Yogala, the new yoga studio in Echo Park, is hosting a “Vegan Supper” tonight, April 1, starting at 7:00 pm.
You can go in from 5:00 – 6:30 pm for te “Good Weekend Yoga and Sound Healing” class and then stay for dinner!
Bring any dish to share (remember vegan means no eggs, meat, or diary!) and a drink. Please RSVP to Sam@YogalaEchoPark.com or sign up at Yogala, located at 1840 Echo Park Ave.
Xoia
(pronounced soy-yah)
1801 West Sunset Blvd.
(213) 413-3232
Website
Hours:
Tuesday-Thursday: 11:30 am to 10:00 pm
Friday-Saturday: 11:30 am to midnight
Sunday: 11:30 am to 10:00 pm
New items were recently added to the Xoia menu!
Mi Quang Pozole: Traditional Mexican pork and nixtamal corn stew prepared with Vietnamese Mi Quang pork/shrimp stock. Served with a side of shredded cabbage, red onions, limes, salsa and tortillas. $8.25
Vietnamese Hot Wings: Half dozen fresh chicken wings marinated in lime and fish sauce, deep fried and wok fired in caramelized fish sauce, chili and garlic. Served w/ Vietnamese dipping sauce, cucumbers and pickled carrot/daikon. $9.25
House made ice cream/sorbets: All assortments made in-house. Vietnamese Coffee, Hoisen Peanut Sauce, Thai Iced Tea, Lychee, Jackfruit, and Lemon/Lime. $3.50
They have great pho if you’re in the mood, and an always-growing, amazing menu!
AYC's Chef Mike D. Photo courtesy of AYC.
Allston Yacht Club
AYC is open at noon today, serving up house-cured corned beef to get you in the mood for St. Patty’s Day. Sandwiches are $7 throughout the day, $10 for dinner (includes corned beef and cabbage). Guinness is $5 all day!
Masa of Echo Park
Starting at 5:00 pm, Masa will have a Corned Beef Brisket with Colcannon special (cabbage and potatoes), and Rhonda is baking her family’s Irish Soda Bread.
Barragan’s
Green beer, apple martinis, and $5 Jameson shots. Happy hour goes from 3:30 to 7:00 pm, with a DJ from 6:00 pm – midnight.
City Sip
It might be a wine bar, but they also have beer!
Lot 1 Cafe
“Kewl Beanz” Opening Ceremony and St. Patrick’s Day Celebration starting at 7:00 pm
The Park
Murphy’s Irish Stout on special for $5, and since it’s Thursday all bottles of wine are half price.
We’ll update this posting throughout the day as we hear about more St. Patty’s Day festivities. Click here for the week in music article if you’re hankering to go out on the town for some live music.
Twitpic by RosalineMae
You may have read that Echo Park’s famous goose Maria (made famous by an OK Go music video, then a Facebook page, then the brilliant snowball effect that comes with celebrity life in Los Angeles) was moved to the Los Angeles Zoo in preparation for the upcoming Echo Park Lake rehab project this summer. Well, as it turns out, Maria is actually a boy! The Zoo learned of the official gender while doing a checkup after the gander arrived. Dominic Ehrler told the LA Times, “He’s Mario now. But I’ll call him Maria if he doesn’t respond to Mario.”
In case you’re wondering, Dominic will be able to visit Mario/Maria.
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LA TACO @ STREET ART POP UP! from LA TACO on Vimeo.
Street Art Pop-Up Store opened last Friday, March 4 at 1461 1/2 W. Sunset Blvd. (formerly Warwick Vintage Store). The temporary art space will be featuring new artwork daily from a variety of artists, including Bigfoot, Robots Will Kill, Evil Design, Shepard Fairey, and more.
The temp shop is open daily from noon to 7:00 pm. Check out the video about from LA Taco.
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We found out on Tuesday this week that Writer Brando Skyhorse’s “The Madonnas of Echo Park” won the Hemingway/PEN Award for first fiction.
Congrats to Brando Skyhorse! And yes, the book is still on my New Years Resolutions to-do list, but I’ll be stopping by the library fairly soon to grab a copy.
Last Saturday I got a chance to drop into the newly opened Sage Vegan Organic Bistro / KindKreme restaurant on Sunset Blvd. and Logan Street. I have to admit, I did like the new decor (dark lacquered matching tables and chairs, simple decorations on the walls), and the staff is helpful and punctual.
For my first visit, we had just finished one of the Secret Stairways hikes I’d been dying to accomplish, so we just stopped by for some vegan ice cream. Wanting to try all the flavors, I stopped at the Coconut ice cream because it was just too good to match.
Price-wise, it’s not going to be an every-day coffee joint – a small scoop if ice cream is $3.99 and a cold-press coffee with almond milk at about $4.50. But the Sage Bistro dinner menu looks promising (which we’ll post soon), and with a little careful budgeting I’m sure you’ll also stop by for a little weekend splurge.
And this Saturday is a good time to go – they’ll be officially launching with a grand opening during business hours. Free Baby Cakes ice cream sandwiches will be handed out on a first-come, first-serve basis until they’re out, and The Makepeace Brothers will be playing that evening.
Feel free to read about the new Echo Park vegan establishment in my latest article.
Sage Vegan Organic Bistro and KindKreme will be open 11:00 am – 10:00 pm weekdays, open until 11:00 pm on Fridays, and will be offering brunch on the weekends from 9:00 am until 10 or 11:00 pm.
Sage Vegan Organic Bistro / KindKreme is located at 1700 West Sunset Blvd. here in Echo Park.
Rex Picket, author of Sideways, will be at Stories Books and Cafe this weekend reading and signing from his new novel, Vertical.
Check it out on Saturday, February 26 at 7:30 pm.
Complimentary words and wine (for those that are old enough) courtesy of Silver Lake Cheese.
Stories Books & Cafe is located at 1716 Sunset Blvd.
Twitpic by kindkreme
Raw-vegan restaurant Mooi may have closed down in January, but that hasn’t stopped a couple of its former investors to open up a new vegan stop in the same location.
The owners of Millie’s are teaming up with vegan ice cream company KindKreme to open a combo restaurant, Sage Vegan Organic Bistro and KindKreme desserts, in the former Mooi space on Sunset Blvd. and and Logan. While they are technically two different businesses, you won’t have to worry about paying for your dessert on a separate check.
Some new things to expect at the new vegan spot: Raw options are available, but the menu will be also include cooked items, including “vegan comfort food,” as described by Mollie Angelheart of KindKreme. She lists some of the menu items for the Bistro, whose chef once worked at Flore, as “really delicious stuff, really unique food.” Hearing about items from the menu will make any non-vegan hungry: Hearty, delicious items like chili, polenta, portabello mango sloppy Joe sandwiches, falafel, artichoke tarts, mac n’ cheese, salads, and other seasonal food. You can also keep an eye out for Farmers’ Market specials on Fridays.
As for KindKreme, they’ll be tantalizing you with raw cakes and cheesecakes, fudge pies, pudding pies, gluten free cookies from Baby Cakes LA, and even waffles (think turning a vegan waffle into a made-to-order sundae or ice cream sandwich). The only thing she thinks might technically not be vegan in the shop is that they provide honey for your tea – a product Mollie feels particular about as the daughter of an upstate New York bee keeper.
The KindKreme counter will also serve up Groundworks coffee, including cold pressed coffee with house made nutmilk (almond and cocount made at their Pasadena location), fresh juices, espresso, and tea.
Sage Vegan Organic Bistro and KindKreme will be open 11:00 am – 10:00 pm weekdays, open until 11:00 pm on Fridays, and will be offering brunch on the weekends from 9:00 am until 10 or 11:00 pm.
The location could be open as early as this weekend or next week! Like the photo above, they’ve been posting photos of their progress with the renovations on the KindKreme Twitter page. We’ll also keep you posted for their grand opening event once the details are finalized.
And, in case you’re wondering, you can enter the restaurant from the main doors on the corner.
Sage Vegan Organic Bistro / KindKreme is located at 1700 West Sunset Blvd. here in Echo Park.
Masa of Echo Park, along with other Los Angeles restaurants and businesses, is once again participating in Go Eat Go Drink Go Out, a one-day event that raises funds to provide direct and vital support to those impoverished and disabled by HIV/AIDS in our community. This is the fifth year Masa has participated!
On Thursday, February 24 all participating Los Angeles restaurants will donate a portion of their days’s receipts to Aid for AIDs and The Sierra Project. 50% of Masa’s sales that day will be donated.
Please stop by and make a difference!
Details:
Masa of Echo Park
1800 W Sunset Blvd
Thursday, February 24
11:00 am to 11:00 pm
All you have to do is stop by and have something to eat or drink, and Rhonda, Rob, Tom and Julie of Masa will take care of the rest!
If you’re an avid reader of Echo Park Now, you’ll know how much I love margaritas. And I love drinking them in Echo Park – especially today, which is National Margarita Day!
The obvious margarita place is El Compadre for the very strong and tart flaming margaritas. If you’re looking to try something new and start a new tradition, you can also check out Allston Yacht Club for the debut of a new margarita, the Tamarita.
For just $6 on Tequila Tuesdays, the Tamarita is made with housemade tamarind syrup and fresh lime juice.
They also have the best Jalapeño Margarita – and trust me, I’ve tried them all over, and they are to die for! Tuesdays are Tequila Tuesdays, so you pay just $6 for either of the margaritas.
Here’s the Tamarita recipe, courtesy of AYC:
2 oz. tequila
1 oz. lime juice
3 tablespoons tamarind syrup
Combine with ice in shaker. Shake madly and pour into highball glass rimmed with salt and garnish with a wedge of lime.
To make the Tamarind syrup:
Ingredients:
Simmer tamarind paste in at least three pints of water with cinnamon and sugar. If using the pods, push paste through a strainer and discard seeds. Simmer until reduced to a quart of liquid and cool. Syrup will thicken considerably.
‘Tis the season of lurrrrve. Shop and eat and love locally this year for Valentines Day, coming up soon on Monday, February 14! Here’s your Echo Park guide:
Keep checking back, we’ll add more as we come across it!
Wondering what to score your sweety for Valentine’s Day?
Longtime Echo Park residents Bill Rangel and Bob Hubbert started Over the Moon Cookies in 2010. You may have seen some of Bill’s artwork in the I Luv Echo Park bumper stickers in the area and on one of my previous articles. Now he’s making gourmet, made-to-order cookies for Echo Park and beyond.
They got the company name when a a Los Angeles Pizza customer exclaimed, “These cookies are over the moon!” after she tried their Super Chocolate Chunk cookies.
You can pick up these all-natural, handmade cookies and ice cream sandwiches at Fix Coffee in Echo Park, and Los Angeles Pizza near Chinatown.
You can also, of course, order online at www.overthemooncookies.com, and on Amazon. Call 323-665-0823 or info@overhemooncookies.com for more information and wholesale pricing.
Feeding Birds is celebrating their second anniversary on Saturday, February 5 with a few special treats, including the “release” of a three-color screen printed tees. Here’s what’s going down:
I actually have one of their Echo Park tees, and I really like it! The owners are super friendly, and I’ve gotten a few gifts from the store without hurting my wallet. If you haven’t been there, go check it out!
Feeding Birds is located at 1825 Echo Park Ave.
Masa's vegan deep dish pizza. Photo by QuarryGirl
Saturday, January 29, was the first annual Vegan Pizza Day (sponsored by Teese Vegan Cheese and our friend Quarry Girl), meant to educate everyone that vegans can eat delicious food too!
Though we missed it, and that means you probably did too, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some vegan pizza delights locally in Echo Park at any time. The two places you should check out are actually not that far away from each other: Masa and Two Boots!
Masa:
Quarry Girl swears by the vegan Chicago deep dish pizza, claiming it would be her last meal if she had to choose!
Two Boots:
Check out a by-the-slice vegan option called “Earth Mother” and let us know what you think!
Sometime soon, there will be some more vegan options in Echo Park when Tony Yanow’s new restaurant, Mohawk Bend, opens up in the old Ramon Theater. The former Mooi vegan restaurant is also opening up under a new name and new ownership, and will likely be offering some vegan pizza options if not plenty of vegan meals!
We got the heads up about this new restaurant back in November when we spoke to Echo Park resident Jason Michaud (owner of Local in Silver Lake) about newly opened vintage store Tosen in Echo Park. But the details hadn’t been quite set in stone yet as he had been negotiating with property owner Walgreens for quite some time on opening up in that space. Now, they are still working on the details for the menu and specific ideas, but construction is moving forward on the old Phoenix Bakery at Echo Park Avenue and Montana (across from AYC) for the much-anticipated new restaurant they are calling Red Hill.
For those who aren’t familiar with Echo Park/Elysian Height history, the older parts of Echo Park like Elysian Heights was where artists, radicals, socialists and free-thinkers of all sorts found safety and seclusion. Communists joined them in the 1920s during the first Red Scare (a lot came from Boyle Heights), earning Echo Park the nickname of Red Hill (also “Red Gulch”). This is where the new restaurant’s name comes from.
Mario Orellana, formerly Lazy Ox Canteen sous chef, has teamed up with Jason to open up Red Hill. They are keeping very, very busy with another restaurant opening in downtown near Grand Central Market call Chimu – slated to open mid-February, it’s a Peruvian takeout restaurant. Red Hill my open as soon as this summer, and will focus on American cuisine.
Red Hill will be open for brunch, lunch and dinner, with a primary focus on dinner. They are also “looking forward to making a great lunch spot for the locals,” said Mario, and hope to serve beer and wine.
The Phoenix Bakery building has been collecting dust for quite some time (probably because Walgreens has always wanted to have a drive-through put in), so it’s a welcoming sight to see it getting fixed up. One thing that also needs to be worked out: Neighboring restaurant Allston Yacht Club uses valet and parks patron cars in that parking lot.
We are looking forward to trying out Red Hill when it opens this summer!
Flickr photo via Citilista
There are a lot of shops opening and closing these days in Echo Park, and especially a lot of vintage stores coming in to take advantage of the hipster spotlight. This time, however, one is closing its doors for good.
2Bad Vintage is located at 1651 W. Temple St. on the border of Echo Park and Historic Filipinotown. While the reasons for the closure aren’t verified, the owners posted a Craigslist ad a couple of days ago looking for investors, a buy-out, or someone to take over the lease. “Want to invest? Buy out? Take over lease? or looking for Wholesale deals? Or looking for cool fixtures? Please contact us. Comes with parking and back patio rooftop views.”
h/t Echo Park Online