My clients just closed on this cool Highland Park home

Clients Alison and Jason just bought this very cool 3+2 Highland Park bungalow.  Although the house is almost a hundred years old, it has been expanded and extensively rehabbed.  Even though I tried to interest them in other areas, the buyers had their hearts set on a Highland Park home.  They had made really good offers on three other houses prior to this one, and were quite philosophical about their previous disappointments.  Needless to say, we were delighted and went out for bubbly the night we learned that the seller had accepted our offer. (By "we," I mean me and Ali.  Jason is working out of town and has only seen the house once, for ten minutes, after it was already in escrow.  Risky? Yes, but in this hot market, none of us wanted to wait.)

My favorite thing about the house is its stellar location.  You can see and walk to the Occidental College campus from the street.  It's also very easy walk to The York, which is a very cool pub.  I hope Ali and Jason have many wonderful years here.

Another discovery in my new Studio City neighborhood - Stout Burgers and Beers

One of the things I love about my new Studio City neighborhood is its many dining choices.

My latest "find" is the Studio City location of Stout Burgers and Beers.  By now, you're probably thinking, "Please God not another gastropub" But this one is different.  First, the burger I had was terrific.  This place grinds their own beef every day and the superior quality is evident.  The burgers are better than Umami.  Really.  And not too pricey -- most of the burgers are $10 or $11.  Of course, there are more beer choices than you can shake a stick at and -- be still my heart -- they're only $4 during happy hour!!! The wine choices are very good for a gastropub and I had a very good Spanish red for only $8.  The husband had a veggie burger which was okay but a little crumbly.  Service was great, the room has a nice ambience, great place to watch a game, etc, etc. If all this isn't enough, they even have a parking lot. I'm not being snarky; parking lots for restaurants are rare in Studio City.  The lot is small, though, so get there early before the valet shows up.

Stay tuned for other local finds and please feel free to tell me about your favorite places in the east Valley.  Anybody know of a good drive-through car wash in SC?

We test-drive a new North Hollywood gastropub

As an occasional public service of this blog, we go out and research neighborhood hot spots so you won’t have to. Last night we visited the new-ish Federal Bar on Lankershim in North Hollywood, and we can confidently report that it is safe for you to visit, too.  This sort-of gastropub is a really welcome addition to the NoHo arts area and is just across from the train station.

Federal Bar has been elegantly carved out of an old brick bank building by the same folks who brought you the Knitting Factory.  It has a quasi-Prohibition theme and it’s slightly more upscale than your average gastropub hang.  There are two main rooms, each with its own long bar, plus an upstairs party room with its own bar and a stage.  The place was pleasantly busy when we got there at 5:00 – hey, we’re old – but the restaurant and bars were packed when we left at 6:30.  And if you’re single, or like beer, by all means just go for the lively bar scene.

The wait staff is stellar.  Our lovely server, Ashley (pictured above; she should be America’s Next Top Model) could not have been more enthusiastic or knowledgeable about the menu and the drinks.  She truly seemed to be on a mission to make sure we enjoyed ourselves.  And gracious manager Carl gave us a complete tour of both upstairs and downstairs.

The plan was for the three of us to have a drink and an appetizer.  One finely-made cocktail turned into, uh, more, with beer chasers all around – there are over 20 beers on tap.  And the appetizers turned into meals.  The menu features several reasonably priced small plates, burgers and entrees. Since we ordered a lot, our final bill wasn’t particularly small. The food was good and I especially liked my friend’s fish and chips.  My husband enjoyed his burger, too. 

The North Hollywood renaissance continues…

Am I cool because I know what a gastropub is?

This is about my second-favorite obsession: food. The husband and I recently discovered two newish restaurants in the area, Laurel Tavern and Henry's Hat. Both are really bars that also serve terrific small meals ("gastopubs"), and both are casual and (relatively) inexpensive. Both are cavernous rooms with long full bars, and phenomenal hamburgers. And both are on the same stretch of road, although they're about two miles apart.

Henry's Hat, pictured above, is at 3413 Cahuenga Blvd., right across from the southern Universal City entrance. It's owned by Luna Park, and is a little more sports-bar-ish of the two. Laurel Tavern is on Ventura, east of Laurel Canyon, in Studio City. The decor is remarkably similar at both places. Laurel Tavern is the more "foodie" of the two (it has marrow bones on the menu and fewer tvs). Again, the burgers are terrific and the atmosphere is friendly and casual at both places. Welcome to the area, gastropubs!