I’m running out of witty or creative titles, although the title does explain what the post is about, at least. What I do have in plenty of supply, though, are pictures of food! Oh, glorious sustainer of life!
LA Mill Coffee wasn’t really on the top of my list, or the middle of my list, either. It was kind of a snap decision that I decided to see if the coffeehouse/cafe/restaurant really did live up to all the hype. Even on a Monday morning at 10:30, the place was pretty packed. I figured that people worked odd hours that allowed them the luxury of free mornings, or they were just jobless. But the menu is quite expensive, as I will explain, so unemployment really isn’t conducive to eating here. Another possibility is that people were spending money that was earned by more important people.
Enough with the digressions; there’s plenty to discuss about LA Mill. As anyone can see from pictures on the interwebs, this place is pretty chic with its bold color combination and un-indie furniture. What you won’t see, though, is that they serve water in glasses that look like they were washed with sand and dried by sand. Normally, I wouldn’t care, but since the place obviously caters to a poshier clientele (with its faux(?)-alligator skin seats and GIANT chandelier), I figured they would pay more attention to the nitty gritty. Or maybe that’s the way I was raised and edumacated while working at my parent’s restaurant; it’s all in the details. Also, I figured that I would get nicer water glasses for a lunch that cost almost $60 for two.
Anyway, let’s move past the speckled glasses. We drink coffee, afterall. Not water.
I ordered a Blanco y Negro, which contained coffee granita, madagascar vanilla bean ice cream, vanilla scented, and chilled. By chilled, they meant shards of ice in your coffee. I like the presentation of it, fitting of a $6.50 drink, but the drink never hit the spot. I’ve been drinking black coffee for the past 2.5 years, only making a few exceptions for cappucinos–why did I order this all of a sudden? It was the atmosphere. I was caught up in the hype. The specialty drinks were calling my name. Damn you fancy menu! It doesn’t lie: the drink was coffee and ice cream. But that was the problem. I like coffee. I really like coffee. I like ice cream. Just not together. I should’ve ordered a black coffee.
My partner in crime had a Pink Lady, which had sweetened berry hibiscus tea topped with soda. Actually, I’m not sure she had this, but the description matches the picture. And now that I know the red stuff is hibiscus, I think the drink did have some hibiscus flavor in it, though it wasn’t the disgusting flavor of jamaica, but rather real hibiscus–sour and medicine-like. I didn’t have much, but it looked nice!
We started out with a butternut squash soup (I couldn’t find it on the online menu) with sourdough croutons. A server came out and poured the soup in front of us, mixing soup from a pitcher and some sort of cream in the bowl. It also came with ground pepper on the serving plate. Huh. Interesting. The soup was delicious, though, and the croutons were tart and squishy, soaked with buttery goodness. This was a winner.
I ordered the much-talked-about ABLT, or Asian BLT, with pork belly, arugula, tomato, and preserved black bean. The meat was fatty and flavorful, but I just couldn’t take the taste of black bean and pork in a panini. I needed rice. Call me Asian what have you, but black bean sauce only goes with rice, and maybe noodles, not bread. I would also like to note that I did not get the preserved cippolinis and assorments of olives that were supposed to come with plate. Again, we paid almost $60 for lunch. I have some expectations when my meals exceed $25. Not trying to be whiney, but…strike two.
Gina had an order of vegetarian hen eggs with mushroom. It was an average breakfast, only it wasn’t served in a gargantuan portion that breakfast houses are notorious for using–the dish wasn’t coma-inducing. The bread did have the texture of something stale. It didn’t sit quite right with us. Maybe it was the way it was toasted/baked (no sign of toastage), or maybe I’m not into bread that much. I still finished off the dish for her when she didn’t want anymore because that’s what fatties do: they try everything, and then they finish everything because they don’t want starving kids in Africa to eat their food (I’m greedy).
Overall, I would say, “Color me not impressed.” “Not impressed” would probably be an ugly color, like olive or puce. A lot of people probably LOVE the place. Frankly, I wouldn’t pay that much for the food or coffee. I can find better quality everything, sans turquoise aligator seats, in a lot of places in Los Angeles. Hell, we even have a $10,000 espresso machine at EMW Tea Co! We could make stuff like that and charge exorbitant amounts of money. But maybe that’s why I don’t like LA Mill: they do something different and get praised, hyped, and actually get customers. I’m jealous. We try to do something like that in Fresno, and the tea shop gets the stink eye from most people who pass by the window. Yes, it’s true that I’m envious of LA Mill’s ability to attract many customers who pay $10 for a pot of tea while EMW Tea Co has trouble selling pots of tea at $6. But(!), I still think $60 for lunch is way too much for the quality of meal/service/amenities we received.
At dinner, we had Chano’s and Cup of Joy, two staples of my undergraduate dining. It’s food that’s cheap and tasty, and even more delicious when drunk. I won’t say much, except for that each item was meaty and savory, the way all food (with or without MSG) should taste.
Popcorn chicken from Cup of Joy. Nothing compared to the tobasco rim jobs one will receive after eating at Prince’s, but maybe that’s a good thing.
Minced mushroom and meat on rice combo. The English translation of this Taiwanese dish is offensive to both cooks and customers. I with Taiwan would come up with an official translation for my favorite dish from childhood.
Carnitas tacos. My first exposure to real Mexican food in over a year. I’m speechless. My stomach cries acidic tears of joy when eating this, though.
Mix-up burger. It’s a cheeseburger with pastrami. Not really Mexican, but I had an urge to get something really unhealthy, but not deadly like their nacho plates.
I also got a large cup of horchata. I thoroughly enjoyed each sip of rice, cinammon, and sugar, and then passed out from food coma. It was what I could consider a good dinner.
