Studio City
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3 Good Micheladas: Xyta, Guelaguetza & La Loteria Grill
Sep 26 2013
Finding a good michelada is no easy task. Many restaurants just get it wrong—I find Clamato to be the main culprit. I have witnessed too many restaurants filling a glass half way with the tomato-clam juice concoction and topping it off with a Mexican beer. It takes more than those two steps to master the perfect michelada. The beer, spices, lime juice and sometimes Clamato (if invited to the party) need to come together and do the salsa. My hunt for restaurants that share a similar belief led me to travel out a little outside of the eastside, but not too far, and into three very different neighborhoods.
Here’s a list of restaurants doing it right:
YXTA: The location is off the beaten path (near Skid Row), but the restaurant is in a neat industrial space with really cool Dia de los Muertos style artwork, and more importantly, has a great happy hour. Yxta’s micheladas (pictured above) are on the milder side, served with lots of ice and a chili-salted rim that yields the right amount of salty spiciness. The food is okay, but isn’t anything to write home about. The guacamole is a standout and is uniquely topped with pumpkin seeds. 601 S Central Ave., Los Angeles, 90021
La Loteria Grill: This has been a long-time favorite of mine for brunch. They have a fresh-and-simple-is-better mentality that really appeals to me. The Studio City location is my favorite of the three, mainly because they have the best parking situation (lots of free spaces). They do five different takes on the michelada, but being a creature of habit, I always get the Michelada Clasica. It’s one of the best I’ve ever had with a mixture of worcestershire, maggi, Tapatio, and lime juice that comes in a glass of ice and beer on side. The worcestershire and maggi combo adds a rich piquancy while the Tapatio and lime provides a nice kick. It’s a perfect complement to their Huevos Divorciados,which are topped with red and green sauce and served with black beans and papas con rajas. 12050 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, 91604
Studio City: Sandwiches, Salads and Cheese Plates from Artisan Cheese Gallery
Aug 16 2011
If you read this blog, then you know that working in Santa Monica causes me to cling to the eastside of town on the weekends. Only very special cases can lure me onto the freeway come Saturday, and this would qualify as such.
Christine, one of my best friends and also the talented artist behind the design of this site (you can see her portfolio here) was having a birthday. She was only allowing the most low-key of celebrations, so a trip to one of her favorite lunch spots, Artisan Cheese Gallery, was in order.
This was my first ever visit to the Studio City cheese/sandwich shop, and I was pretty dazzled. Namely because they have everything I dream of for lunch: salads and sandwiches with imagination, make-your-own cheese plates, a nice selection of wine, fancy sodas and house-made soup. What more can you ask for?
