sunset junction etc.

the New York Times has a decent article on Silverlake's SUNSET JUNCTION, a 5 to 10 minute walk from my pad, where i often eat... i like Town & Country, Flore & Pazzo Gelato very much. it's such a little detail, but i love that Town & Country still serves coca-cola in the glass bottle, and other sodas you can find at Highland Park's Galco's Old World Grocery Store (the best selection of glass bottled ginger ales & ginger beers). all sodas still bottled in glass & sweetened with sugar cane instead of the bad stuff. sodas only taste good when you drink them out of a glass bottle. Galco's also has a great deli, and has racks of candies you can't buy anywhere else anymore. it's only a 10 min. drive from Silverlake...

this New York Times article is cool but doesn't mention the following, right there as well on Sunset Junction:

2 super cheap Mexican/Salvadorian eateries that have withstood the test of time & the neighborhood's rapid gentrification:
- TACOS DELTA (i go there for huevos rancheros or chilaquiles)
- RINCON SALVADOREÑO (their pupusas are always freshly made)

2 average prices Mexican restaurants:
- ALEGRIA where they don't serve alcohol but you can bring your own. if i was to describe being in Mexico, having a good healthy dinner at someone's house, this is what it would be like. this is my favorite Mexican restaurant in all of Los Angeles!!! when i don't feel good, their tortilla soup (ask them to add chicken to it) is just the cure i need. as for their mole, it's amazing! their fresh papaya juice with lemon & ginger does miracles! i could go on & on...
- EL CONQUISTADOR where i never eat; i'm not so impressed with the food, but they make the best margaritas (even when just virgin), and the kitschy atmosphere is kinda fun, especially when Mexican Elvis is around at the bar!

one slightly fancier restaurant with a gorgeous back patio:
- CLIFF'S EDGE. when Hollywood's hot spot Les Deux closed a few years ago, after the French owner/manager embezzled tons of money & took off for the French Riviera, never to come back, some of the chefs & staff moved east & opened Cliff's Edge. shit, that bitch had it all right. i should give her a call & figure out how to embezzle some LA money for myself!
between Cliff's Edge & Alegria, a good breakfast spot is:
- MADAME MATISSE. get the blueberry pancakes. for lunch, the red beat salad is real good! and their peach ice tea is always refreshing, free refills. it's even better when you order the arnold palmer.

and just a little further east, about 500 feet down the hill from my pad:
- DUSTY'S for some good bistro type food & atmosphere. i particularly like their burgers, and their fries are almost as good as in Belgium, where fries where born, even if the Gringos call them French. after all when it comes to Americans, isn't French & Belgian all the same?!
- EL SIETE MARES food stand & patio for delicious fish & seafood & the best shrimp cocktail; at 3131 W Sunset Blvd.
- CAFE TROPICAL for their Cuban cafe con leche, their croissants & their Cuban pressed sandwiches, their fresh natural juices, the delicious guava cream pie, and the free wireless internet whenever mine is down or for meetings in a casual place with good food...
- PHO CAFE for healthy Vietnamese pho (great for when you're sick) & bom (the lemon grass steak is delicious). and i always love the Vietnamese lemonade or soy juice.
- RAMBUTAN THAI for fancy modern Thai inspired concoctions. they make a mean lychee martini. i sure wish i could have some but...
- MAE PLOY for more traditional Thai dishes, my favorite thai place in LA; their papaya salad is the best & i'm a sucker for their simple dishes of red curry beef & green beans. when i get the flu, their lemon grass soup is a godsend. and that's where i get my jasmine green tea.

and finally, LARK CAKE SHOP. it's my favorite desert place, smack in between my pad to the Sunset Junction. before we know it, the Sunset Junction stretch of shops & restaurants will be continuous as more & more stores & eateries are opening up where spaces are left, between the junction & Silverlake Blvd. lets just hope this never turns into another Melrose!