I haven’t tried La Toastaderia and Villa Morelianas. I had one nice sandwich at PBJ.LA (the old fashioned) and one I thought was horrible (the Italian one with pine nuts), so I haven’t decided.
G&B doesn’t have pourover coffee, which I think is the best way to appreciate fine coffee. I also don’t think G&B’s espresso is particularly good. And the almond/macadamia latte for which they achieved fame is just okay in my opinion. I strongly prefer Blue Bottle and Verve.
Don’t forget Chimney Coffee at LAX-C. They got pour overs, plenty of seating, outlets, good breakfast sandwiches, larb burger!, never crowded.
I very much like the espresso at G&B, so I believe they earn an A based on that.
But I also think that the famed macadamia nut milk is actually foul. Like I almost spit it out in public bad.
PBJ.LA was a joke. Not a fan of Fleischman…
Re: G&B
@Barolo @frommtron I agree. I thought the macadamia nut milk iced latte was very bad.
I would guess that they opt away from doing pour-overs because they take too long to make.
I also do not think their espresso stands out from their competitors.
Because of their “darling” status @ Eater LA, I guess I put them on a pedestal.
Now that I think about it, I can get behind your B ranking.
Cheers @Barolo, you have changed my mind.
Now go enjoy an octopus ceviche tostada @ La Tostaderia and a surtido taco @ Villa Morelianas! 
Heading down to GSM tomorrow for lunch w/ an old friend who hasn’t been there since the “upgrades”. Anything new and delicious to look out for? (although I’ll probably get carnitas @ Morelianna, it’s always good to have new options…)
Thanx!
Hi @LAgirl,
Definitely Villa Moreliana for their Carnitas (get the Costilla Carnitas (Pork Ribs)) and mix and match (half & half) with maybe Oreja Carnitas (Pork Ears), etc. 
We just tried Sari Sari Store. Some thoughts and pics in this thread.
Enjoy!
coincidentally, your post went up just after mine (looks like GMC is the place to be this time of year!). Those pork ribs from Sari Sari look really good! How was the line?
The line was maybe 10 people right at 12 Noon. On our other visit, we were there maybe 11:20 or so? And it was like 3 people in line.
great, thanks! We were planning on getting there around 11:30ish to avoid some of the crowds and grab a table.
Yep! People are still ‘discovering it’. But it does live to the hype. The only thing to avoid is the skewers.
–Dommy!
The entire market was a complete zoo. wall-to-wall peeps even @ 11:30. I think the holiday drew more people downtown to go places they normally don’t go (plus tons of tourists). Beer helps—we enjoyed some red ale from Golden Road and did our best to navigate/avoid some of the long lines. Ended up just getting a couple of sausages n sauerkraut from Berlin Currywurst and hanging outside in the beer garden. Nice day for people watching and a casual hang!
It was quite crowded for lunch today. Trying to navigate from one end to the other was not as fun as it usually is. Went to Sari Sari, but think that maybe I should have had carnitas instead.
Should’ve made a beeline to McConnell’s, given how warm it was today in DTLA.
yes, the crowds were a bit too much for me.
I wanted carnitas, but they had two long lines (one on each side of their stall) that extended out to the street. The line wasn’t moving too fast either. Also, there was absolutely no seating anywhere which limits the type of food I feel like eating while standing up (although carnitas would have worked 
)
Just looking at the recent topics and thought, “Wow GCM has really stepped up”.
Recent additions of Shiku, Fat N Flour, Sari Sari, Donut Man…wow those are some big names in the LA food scene
A sad month at GCM and for Chiles Secos customers! I’m down to my last spoonfuls of the black mole & the red mole and decided to get out of my comfort zone and add something new to my next haul. Nope. 
Per that article they plan to reopen in some form.
In the meantime, you can get great Mexican moles from Spanish Table.
I believe their moles came premade out of a commercially packaged bucket.
There’s a few dried chile wholesalers in the Pinata district. Was thinking of heading down to scope it out since a few coworkers have been talking about Chiles Secos closing.
Yes, but that’s actually what I liked about Chiles Secos. They imported a variety of really good moles from all over Mexico which meant you could get more types of mole than black & red mole. If you find a good place in your searches please report back @wanderlustre. Thanks!
I usually get my mole from el Mercadito.
I also really like the Hernan Mole they sell at Alta Baja Market.