Wander-Grub

I think some of the best places I’ve eaten at were total mistakes.  I don’t mean that they never should have been in business.  I mean, you’re hanging out with friends, and suddenly you’re hungry.  You don’t really know what you’re hungry for, but food is imperative.  You’re kind of not in the mood to Yelp, so you just start looking around.  Literally.  Then you find something so good and so unexpected that you can’t wait to go back.  That’s what happened this past weekend.

I was in the Arts District in downtown LA with a friend of mine.  We had no idea where we were going, so we kind of just started walking to see what was around.  We came near to the east end of 3rd street, where there was just a chalk sandwich board sitting out on the sidewalk.  As I walked up the steps, the place seemed to be closed, but walking just a few more steps I found the open door to Americano, a New American restaurant that uses locally sourced produce, offers seasonal selections, and domestic beer and wine.

There weren’t many people inside, which is usually not a good sign, but we stuck around anyway.  Turned out to be the best idea all day!  We sat down near the two large screen televisions (to watch the Costa Rica – Netherlands world cup game.  Go Ticos!).  The lunch menu was pretty small and simple.  The drink menu on the other hand, was quite varied (not a bad thing at all).  I had a red sangria.  It wasn’t super sweet nor did it have too strong a taste of wine.  I was happy with it.  After our waitress gave us her recommendations, I had to ask her for her second recommendations that didn’t include meat.  Haha.  It came down to the “Green Valley” – a veggie sandwich, and the “Popeye and Olive Oil” flatbread.  Once I confirmed that I could substitute mozzarella for provolone, I went with the flatbread.  My friend ordered the recommended pastrami.

The sandwich came out first.  Boy was it a hearty portion!  Lots of arugula sat on top, hiding the tomatoes, pepperjack, dijon, pesto, and mouthfuls of sliced pastrami meat in a very rustic baguette.  My buddy thoroughly enjoyed his sandwich! The flatbread came a little later, and honestly looked kind of underwhelming.  I mean, it looked just okay to me.  Tons of green spinach atop of a few slices of mozzarella, onions, and bread with pesto.  Not all that exciting, right?  WRONG!  After the first bite, I had to do a double take.  How does this taste like so much awesomeness?! I tried to eat it slowly because I didn’t want it to end.

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After we ate I checked out the bar. It’s a really nice, comfy space with a couple couches at the center and big, light-welcoming windows. I’ll definitely came back to hang out and enjoy the atmosphere… and the “Pull me up” dessert!