Brunch is one of my favorite meals. Alas, it’s a meal I haven’t partaken in for a while because of my schedule. But in June, I had a friend visit me from Minnesota – I had to be sure to take him to the best sites of Los Angeles to show him it’s not a soulless concrete jungle but in actuality a vibrant sprawling city with friendly people and lots of culture… that serves up a quality brunch. I had to show him all this in less than 24 hours!
Friday night was all about downtown LA – drinks at the Edison, sushi in Little Tokyo’s Hama, Giant Robot’s screening of Yo Gabba Gabba in the plaza. But what downtown LA experience would it be without a ride on Angels Flight? Angels Flight is the bright orange funicular that takes you up (or down) Bunker Hill built in 1901. It will only cost you 25 cents to go back in time for 30 seconds.
Here’s the view looking down.
And here’s the photo looking up…
The next day we started off with brunch at Food on Pico Blvd. It’s a place I’ve driven by a dozen times but it’s always closed when I want to go in – not this time!
It’s a casual place where I can definitely see myself reading a book or my paper as I nurse my cup of tea. It’s only a few years old and has a really friendly vibe inside. For my first trip, I trusted the server and ordered the ricotta pancakes with blueberries and sauteed peaches – she guaranteed me that I’d be back to eat again and she’s right. It was tasty and not too sweet. There was a light peachy fragrance mixed in with the subtle scent of blueberry and maple syrup. The pancakes were fluffy and had that nice griddle-like crunch on the edge that I love. Yes, I will be back for more! Take a look at my meal…
My friend had the huevos rancheros which were served with edible flowers and equally delicious as my pancakes.
The trip ended with a stop at the Museum of Jurassic Technology, shopping at Giant Robot, and snacks at Royal/T. The perfect ending to the tour were the cupcakes at Royal/T that were baked at Hotcakes (they were featured on the Food Network). I got the chocolate cupcake with cream cheese frosting and my friend got the cookies n cream one. All in all, not a bad ending for a 24-hour tour of Los Angeles. What can I say? I love showing my friends the best of my city.
angela is here... 
Don’t you love the Museum of Jurassic Technology? It’s such a mind trip. Have you been to Surfas yet? It’s a chef store in Culver City and it has a great cafe attached to it too. Set yourself a financial limit there though. It’s hard to control yourself in that store.