NOLA's opened a month or so ago in the former E 3rd Steakhouse location. It's owned by the same people that brought you E 3rd, Zip Fusion, and K-town BBQ. They're open for lunch, dinner and have a Jazz Brunch on Sunday.. but honestly you can come by for lunch or dinner and still enjoy some live jazz.
NOLA's Taste of New Oreans at 3rd & Traction..
They have about six beers on tap: Spaaten, Sierra Nedava, Blue Moon, and for those that want a little New Orleans: Jackamo IPA are the ones I recall seeing behind the counter a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately they don't have a menu online but they do have images of the menu on their Facebook page.
Last week after the Arts District neighborhood walk we had dinner there. I ordered the Cajun Bloody Mary and was pleasantly surprised. My favorite bloody mary is still the one I got at Commander's Palace last year, with the one from Jazz Kitchen in Anaheim (it's got that crab boil on the edge and is zesty & spicy)
The one at NOLA's is in my top five. They put the jalapeno in the Bloody Mary, not on the side. That definitely gives it a bit of kick. I will definitely order it again!
How authentic are they? As far as menu offerings there's something for everyone. As far as that spiciness I like, my Bloody Mary was the best part. Thankfully there's Tabasco for everything else. I'm guessing it's tame so those who've never had New Orleans style food can season to taste (and I suggest you do or you'll leave disappointed like another friend of mine did on another visit)
Mini Cornbread muffins with cinnamon butter spread.. were sweet and just the right size.
Red Beans and rice, a New Orleans standard had bits of turkey meat cooked in it
Sean ordered the Beans and Rice with fried chicken.
While I didn't try the chicken, Sean said he thought Popeye's was better.. =(
I ordered the Jambalaya:
Jambalaya is a rice dish with chicken and pork andouille sausage mixed in. YUM!
The dish was huge. I wasn't sure if this was supposed to be family style or not, but based on how much is served in the entree, you can easily share the dish with one or two other people.
Dinner was a little bit pricey. The total for 2 entrees and 3 drinks came to around $70. Not something we can do too often. Sean suggested when we come back that we do a split plate. We each had a cup of my own dinner and about a cup of Sean's beans and rice and still had a considerable amount of leftovers to reheat the next day for lunch. Splitting our plate would also have allowed for room for dessert which I wasn't able to order as I had no room, even after walking a couple hours that night.
I would definitely want to come back here, perhaps try the Jazz brunch. That said you can hear music of varying styles (and decibels) every day. One thing I would suggest for those trying to go on a date or have a conversation, sit toward the back of the restaurant (near the entrance). Otherwise, you will want to bring a notepad & pen with you. In their defense, I'd been here a couple weeks ago and the band playing that night was not only good, but played at a moderate level so you could converse with the person at the bar next to you.
NOLA's A Taste of New Orleans
734 E. 3rd St. (at Traction)
Los Angeles, CA 90013
News of "The Pie Hole" taking over the former Ay Carumba! restaurant location at 714 Traction has circulated as early as June or July, (maybe earlier?) So the fact they are working on their build-out isn't news, nor that they'll be opening by the end of September.
The fact they have a facebook and twitter account (where you can read in 140 characters or less about the Strawberry or the Chocolate Silk Pie).. or perhaps the fact they are working with GroundWork Coffee to provide some excellent roasts to accompany their sweet and savory pies might be news...
With only a handful of weeks before the planned opening, visible change is evident including a cutout of what is rumored to be a service window:
It's yet to be seen if this is the case or if it's another store window to bring more light into what was previously a dark kitchen and self-serve cooler area.
Word on the street is that the mural that was painted for Ay Carumba! will be painted over with new art.
The Pie Hole LA
714 Traction Ave
Facebook and twitter: @ThePieHoleLA
The sun had already set in the Arts District near Traction and Hewitt as our small group, [Scot Ezzell (Joel Bloom weekly walk torch-bearer), myself and the 2 Arts District BID officers] returned from our travels around the Arts District.
The American Hotel was bathed in semi-darkness, but you could still see there have been some recent changes. Most of the paste-up art and graphics were peeled off the back half of the building's wall and a door to the left of the hotel's entrance was thrown open.
As the light spilled out the door of the former Al's Bar, movement and voices were perceived. Work was well underway as we spot two gentleman renovating the interior.
"Is it a new Bar?"
"Is it a restaurant?"
Steven Sabel,(Managing Artistic Director of the new theatre on Hewitt) replied that no, not a restaurant or bar, but a Studio/Theatre.
The Archway Studio/Theatre.
The Archway will be the scene of various plays,musical performances, comedy shows and special events, among other activities.. They aspire to a grand opening on the 15th of October with their first production to occur on the 27th.
That first production will be a variation on MacBeth.. "Macbeth: Shakespeare's Natural Born Killers" Sounds like fun, doesn't it? A call for auditions has already gone out in several theatre/ trade magazines and will be held this weekend, September 11th and 12th.
You can view the casting notice HERE
As for us who are either too shy and don't have that acting resume, we have well over another month before we see the finishing touches on the theater. Word on the street is that the pastings have been peeled off so a mural can be installed on the wall outside The Archway.
Once open, (according to their website) the studio will offer "..a full complement of available classes in a variety of yoga practices and styles, theatrical skills and techniques, and stage performance."
The Archway Theatre
305 South Hewitt St.,
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Thursday was Tip a Cop at Urth Caffe, so we headed to the Arts District do our little bit. Tip a Cop is an event a public safety event involving LAPD and Special Olympics. Usually the police officers will be taking orders and serving up the food, with all tips going to Special Olympics.
We were wondering how this would work at Urth Caffe, which is a cafe that doesn't really involve table service so much as they bring the food out to the table after you order and pay at the counter. It turns out the cops weren't serving when we were there.. but we did get talk to the folks out front and ended up making our donation.
Lunch was really good.. For drinks Sean had the iced tea and I ordered a Spice Chai Boba.. We both ordered lunches that involved salad:
"Light Lunch Combo" which is a soup and salad combo..
Sean opted for the vegetarian chili... He said it was good but the consistency was more like 'soup' than traditional chili. He really enjoyed the fresh bread that accompanied his lunch.
My lunch was the Heirloom Tomatoes and Burrata Salad..
I had to leave 2/3 of the cheese behind so I didn't get in trouble on my diet, but I did sample the lower half of my bread accompaniment.. and I agree the bread is yummy! I wished I'd eaten the entire piece.
We got dessert and that's what really blew our lunch for us.. but can you blame us?
Urth Caffe Banana Cream Pie!
sliced.. with detail of the amazing graham cracker crust..
LOVED the banana cream pie! Definitely too much for one person.. and if you just want to try it, have 3 friends with you and you'll still get more than 2 bites worth.
We hadn't been to Urth Caffe in quite some time, so Tip a Cop gave us a good reason to trek out there (it's about a 20min walk from Main Street) and going off-peak lunch we were able to find a seat.
The only downside,(and this was the same problem the last time we came here together) is that we already had our food and were eating before my drink showed up. Our bill for lunch, dessert & the two drinks came to $45, another reason we don't go out of our way to eat here.. When you do, it's worth it. The food is excellent.. the service.. not consistent.
Urth Caffe
451 South Hewitt Street
(Hewitt and 5th)
Wurstküche
pros: great sausage selection, fries are omg! good
cons: price point on the sausages are a little much if you are on a recession budget, no diet coke, limited topping selection
overall: good for a treat now & again. the fries are the winner here.
Wurstküche is one of those places that I've seen developing in the Arts District over the past year & was looking forward to its grand opening. The owners are restaurateurs from San Francisco that wanted to bring their idea for a gourmet sausage restaurant to LA. They've worked hard on refurbishing this location in the Arts District over this last year. When their November opening arrived, I was happy to hear about it, but I wasn't spending as much time meandering around the Arts District and put off going there.
I kept hearing good things about it though, and so while trying to figure out where to try something 'new' Sunday, it was decided Wurstküche would be the place.
First thing I want to say is that I'm not a hotdog fan. These aren't hotdogs though, these are gourmet sausages. It's not Pink's (thank goodness) but it's not Jerry's Dogs either.. In some ways that's better and in some ways, it's not.
For those not familiar with Jerry's they have a limited choice of sausages (and regular hotdogs too) and a gazillion topping choices.. their gourmet coupling is the homemade potato chips. Good stuff and filling.. So they have a limited number of items and do it well. They're also in Orange County which is like.. far away if you don't have a car.
Getting back to Wurstküche, their niche is the gourmet sausage. You can exercise your curious palette with some 20 different sausages from standard Italian to the more exotic rattlesnake & rabbit, or a duck & bacon sausage.
you can see what your meat options are before you order..
The price point on your sausage varies on creativity.. While the Italian will run about $6, a mango jalapeno will run $6.75 and the more adventurous "exotics" are $7.75 and regardless what you order, you get a 2 topping option. That's it. If you're going for the more exotic, you may not want to cover up the flavor with onions and peppers though. If you want mustard, they have at least 5 kinds.
I've heard the best thing to do when you want to see how someone does it, is to go with what you know is good.. In other words, I like brats and are familiar with them, and so comparing apples to apples I think is good for a first visit. I chose grilled onions and 'spicy peppers' for my 2 toppings. They do have sauerkraut as an option but I wasn't craving it for whatever reason.
SeanYoda had the Louisiana Hot with grilled onions and sweet peppers. Along with the sausages, a large order of Belgian Fries and a couple sodas rounded out the order. The lunch total with tax (not including tip) came to about $30.
Reed's Spiced Apple Brew and the Fentimans Ginger Beer
Louisiana Hot and the Classic Bratwurst with aforementioned toppings.
You get a number and take your drink to your table & wait for them to grill your food and bring it out fresh & hot. There's a small counter in the order area, but if you go down the hall the larger dining room has abundant seating available.
We noted someone working on their laptop, and so when our food was delivered I inquired about wifi. While wifi is not available, if you happen to pick up Little Tokyo Unplugged.. well, you're lucky.
Along with ample seating in the back is a bar where they have several bottled and draft options. The non-alcohalic drinks run familiar to classic soda drinks like Moxie and Fentimans. There is no Diet Coke or diet anything. They do, however, have bottled water. I opted for the Reed's Spiced Apple Brew, and Sean got the Fentiman's Ginger Beer.
I hadn't tried the Reeds before.. it was super sweet and had a fresh super crisp apple flavor that made me think of chunky applesauce. Sean said it made him think of apple pie. I highly recommend the Reeds. The Fentiman's was your classic ginger beer. Either way good choices. You may want to drink slowly though as each bottled beverage runs from $2 for bottled water to an average of $3.50 to $5 for bottled sodas.
As for the sausages, they were both good. $6 each for a couple of classic sausages I thought was a bit much. They tasted on par with my favorite place,Top Dog (in Berkeley,CA) but while Top Dog is also grilled & served straight off the grill the price point is a little more palatable. We were also a little disappointed they don't offer much in the way of toppings, the ones they do have are ok. I found 'spicy peppers' on my bratwurst to not be spicy, but rather mundane. It was still good, just not what I was expecting. The brat was hot and fresh and had good flavor.
As for Sean's Louisiana Hot, it was a nice spice blend but not what I'd call hot, unless they meant it was served piping hot off the grill (which it was). Still good stuff, just not "OMG! best sausage ever!" For classics, though, I can't complain.
While we weren't bowled over with the sausages, we did agree that the Belgian fries are what would bring us back.
Belgian fries are made fresh, sprinkled with kosher salt, and served in a paper bag. You get a choice of one dipping sauce for a small order, or 2 dipping sauces for a large. The next problem is choosing what two of the 10 different flavors do you want.
We chose the pesto mayo and the chipotle ketchup. While I had a little trouble making my mind up which of the two I liked better, I think the pesto mayo won out.
As for the fries they are good on their own, crispy golden on the outside and soft potato goodness on the inside. Not mushy at all, (but one would hope not with these thick cut fries). I don't salt my food, so the sea salt was almost a little too salty for me, but I think that most fries aficionados will find the salt just enough.
I've heard folks come here regular, and I can see why but I don't see myself doing it. I definitely want to come back and have the mango jalepino which was my first choice before deciding to do with something simple & familiar. I like aligator and I'd like to see how they do it.. but that'll be for another day as well. The price point doesn't endear me to sneaking off to eat here on my own. The fries however, could. =)
Wurstküche
800 E 3rd Street
(@ Traction)
Los Angeles, CA 90013
213-687-4444
EDIT: the rest of my flickr set is HERE
Thursday night after Kogi, we headed to Urth Caffe for coffee & dessert.
PROS: Pastry is good & they have wifi, & convenient if you are in the Arts District.
CONS: Pricepoint was a bit much, location wasn't that convenient, dining space was a little cramped, and there are no bike racks.
VERDICT: Nice but unless I have a reason to be here, I doubt I'll be coming back soon.
Ok.. so the following is the complete review if you'd like to read the details of our visit:
This was my most recent visit since Urth Cafe's ground breaking around this time last year (and the first time since they opened for business in December 2008).
My first impression was how incredibly small the seating area actually was given the actual size of the land used.
A photo I took on ground breaking day, you can see the sheer size of the space.. at several thousand sq ft.
This Urth Caffe houses offices and bakery, and only a small portion was actually used for a retail location.
The cafe is across the street from the Barker Block and was touted as a neighborhood friendly location, and indeed there are many folks who partake in a coffee at this location (I didn't run into anyone I knew this particular night.. oh well!)
The menu board is fairly easy to read and isn't near as pretentious as some of the other cafes Downtown. Still, I'm kind of spoiled with places like GroundWork Arts District which feels more like an old shoe than this food & drink location.
Yes, food & drink.. Urth Caffe serves sandwiches & salads as well as baked goods and coffee. So that could be a plus if you're looking for food.
We were just wanting coffee & a pastry.. and the staff at the counter were pretty friendly.
They have many pastries to choose from, and they all look pretty good. The price points might be a little surprising, however.
Louisiana Pecan Pie was about 6inches diameter. We of course split ours, but easily could have split it with a third person.
Coffee:
I ordered a Medium Cafe Au Lait and SeanYoda had a single French press. As you may be able to see, the pie was $6.25, so the total came to about $14.00.
After our purchase we got a number and then went to sit down. The immediate dining space to the right of the counter is a small, candle lit room with tables close together. Close enough for intimate dining, but a little too intimate in that your fellow diners are almost on top of you.
collage of images along the wall above the bakery/cashier area.
We didn't have our laptops with us, but I looked around to see how difficult it was to use an outlet if needed for the 'free wifi' and spotted one outlet on the wall and in another location high up on the wall, just as a review on BlogDowntown stated. I can't see anyone going out of their way to use that outlet unless they really had the need. Later before we left we finally spotted the "counter seating" to the left of the entry as you walk in. As far as where the outlets might be there, we never found them.
Eventually my cafe au lait was delivered, and a few minutes later SeanYoda's French Press arrived.
Cafe au lait from Urth Caffe. The (steamed milk is charged separate at 50cents)
SeanYoda's French Press arrived at the table already plunged.
There were a choice of about a dozen coffees to choose from and while SeanYoda can't recall which he chose, he said it was good.
NOTE:
While the coffee showed up pretty quick, we had to inquire a couple times about the pie. I would have thought it would take some time if we had chosen the option to have the pie heated, which we didn't.
So when Sean's coffee showed up and we still didn't have our pie, Sean inquired and we continued to wait. While we waited, we enjoyed our coffee, warming our hands on our coffee cups, and taking in our surroundings. It seemed some time had passed, and so finally I went up to the counter and inquired regarding the pie.
Being my first time, I was starting to wonder if we were supposed take the pie to our table when we sat down rather than wait for it to come out. I was advised that yes, the pie was to come out with one of the servers. So the fact that we'd been there about 20min and still had no pie, it seemed a little awkward.
PIE:
Once it got to the table though, we cut the pie in half an immediately dug in. The pecan pie was baked to perfection, firm and meaty. We were so glad to have our pie that I forgot to take photos once it got to the table. =) I would gladly try this pie again if I had opportunity in the future, despite the rather high-end price point.
The fact is though, I don't know when I would go to Urth Caffe anytime in the future. I don't get to the Arts District that often, and when I do at $14 for a couple cups of coffee and pie, I would rather go to GroundWork on Traction. It's a much more affordable 'every day' sort of location vs. Urth.
OVERALL:
I may want to try lunch here sometime but again, the price point puts me off a little. Also, I doubt I would use Urth as a wifi hotspot unless it was a convenient time, as the dining area didn't really lend itself to relaxation or a 'hangout' sort of spot. Perhaps a few more visits might change my point of view on that. I'll keep the option open.
I think it would be a good place to take friends for lunch or have a business meeting, though I can't imagine it being a good place to discuss any sort of sensitive information, rather a "closing" or "lunch break" sort of place.
Another downer,(and it's not something that is Urth Caffe's problem alone) is that there are no bike racks. It doesn't encourage such environmental commuting other than walking if you are in the area. If you are out of foot traffic range, it's a drive (with parking) or a walk from Hewitt & Traction. Then again, if you are stopping off at Hewitt & Traction, might as well stop at Ay Carumba! for lunch or GroundWork for your coffee and sandwich. The coffee is just as good (if not better at GroundWork) and the pricepoint at either location is more affordable.
Urth Caffe (arts district)
451 South Hewitt Street
Los Angles, CA. 90012
213.797.4534
located right across the street from the Barker Block
I haven't gotten out near as much as I used to, and these past few Sundays had me traveling, battling a cold, or in many cases, just plain exhausted.
Despite having gone to some good friends' birthday bbq Saturday and up pretty late, I did manage to wake up in a timely manner Sunday morning and join the LA Bike Meander.. I have even learned to post pictures from my cel phone..
riding at the cornfields.. (that are not cornfields).
I have a bunch of photos to upload & edit.. so I'll get to that at some point. Suffice to say it was a good time.. we had a good group of 6 this time, and even a gentleman from Santa Monica came out for the ride! We rode around the Arts District quite a bit and then over to the cornfields and then back to the Toy Lofts (then I rode a little bit more).
I am so incredibly sore from our little ride! I think I'll take a day off from biking and return to it mid-week because the soreness tells me that I really need to get back to cycling again. That and more walking.. I've gained at least 5lbs sitting around waiting for things to happen & things to do.
Now if the Olympics and life in general doesn't distract me too much, I'll have more to see here in another day or so.. Happy Monday! (LOL)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my buddy Joe Cornish! (Eureka Poz) and happy birthday to me (yes I'm the freak that's 40) and happy birthday to my sister in law who, it turns out is also celebrating today! Eights are supposedly very lucky numbers (among others) in some cultures.. today is a "triple eight" day so it might be very good indeed, not just for those celebrating their birthday though!
(See? it's not all about me..)
I've heard that Weiland Brewery is having a birthday of sorts this evening..(if you believe the downtown news) so we'll see. I was hoping for green corn tamales & Batman today but a red velvet cupcake from Lot 44 and a beer later on from Weiland will work too. ;P
We'll see what happens!
For the rest of you looking for something to do tonight how about heading over to 3rd & Traction to check out "At Traction" which opened up last night in the arts district.
It's put on by Cornerstone Theatre and is a very well done play and stars some of your Arts District Neighbors and friends, as well some very talented theatre interns from all over. "At Traction" is a story about the Arts District and is full of humor and history of the area. I enjoyed it very much opening night.. Tickets are a suggested donation of $20.
Also tonight is the opening reception for Dale Youngman's "Digital Visions" at the Continental Gallery. This is her first show at the Continental I am thinking, and will be running only for the next couple weeks. The show features work by David A Knudsen and guest artists Rex Bruce & Franklin Londin. I went by there last night and it's looking to be a really cool & big opening. Lots of stuff to see!
skateboarding in the arts district on a sunny afternoon.
While we have you in the mind of voting, don't forget the local Downtown LA Neighborhood Council (DLANC) elections are coming up next week, June 12th.
While out in the Arts District today, I ran into General Jeff as he was seen breaking for lunch during a busy day of campaigning for the Central City East Residential Director position on the Neighborhood Council. General Jeff wants the CCE Skid Row neighborhoods to know that "we need one of our own to make the decisions to better our community."
The way to make things happen and your voice heard is by voting in the DLANC election.
Thursday June 12th, 2008 at the Los Angeles Theatre (that's 6th & Broadway) The polling location will be open from 2-8pm day of election.
There are many new faces and open seats on the DLANC board. While it's too late to make your own bid for office, you can still make a difference by familiarizing yourself with the candidates in your area. One way to do that is of course show up for the DLANC candidate forum tomorrow night at the Palace Theatre, June 4th at 630pm.
Also, be sure and vote next week!
