Adventures in the World of Mobile Knowledge Workers

Threads Cafe & Lounge - San Pedro & 3rd

Are you looking for a cafe? Do you need a t-shirt? Then Threads Cafe & Lounge might be for you. It is, indeed, a cafe that offers free Wi-Fi and the usual amenities to customers. It's also an instant custom t-shirt printing business.

There's a lot that's good about this place. Let's address that first. The space is lovely. The cafe is set back from the street and situated on an angle at the corner of San Pedro and 3rd in Little Tokyo. The space is filled with light. It also happens to be located on the ground floor of the Teramachi Homes luxury apartment building. The sign says that these condos are for people aged "55 or better." I love that phrase.

Bottega Louie - Update

Bottega Louie continues to be the home of a very tasty Sidecar. There are also new additions to the small plates menu since the last time I was here. The fava beans and radishes plate, and "Italian Spring Tuna" (tuna slow-cooked for hours in olive oil, served with green beans) were both refreshing.

The lemon tart was creamy, caramelized (like creme brulee) and had the surprise of a shortbread crust on the bottom. Delicious. Apparently, pastry creation is now led by a husband and wife team. New pastry additions include "tart of the day." Service remains top-notch: a wonderful mix of expertise and warmth.

Does any of this make you want to visit Bottega Louie? Then let me tell you that it's less crowded towards the beginning of the week. Brunches are not mob scenes unless there's a big convention in town.

Oh -- and did I mention that they still make a delicious Sidecar?

Groundwork - 2nd and Main

"Oh my God! A dream come true!" I exclaimed while at the counter, about to pay for my lunch. The guy behind the cash register indulged me.

What was so exciting? My eyes had just rested upon a small sign indicating that the Egg McLovin' was available. The Egg McLovin' is a symphony of a breakfast sandwich,  first discovered at the  Groundworks on Traction (RIP). Click here for that post. Anyway, it's egg, prosciutto, havarti, artichoke hearts and aioli on an English muffin. I only had it once and never thought that I would find it again. It's amazing how an experience that you've had once can live in your mind as a sort of holy grail.

"I'll have one!" I said.

"Do you also want the salad and the bagel?" he asks.

I answer in the affirmative, because after all, in for a penny in for a pound. I wasn't in the mood for the Egg McLovin', but when the thing you've dreamed of appears, how can you let it pass you by?

The Cow's End Cafe -- Washington Blvd. & Pacific Ave.

The Cow's End Cafe is a bit of a mystery at first. The coffee is just okay. It's not the sort of place that will deliver an aesthetically pleasing food experience. You have to buy something in order to use Wi-Fi. And yet there is something about the Cow's End that's kind of appealing. I visited once in the morning and another time in the afternoon. I had a different experience each time.

The first time, I sat downstairs on a bar stool right in front of a large window next to the door. The corner that I sat in smelled like other people had been there before. Not exactly like a gym, but the air was a little stale. Note to self: sitting near a doorway does not guarantee breezes nor fresh air. For some reason, I'm reminded of a college pizza place.

But the positive point was that I was in the perfect spot to watch the world go by. It was one of those afternoons when the sun is really strong and the sky is very blue and you're excited about living in Southern California. The Cow's End is less than a block from Venice Beach.

Deeply tanned French people sat at a sidewalk table. One of them was barefoot, which gave a holiday air to the scene.

Salades de Provence - La Cienega & Holloway

As promised, I went back to check this place out. This time I was armed with my laptop. The same handsome waiters were in attendance. It looked as though sunlight had painted the walls, but it was simply a clever paint job using  burnt yellow paint. You can see the brushstrokes. The tables are dark wood; there's a tablecloth near the entrance with one of those typical Provencal patterns (olives I think, on a yellow background). Lovely.

I couldn't decide what to order. Should I try a sandwich? Or a salad? Or should I just go with a quiche? The waiter walks towards me. But then he immediately says,  "Prenez votre temps Madame (Take your time Madame)," because he reads the indecision on my face. Nice.

He has brought me a glass bottle filled with water. Slices of lemons are at the bottom. The bottle has a heft that's comforting. The water tastes good. I munch on ratatouille on "toasts" as I mull over my food choices.

All kinds of people come in:  a woman with a baby, who gurgles.

A Wi-Fi Find in West Hollywood?

I discovered this place on my way back from checking out an Angels vs. Yankees playoff game in Anaheim last week. It was one of those days when my calendar was jam-packed. I had a meeting later in the day. I couldn't rely on the quixotic nature of Orange County to LA freeway traffic. So I took public transportation on the way back. It was a brilliant scheme. And as you'll see from this story, the moral is that there are unexpected benefits to being green.

I walked through the Angel Stadium parking lot for literally three minutes to get to the train station. I took the train to Union Station. I then walked one minute (still inside the train station) to get to the subway, got off after a few stops, walked across the street and took the bus from there. The whole trip took about an hour. And for those who remember the bad old days of public transportation in LA, I can report that this bus was clean and that the riders seemed to be regular working people.

I reached the nadir of the expedition, however, when I got off of the bus. I was thirsty and, as a result, felt travel weary. Although I had tried to ration my teeny bought-at-the-ballpark bottle of water, it didn't last the journey. My misplaced skepticism about the train running on time didn't help me either. I sat in full sun for 15 minutes (at least) at the train station. In retrospect, this was a completely ridiculous strategy, although it was pleasant to sit outside. My thinking was, 'What if the train comes early?' The rational answer would have been 'It will wait until its scheduled departure.' But as I could not afford to miss this train, I erred on the side of irrational thought.

'What to do?' I asked myself, tired and trudging up the hill. Then hope appeared.

Massimo's Mud Spot - La Brea & 8th

At first I thought that I had entered a 1950s set. Two walls are a dull pale blue; one is a dull pale yellow. They have an institutional feel and look like they should be in an old downtown office building. I found the color combination off-putting at first, as it gave me a queasy feeling. But I got used to it. Bright orange spherical drop lights hang from the ceiling. I'm not 100% sure because this isn't my design period, but it really does feel very 1950s. 

And just as in those detective movies from the '50s, a metal ceiling fan whirs away. There are even slatted blinds -- on the small windows above the large storefront ones. A mini-library is set up in one of the storefront windows. 

Thankfully, although the staffer working behind the counter continued the '50s theme, she was cheery. She wears a dress that looks like it could break into song on its own.

Sake House - La Brea & 8th

Here's another lunch recommendation, in case you're in the Miracle Mile area.

Sake House is my go-to comfort place. You enter and all the staff sings out  "Hello" and various things in Japanese. "Welcome" might be one of the things they say. One of the guys in the kitchen seems to be on a time delay, so he always starts his part after the other staff members have begun. As his voice is the last one that you hear, he effectively has a solo each time. At any rate, it's like entering a party, where everybody knows you. They've simply been waiting for you and now things can really get started.

Cafe Flourish - Wilshire & Cloverdale

The sign that I took to my seat, after I ordered my lunch, had a drawing of a school of fish and the sentence, "You are in the flow."  This was one of many indicators that we weren't in Kansas anymore, Toto. And you know something? This Midwestern girl liked it. 

Cafe Flourish, per its menu, is "committed to sustainable food practices, we use organic wherever possible, we don't use animal products... and our food is lovingly prepared, embedded with positive intentions." Okay, but does it taste good?

I selected the BLT&A (Be Love, Thanks & Abundance), which is the plant-based version of a bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado sandwich. I chose quinoa salad as the side. The irony is that people often think that I'm vegetarian and I'm absolutely not. I don't overdo it, and of course I eat edamame, tofu, etc. But I've had soy hot dogs and stuff like that in the past and I don't like them. The "b"  in this case was smokey tempeh bacon. So I didn't hold out much hope for this sandwich.

But it was really good. The bread was soft with a smidgen of crunch (the menu calls it "half-toasted").

Jones Coffee Roasters - Raymond Ave. in Pasadena

I seem to be destined to make my excursions on the hottest days of the year. And so it was that, on the first day of autumn, I found myself driving out to Pasadena. Sadly, although my car looks cool, it does not have air-conditioning. 

Jones Coffee Roasters is in a kind of mini-strip mall/mini-industrial park space. I turned in to park. Don't waste your time: there are only two spots reserved for Jones customers. I was annoyed by this turn of events, especially as I had a heavy bag, completely jam-packed with books and laptop. (Note to Self: get a good-looking backpack soon -- your shoulders will thank you.)

But my friend Tom had recommended the place to me, and I was all the way out in Pasadena. So I persevered. I parked on Bellevue (one of the cross streets) and would recommend that you do the same.

I felt a little better as I walked on Bellevue past a two-story industrial building where workers wearing white lab coats smoked outside. 'Interesting,' I thought to myself.  My crabbiness started to fade as I walked past the Royal Laundry building and saw the really cool blue (or was it green?) and white tiled entrance. It made me think of India. Passing by another building, I noticed that there were thousands of Little Mermaid and Cinderella figurines on the desks.