Coffee in Larchmont

OK, what’s the deal with all the coffee in Larchmont Village? In a half block you have Peet’s, Starbucks, Coffee Bean, and now Groundworks coffee has opened. And within a block, you can add Go Get em Tiger and Larchmont Bungalow. Then there are all the breakfast places like Einstein’s, Le Pain Quotidien, Bricks & Scones and the new Coffee + Food another block to the north. That’s 10 coffee places within a couple of blocks. Seattle’s got nothing on Larchmont.

Unemployment is high in the area, I guess.

there might be a lot of coffee on Larchmont, but the only place worth getting a cupa is @ Go get em tiger. Although, I do like Groundworks as well (didn’t realize they opened a new place on Larchmont).

Btw—Coffee + Food has been open for several years (not new) and the food was really good when they opened but has slid downhill since (never tried their Black & whites or other coffee drinks)

Yoga moms

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Larchmont is immediately adjacent to a very steady upper-middle-class development. Tons of disposable income. Tons of stay-at-home parents looking to shop, nosh, and get zippy, etc…

My only surprise for that neighborhood is that some better restaurants haven’t opened there. The best thing is Go Get Em Tiger’s food, or Cafe Gratitude.

It seems primed for a truly great restaurant, but perhaps rents are too high for the risk or something.

rents are high, to compensate the landlords let in chains who could afford the rents and the neighborhood/neighbors are very NIMBY about everything.

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Ah…

How did Go Get Em Tiger get in there I wonder? I hear they had Baskin Robbins capital backing for that one (but not G&B downtown), perhaps that’s why the extra backing was necessary. Real shame. It seems like if the people there have taken to GGET, they would be open to expanding their horizons a bit more. But I digress.

they must be able to afford the rent. every time I walk by there is a line out the door. I work in Hancock Park and live in Ktown so I’m on Larchmont a lot since it’s in the middle of the two. The real gem on the street is Larchmont Wine & Spirits. Besides the wine, the sandwiches are great (good limited selection of “gourmet” food items as well).

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Sam’s Bagels is very good.

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agreed. my favorite bagels in LA.

I’ve never had any of their bagel sandwiches, etc—I just go for the bagels (traditional flavors only for me—no blueberry or sun dried tomato or anything like that. their onion bagel is great!)

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You should make an exception for banana nut. It’s really great.

banana nut BAGEL?! I’m not sure I can go there (I’m laughing @ myself now). I love banana nut bread, but not sure if I would like bagels with that flavor. For me, bagels are savory, not sweet.

Personal point of reference----I’m in my 50’s, Jewish and grew up in Boston. So for me, bagel flavors are limited to the following: onion, garlic, plain, rye, pumpernickel, salt, egg, raisin, cheese and everything (and an everything bagel does not come with sunflower seeds or any newfangled stuff). bialy are a favorite as well. As open minded as I am to many things, I’m not when it comes to bagels----as silly as that might sound.

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I’m with you. Banana nut muffin, yes! Banana nut bagel… gah!

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I prefer savory bagels too. Banana nut is kind of savory. Okay, maybe not, but it’s still very good.

ok, I just ran some errands on Larchmont. I think ALL of the dedicated coffee places (CB, GGET, Peets, Starbucks and Groundworks) were full and had folks sitting @ tables outside. So maybe the neighborhood can support that many coffee stores.

I also picked up 1/2dz onion bagels from Sam’s (sorry—couldn’t bring myself to try the banana nut). I will say that the quality seems to be slipping a bit. The inside is a little too soft/fluffy and the outside is lacking some of the previous chew. The diameter also seems to be getting too large (not a good thing). The flavor is still very good. Also, I should add poppy seed and sesame seed to my list above (forgot about those on my off the top of my head bagel ramble from last night).

Can’t say for sure but the preferred texture for bagels (and a lot of other bread products) in these parts is softer, fuffier and pillowy like bouncy car tires in an old Mickey Mouse toon.The less chew the better. Noah’s and most other bagel shops put donuts masquerading as bagels - just with less sugar and tougher outsides. I am guessing the yoga moms with their strollers in tow have this preference. If a population of Mr Tasters took over Larchmont, I am betting the pendulum would swing the other way, with the Mr Tasters all shaking their fists in the air until Sam’s got it right, or left…

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I really hope it doesn’t come to this. Noah’s is just the worst. I suppose they make them that way so that they can use the “bagel” to make sandwiches with. No way you can bite through a sandwich made with a real bagel (or at least I wouldn’t be able to). Makes me miss I&Joy even more……

I miss Brooklyn Bagel.

any idea of when they’re reopening?

I think the size of their bagels has gotten larger since the 80’s (I remember that they used to be close in size to old school east coast bagels). The problem with larger bagels, is that they don’t cook correctly and end up being too soft on the inside and over cooked on the outside. I just sliced my bagels from Sam’s for the freezer and several were too soft on the inside and semi-burnt/over cooked on the bottom. Maybe I’ll have to check out Bagel Broker next time—I haven’t been there in a couple of years.

Americans like mushy textures. It’s the same with pasta. But it’s not a peculiarly American thing; it exists in many parts of Asia also. I don’t have any fondness for Chinese and Japanese baked goods.