JINYA Ramen is open and up and running at 700 Wilshire Boulevard (between Hope and Flower Streets), right next to 85C Bakery.
CLEO at the LA Live is on death-watch, as they’ve started looking for sub-tenants. Tough location, tougher crowd. Especially when both the Lakers and Clippers suck.
If you’ve got no plans for brunch tomorrow, abeautifullifecafe is teaming up with Comfort LA for a Sunday Jamaican bang-bang.
La Tropezienne Bakery is opening up shop in DTLA on Main and 8th (across the street from Terroni).
Just what my one-size too large belt needs … easier access to pistachio eclairs.
Hatch Yaiktori at the Bloc is scheduled to open today I believe, walked by it over the weekend.
The Cleo situation at LA Live always made me wonder. The Hollywood location always did well, but it was situated inside a hip hotel. My sense of LA Live is that local DTLA folks don’t really go there too often to eat and for whatever reason Cleo does not appeal to those visiting LA Live / there are too many other options.
The crust is very crispy, I enjoyed it. The list of toppings is pretty tight (especially compared to 800 degrees a few blocks away), but better crust for my preferences.
I like the way that melty, oily, cheese and the baked in (not thrown on) toppings look. Where’s the under-skirt shot for those nutty char freaks?
Too bad about Cleo L.A. Live.
We had a really good meal during dine/LA 2017. Forgive me, I can’t remember full details of the meal. But I and my 2 dinner companions enjoyed it. A chain? Yes. Enjoyable meal? Yes. Fried things were crispy, dips and cheeses were creamy, tangy, herby, garlicky; flat breads were good; meats (lamb & beef/flesh, necks & ribs) were properly cooked.
Lablabi - Soup w/Chickpeas, Harissa, Tomatoes, Cumin
Spicy Cigars - Brik Pastry, Spiced Beef, Lebaneh (sic?) Feta
The delicious, well cooked, can’t quite remembers…
Passion Fruit (I think) Panna Cotta
The lighting isn’t conducive to photo taking. Which is a shame, because the plating of the food and the space is lovely.
I’m not really surprised Cleo is not making it at L.A. Live. I sometimes wonder how anything does. I think the establishments are like bears. They load up during sport seasons and concert events, then live off reserves the rest of the year. I don’t think a place like Cleo is on the radar of that particular demographic. It’s probably a nice stand alone date night or fun dinner with friends type place. It doesn’t help when you go on the website and SBE is promoting everything in terms of fun nightlife. Food in the restaurants get a passing mention.
Oh well…
Is it supposed to be any good. I emerged from the Expo stop dazed and confused (and then saddened by the total non-event that the March for Science turned out to be) and didn’t know anything about the eateries at The Bloc. So @SpockSpork and I ended up at Bottega Louie (which was actually just fine, for our purposes).
I’ve always had good meals at Cleo too, but never once been to the one at LA Live even though I can walk to it. It might have done better if opened in the heart of downtown for some reason.
I’m not sure, but I keep an eye out for weeknight type places that aren’t too expensive, so this was on my radar. Will report back…
Anyone else had Comfort LA? Just as good as the soul places in Crenshaw/Inglewood/South Central?
No, but good rec.
Gizmo Cereal Bar is now open.
Rejoice. You can now all get strawberry milk with your Cocoa Puffs without the nasty eye from your beloved mother.
Gizmo Cereal Bar
215 West 6th Street
Downtown LA
The concept has been tried (and died) before. Who remember JuJu Cereal Bar in Westwood circa 2007?
Saw another cereal concept in Ktown. I think near Wilshire/Western
cleo was still open when i walked by on sunday. the entire la live area was dead since there were no events to be found but made for a nice quiet meal.
cleo has always been dependable for me especially in the area. it’ll be a shame when it closes but the med cuisine is plentiful in the area with 10e and the exchange. 10e should be on a death watch too. it’s never full.
Cleo donzo
Following up on my last report re Urban Oven, I have gone fairly regularly for a quite bite over the last 2-3 months. They only seem to be improving. This Tuscan Kale pizza would not have been my first choice, but it was on special. Kale, mozzarella, sausage, red chilli flake, and lemon juice gave it a surprisingly bright flavor that was super tasty. Not destination worthy, but nice for those in the area. 10" pies are around $11.
Separately, I was not a fan of Hatch Yakitori, unfortunately, for the money spent. Some things were pretty decent, but the charcoal (i.e. all black) chicken kara-age was flavorless.
While I like Chik-Fil-A, the one in DTLA must be manned by some of the most incompetent nincompoops.
Plus, just as a general PSA, people need to stop stealing, ahem, forgetting to put back the little potted plants on the tables when they leave.
Hi DTLA Diners!
I’m looking for something Italian for a casual, but nice family birthday dinner. The Urban Oven looks yummy, but maybe a little too fast-casual and Bestia a little too upscale ($$) for this particular occasion. The bday boy has been to Maccheroni Republic a few times (hit or miss pasta, but good group spot), so looking for something new. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
