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039

I nominate Club Tee Gee in Atwater. It's a wonderful dive bar complete with colorful locals and a decent jukebox, but the drinks are quite terrible.

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Club Tee Gee
3210 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039

Maybe slightly east of where you are looking, but my I've taken a few vegetarian friends to Hatfield's for their veg prix fixe menu and all were floored. Quinn Hatfield consistently turns out seasonal menu where there is no need for meat/fish. It's also a steal at $49 for four courses.

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Hatfield's
6703 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Super King Market on San Fernando has many types of bulgur. It is my go-to bulgur emporium!

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Super King Market
2716 N San Fernando Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90065

yes!

his?

I've bought mesquite flour at Nature Mart in Los Feliz.

An excellent question.On my very long list of food trucks not worth your time: Patty Wagon, Flying Pig, Bool, Bull Kogi, The Schnitzel Truck, India Jones, Mattie's...most trucks are all concept and no flair.

You should try Kogi if you haven't already - their food can be lazy in it's same-ness, but the flavor is great and a singular LA experience. I also like the Dosa truck quite a bit, though it doesn't seem to make it downtown much anymore.

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Kogi
Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles, CA

Artemis -

There is a Friday downtown farmer's market at the Bank of America plaza at Hope & 3rd - it's quite close to the Westin and has a pretty good selection of produce and prepared food.

I second the Mendocino Farms recommendation. You also might want to check out Starry Kitchen for fast & decent Bahn Mi & such.

Grand Ave between 3rd & 4th streets also gets a fairly wide selection of food trucks at lunchtime.

Good luck!

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Mendocino Farms
300 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA

Mendocino Farms
300 S Grand Ave Ste Lp40, Los Angeles, CA 90071

Mendocino Farms
444 S Flower St, Los Angeles, CA 90071

Starry Kitchen
350 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90071

The Donut Muffin at Village Bakery in Atwater is worth your time.

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The Village Bakery & Cafe
3119 Los Feliz Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039

Ammo on Highland just north of Santa Monica Blvd. has great brown rice with veggies. It's my go-to righteous lunch.

http://www.ammocafe.com/

canele has a really excellent steak for $25: bistro steak with sauce bordelaise, pommes anna and creamed spinach. It's my go-to when I need some cow.

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Canele
3219 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039

I second Barbrix. Extremely creative and delicious small plates and an ever-changing menu. We go there often and never tire of it. Very reasonable, especially by westside standards.

Palate in Glendale is worth checking out as well, though I don't really like the room.

Village Bakery in Atwater has the best Panforte I've ever tried. They make it fresh there and it is moist, intense and full of spice...perfect with some non-wimpy cheese.

I believe they usually carry the Panforte from Village at Silverlake Cheese if that is easier for you.

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The Village Bakery & Cafe
3119 Los Feliz Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039

Village Bakery in Atwater has them, and supplies them to many Italian markets around LA (including Bay Cities, I think).

http://www.thevillagebakeryandcafe.com/

Highly recommend canele in Atwater and Barbrix in Silverlake. Both have excellent food and are extremely single-friendly. No TV's in either, though.

You might also want to check out 410 Boyd downtown. I haven't been there in a while, but they have sports on TV's above the bar and very good burgers & sandwiches.

Please excuse my over the top fawning above. I was excited and was being pulled into unconsciousness by a mighty dose of NyQuil. That said, I've been back to Village a few times and my enthusiasm has not wanted.

Proper listing is now in the system:

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The Village Bakery & Cafe
3119 Los Feliz Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039

CASA has pretty great food and giant booths you can reserve. You should take a look.

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Casa
350 South Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90071

Barbara took over LA Bread in Atwater about a month ago and renamed it Village Bakery. The space is definitely cuter, but the big thing is that the food is now fantastic. If you've ever been to LA Bread in its previous incarnation, you would know that the room was uninspiring and the food didn't bring you back either. Lucky for us the sadness is over. Barbara started Auntie Em's with a friend and was making that place famous for homestyle baked treats from the get go.

The baked treats at Village are a wee bit more refined than what Barbara did at Auntie Em's. A lemon, olive oil cake with almonds and rosemary flirted with me so hard I just had to take her home. The baquette was crunchy and chewy and soft in all of the right places, Possibly the best baguette I've had in LA. They also make things like handmade cinnamon marshmallows that just sit on the counter and taunt you into squeezing them. Next thing you know, you are eating the cinnamon mallows and Barbara is threatening to brulee one on top of your coffee. That would probably suck.

We had an egg dish that came with these cheesy leek & potato cakes. This leek cake is something you will think about later. You will wonder how long you have to wait until you can have more leek, potato coke. You might pretend to just mosey on in for a maple/bacon (!) scone and then accidentally order a couple of eggs. Who would assume that they always come with that leek thing that you keep drawing all over your notebook? Get yourself together.

We also had some huge and fluffy pancakes that had lots of berries with them and RMS. The coffee is great, the people are lovely and talented,,,what's not to love.

Get your ass over there and support some neighbors who are doing it right. You won't be sorry.

The address below is for the former (and somewhat unloved) LA Bread. Do not hold it against Village.

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LA Bread
3119 Los Feliz Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

I think you meant to post this Umami Burger on Hollywood. We went for the first time last week and I was bracing to hate it. I have only love for this place,

YES! Delicious and reasonably-sized burgers. You can eat a whole one and function afterwards.
YES! They have tasty sides and specials. I had some really refined and kobe pot roast,
YES! The wait staff was pretty attentive and got organized at the end,

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Umami Burger
4655 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

I know this is a little sideways from what you are asking for, but the duck confit hash with duck egg at canele is super tasty. The unctuousness of the confit is amplified when made crispy with the potatoes and such. My go-to decadent brunch for sure.

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Canele
3219 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039

Good Girl Dinette for tasty, if not altogether authentic, Vietnamese treats!

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Good Girl Dinette
110 North Avenue 56, Los Angeles, CA 90042