LArge LAtina in LA

A 24 year old adventurer with a love of travel, discovery, and her home town of LA LA LAnd. Follow us to discover locations new and old in Los Angeles, and perhaps beyond! We update every Monday! Follow me on twitter @largelatina

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La Casita Mexicana

Whenever I have friends who come over from out of town, there is always two things I have to do whenever I see them: 

1. Give them hugs they can never escape from and

2. Take them to my favorite restaurant in my neighborhood: La Casita Mexicana. 

La Casita Mexicana is located at  4030 E Gage Ave, Bell, CA 90201. It was opened in 1999 by Chefs Jaime Martin Del Campo and Ramiro Arvizu. It boasts a beautiful selection of mole’s tradicionales and other authentic Mexican goodies. The food is so authentic that, when we brought our very traditional Mexican Papa over to La Casita, he began to cry as the flavors reminded him of his grandmother and reminded him of home. 

The signature dish of this restaurant is up for debate. Some people think it is the Chiles Enogada, or large peppers stuffed with meat, cheese, nuts, and dried fruit. But, for me it has to be their mole. 

Mole, is a complicated Mexican dish that is created through the combination of a chili, a fruit, and a nut that is ground together to make a sauce. This can amount to a variety of different colors and flavors that range from the deep black of Oaxacan Mole or the creamy white of Velo de Novia (Bride’s veil) mole. Pictured above are three varieties of mole: the pipian verde (made with green pumpkin seeds), mole cafe (or brown mole made with chocolate) and pipian rojo (a red mole made with pumpkin seeds, chipotle, and cumin for the distinct color). 

La Casita Mexicana showcases more than just mole, however!

And while I love the mole, I will also always hold a special place in my heart for the restaurants Cafe de Olla, or coffee that is brewed with spices in order to give it a distinctly bold flavor. 

La Casita Mexicana, aside from the delicious food, also boasts a warm atmosphere that transports you from Los Angeles to the bright vibrant world of Mexican cuisine and culture. 

The art and decor pays homage to the boldness of the Mexican aesthetic and begs you to indulge in a world of color and flavor. Coming to this restaurant is a feast of many palettes!

So please, visit La Casita Mexicana and disfruta la vida! Enjoy life! 

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Milk Jar

I am a very stubborn individual. I don’t listen to anyone or anything on any topic and I especially do not like being told what to do.

Except in cases like this:

Obviously, such commands from the universe should not be ignored. Thus one Friday evening, I found myself waltzing into Milk Jar; a small dessert shop located on Wilshire that advertises milk, cookies, and other sweet treats. I was joined by my good pal @BrownTweety, who volunteered to be my model on this foodventure! (Go follow her on twitter, she’s a hoot!)

Milk Jar was founded in the year 2013 by Courtney Cowan, a former TV producer who decided to leave the entertainment industry and pursue a passion near and dear to her heart and my stomach: cookies! Milk Jar is located at the following address: 5466 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036.

Once there, here are your top three reasons for heeding the sign and heading inside!

First: The Decor!

It’s colorful façade reminds me of a princess castle! If the sign hadn’t compelled me to climb in, I know the outside of this cute locale certainly did!

The inside of Milk Jar makes you feel like you are in grandma’s kitchen. It’s rustic, adorable, and don’t even get me started on the milk bottle chandelier.

I was thiiiiis close to standing on a chair and ripping it right off the ceiling.

Second: The Treats!

I have an unabashed sweet tooth and I certainly felt that the good folks at Milk Jar enabled my curious cravings with care, courtesy, and cookies that can very well be crack! (Alliteration is my way of showing love.)

@BrownTweety had an ice cream sandwich made with two oatmeal chocolate cookies and cereal milk ice cream. 

Originally, I had come in and immediately tasted the one thing on the menu that was purple, as my mind tends to work out that anything that’s purple should obviously be put in my mouth.

While the Honey Lavender ice cream was incredibly tasty and refreshing in our LA heat wave, I can honestly say that their Cereal Milk ice cream is officially my go-to recommendation for anyone headed to Milk Jar.

Third: The People!

I love engaging with people but, lately on my foodventures. I find myself having to be the one who engages versus being engaged with. I am satisfied to report that here at Milk Jar, this is not the case! The staff is friendly and they were happy to share their favorite cookie flavors. They also feature an in-house magician who goes by “El Ropo.” Mr. Ropo and I became fast friends when we bonded over cinnamon gum, the intricacies of Mexican Coffee (Cafe de Ólla), and Molé (a Mexican dish that can use up to 13 different ingredients that are ground together in a stone grinder and is usually served with chicken).

Now, do both yourself and I a favor and head over to Milk Jar. You can always thank me later. 

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Miracle Mile Farmers Market

I am a creature of routine. I wake up everyday at 7:30AM, leave the house by 7:55AM and have lunch at this great lunch cafe near my work called: Cafe Delish’s (because I have an unhealthy obsession with cafes) at 1:00PM on the regular. As part of my goal with this blog however, I have been pushing myself to venture out of my routines and go where the wind (or in this case a savvy friend) takes me. Luckily the wind always blows in the best of directions, or in this case to my new Wednesday lunch spot: the Miracle Mile Farmers Market! 

The Miracle Mile Farmers Market is located right in the heart of the Miracle Mile, on Wilshire Boulevard. The exact address: 5700 Wilshire Blvd,Los Angeles, CA 90036 and it open on Wednesdays from 11AM-3PM. It is a lively farmers markets with an abundance of hot food vendors, organic fruits and vegetables for sale, and specialty items like artisan clothing and gourmet specialty items!.  

The price range for each food item here ranges from $3.50-$5.00 an item. Which means you can go ahead, take a $20 bill and go wild! A few of my personal recommendations are: 

1. Bonjour! French Yogurt by Chef Kady. 

Bonjour yogurt is thick, creamy, and huzzah! made only with three ingredients (milk, a ton of probiotics, and fruit). They have flavors ranging from berry and vanilla to fig, rose, and even apricot! You can honestly not go wrong with any of Chef Kady’s yogurt flavors. Each one is, as she puts it, “delicately handmade” and all that care and effort is visible in each flavor. Every time I am there I always walk away with at least three containers of yogurt in fig, apricot, and rose and a small collection of free sample spoons as I cannot stop discovering all the varieties of creamy deliciousness over and over again.  Often times, my soul purpose in coming to the farmers market during my lunch break is for this exact item.

My second recommendation within the market: 

2. Brothers Pita and Hummus: 

Four words: Sun-dried. Tomato. Basil. Hummus. ‘NUFF SAID. 

Just kidding! Brothers Hummus is rich and flavorful with varieties of hummus you can’t even believe exist! When was the last time you ever had Avocado Hummus? Their containers sell for $5 a piece and it makes a tasty side snack to have around with pita chips (which they also sell) or even fresh pita (once again, they also have that!) 

3. Juice BAE! Juice Bar

The Juice BAE! Juice Bar is my last stop every farmers market trip! The juices are always cold, tasty, and exactly what you need in this summer heat. For $5, you can get a cup the size of a 7-Eleven Big Gulp in whatever flavor (or even combination of flavors) you can dream of! You can stop here first during your trek to the farmers market and explore all the market has to offer with your refreshing beverage in tow. Or, stop by before you leave the market and make your return home or back to the office with all that deliciousness. They have flavors like your classic strawberry lemonade or, you can try something new with the equally delicious blueberry lemonade crush! I personally recommend walking away with their creamy coconut milk juice! 

4. Come for the Ambiance! 

It’s Alfresco Dining at it’s finest. In this delightful summer weather, the Miracle Mile Farmers Market invites Angelenos to take in the sun and enjoy food as it was always meant to be enjoyed: fresh, delicious, and fun! 

Stop by the Farmers Market at Miracle Mile and discover your favorite food vendors. 

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Cafe Bora

This afternoon, as I was planning my latest post to this here blog, I started snooping through some old photos of mine for inspiration. After a bit of scrolling, I stumbled upon this Instagram worthy pic:

The same friend that had accompanied me to Cafe Concerto had also, once upon a few weeks ago, accompanied me to this little hidden gem in her neighborhood: Cafe Bora. Lightning struck! I instantly rushed over to take a few more photos (or, at least that was the excuse I gave myself).

What can be said about Cafe Bora? Well for starters, it is located in the Ganju California Marketplace in Koreatown, on the third floor, where their food court is located. The court boasts a couple of great (and delicious!) restaurants, a cute outdoor playground for kids, and it is a lovely break from the hustle and bustle of daily living in Los Angeles. 

I feel like I have been on a real kick over cafe’s lately and honestly, who can blame me? Cafe’s are incredibly aesthetically pleasing. Their whole atmosphere is designed to lower your defenses and have you bask in the calm. At Cafe Bora, this is exceptionally true.

The menu is extensive and filled with a variety of desserts, all purple in hue. The purple, from what I read, comes from the purple Korean yam called...Goguma! They have a helpful little sign at the register that educates all incoming visitors quick to label this uniquely flavored potato as taro or ube!

The purple, all in all, made the desserts far too beautiful! Purple is my favorite color so, to have the color in every bit of this cafe felt like my own personally designed amethyst oasis!

I loved my second visit to Cafe Bora as much as my first. 10/10 would recommend and if you do visit! Be sure to try all of their delicious ice cream flavors ranging from matcha, goguma, to (my personal favorite) milk! And be sure to enjoy every marvelously mauve minute!

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Cafe Concerto

Cafe Concerto is lovely and a true balm to the soul. The week of June 11th ended with a feeling that can only be described as “sour grapes.” After a long Friday and Saturday filled with crying, anger, and moping to the sound of “Fiddler on the Roof,” a friend and I decided that enough was enough and that we needed some grace.  We googled a brunch spot within walking distance and voila! A lovely Sunday brunch at the Cafe Concerto turned “sour grapes” into “fine wine.” 

I loved the brightly lit atmosphere and the smooth jazz playing in the brunch lounge. The flowers on the tables were all freshly picked and the whole darn place just couldn’t let me stay angry at the world that afternoon. I had a spaghetti carbonara and a crème brûlée latte that was just divine!