Kate DurocherKnown as the poor man's Silver Lake or the rich man's Highland Park, depending on how you look at it, Echo park is no doubt one of the hippest places in L.A. The art, culture and punk rock vibes make it one of the city's best neighborhoods. And over the past few years, the food options have become even more dope. Here's a sample of what's new, what's old, and what's new and old in Echo Park's food scene.
Cosa Buona Is Echo Park's New — Yet Old — Pizza Joint
Pizza Buona, an Echo Park landmark practically since its opening in 1959, closed its doors a few years ago, shortly after a car crashed into its storefront on the southwest corner of Sunset and Alvarado. The business moved a few blocks south, and now operates quietly out of a strip mall. A for the old location, rising L.A. chef star Zach Pollack, who runs Silver Lake's highly regarded Alimento, has purchased it, remodeled it and created a menu that's still Italian-American comfort food — but totally different from Pizza Buona's more straightforward offerings.
Read the full L.A. Weekly story here.
How many ways can you pronounce “Taix”? A lot; Credit: Danny Liao
No One Knows How to Pronounce the Name of Taix Restaurant
Taix Restaurant has long been a beloved fixture of Echo Park, even as the neighborhood has gentrified around it. But not once in these nearly 90 years of history has there been consensus on how to pronounce this restaurant’s name.
Read the full L.A. Weekly story here.
How does it feel to be one of the beautiful people at Winsome?; Credit: Anne Fishbein
Discover the Echo Park Hipster Diner You Can't Resist
If you ever want to torture a particularly cynical New Yorker with just such a Californian fantasy, I recommend taking them to Winsome, the all-day Echo Park restaurant and cafe that embodies that dream of stylish, carefree California living so completely, it's hard not to hate it a little.
Read the full L.A. Weekly review here.
Sake-marinated foie gras with pickled crabapples and aged soy; Credit: Heather Platt
Tsubaki Brings Japanese Izakaya to Echo Park
“In the tradition of generosity, the sake will overflow into the saucer,” says a server at Tsubaki, the new Japanese izakaya-style restaurant (small bites intended to pair with alcohol) in Echo Park.
Read the full L.A. Weekly story here.
No meat, no problem; Credit: Courtesy Elf Cafe
L.A.'s 99 Essential Restaurants: Elf Cafe
When the lilliputian Elf Cafe opened in 2006, Echo Park was not yet home to million-dollar homes and organic grocery stores. Instead it shared a stretch of Sunset Boulevard with Burrito King’s adorable donkey marquee and American Apparel’s first U.S. store, which opened in 2003. The area was transitioning, but you could still witness an occasional drive-by while waiting line for a Dresden Dolls show at Jensen’s Rec Center. More than a decade later, Dov Charney’s flagship store is gone but Elf remains, serving inspired fare with cooking steeped in Moroccan, Indian and continental European traditions. It’s a meatless restaurant, not that it matters.
Read the full L.A. Weekly listing here.
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