Fruit Farm – a Juice and Sandwiches Place in Little Tokyo

Another new place opens up in Little Tokyo, this time in the fortress of solitude — the Little Tokyo Galleria Center. The owners are doing their best to turn this ghost town mall around by bringing in a bowling alley, a Koreatown coffee shop, a high end dim sum place, etc. The newest opening is on the sadly half-vacant first floor, next to the froyo place, Boba on Top, and the Beard Papa.

Fruit Farm is a juice and sandwiches place — the kind of healthy, fresh place that is abundant in the Financial District, but not in Little Tokyo. So is it any good?

Phorage – I Can’t Believe Phorage Is Making Me Feel Not Terrible About Chego Leaving

Phorage rises up from the ashes of Chego Westside. A tough act to follow, especially considering the space has so many disadvantages — cramped seating, little parking, neighbors who you would never give a second glance to. It also features a landlord who forced Chego out. So I’m not sure why you’d want to take a gamble on this space. But Perry Cheung, formerly of the Slanted Door in San Francisco, is giving it a go with classic Vietnamese cuisine using ingredients described with the usual litany: local, sustainable, seasonal.

The result: maybe the best Vietnamese food I’ve had (outside of the Slanted Door).

The Spice Table – Dine LA While You Can!

The Spice Table, one of my favorite restaurants, is doing DineLA! And unlike a lot of places in recent years, they are offering a heck of a deal on a great meal.

The Spice Table – a Eulogy for a Great Lunch

It’s now been a couple months since the Spice Table stopped it’s lunch service. Finally, my tears have dried enough for me put thumb to phone to write out this eulogy to a fallen hero – Spice Table’s bahn mi lunch.

Starry Kitchen – R.I.P. (at least at the California Plaza)

Downtown lunchers have had a rough twelve months, with the closure of Chimu (the best takeout window in the history of the world) and the plumbing-related death of the Spice Table’s lunch service. Starry Kitchen also ended it’s three year run in the California Plaza. Although they’ve since shuttered and moved to the Tiara Cafe as a long-term pop up, here’s a couple photos from the last few days of the old (but not oldest) Starry Kitchen.

The Spice Table Is Losing Its Lunch

Yesterday, this bomb dropped: the Spice Table will not be serving lunch.

“As of now, and until it closes, the Spice Table will be open only for dinner due to recent flooding that resulted from plumbing problems, Brucker said.”

I take full responsibility for not eating every meal there, as I should
have done. You’ll feel deep regret like I do once you read the caption on
this picture:

https://twitter.com/i/#!/TheSpiceTable/media/slideshow?url=pic.twitter.com%2F0aA72Ehj

I’ll post a proper eulogy soon.