Day One: An Introduction and the Urth Cafe

Urth Cafe in Hawthrone, California is one of many restaurant locations scattered throughout the vast county of Los Angeles. This one is tucked next to a Best Buy, across from a freeway and a Home Depot, and is a great place to start this journey. I grew up about 20 minutes away from here, in a small beach town tucked into the greater bustling city. This Cafe is the culmination of two very important things to this journey: my personal taste and my childhood diet.

Rating:

Food:10/10

Price: $$

Accessibility: Dependent on Location

Service: 10/10

Food:

Fricking hack this is good! Everything is absolutely delicious, EVERYTHING. I have not had a dish from that place that didn’t absolutely knock it out of the park. That counts for the drinks too.

I had the plum nori wrap, which turned out to be kind of like sushi, packed with the perfect combination of vegetables and herbs. The mix of the avocado and tofu was surprisingly filling and the brown rice added a richness I didn’t expect. Literally amazing.

I tested some of my family’s dishes as well. The paninis were amazing, the sourdough crust on the pizza was to die for and every dish we ordered came with mouth-watering side salads. You get a ton of food for the price and the employees are always helpful and polite.

Dessert:

I got the flourless chocolate cake and… my man. Warmed up and gooey it absolutely hits the spot. This is a must-try. Not as good cold but still fantastic, you won’t regret buying this.

Culture:

Los Angeles is an eclectic and multicultural city. Ripe produce is shipped down from the Central Valley, spices and avocados are brought up from Mexico, fresh fish and seafood are pulled from the sea. But when I think about genres there are two main groups of foods that LA is known for: Mexican and what I refer to as “Urban”. Mexican is self-explanatory, but Urban is perhaps more stereotypical in association with California culture and has a few main features I want to discuss. These are the types of restaurants that sell acai bowls and avocado toast. They build off the abundant freshness available and often have great vegan or vegetarian options. While it’s not always affordable, it is freaking delicious, easy to make, and when made right, encapsulates some of the greater dietary and food culture I grew up around. This, as well as my oversweet, fast food-centric, overall American diet, is something that needs to be taken into consideration throughout this journey. Different places build different tastes so yours might be way different than mine. Please keep this in mind as I interact with London's unfamiliar vast food landscape.

I can’t wait to start this journey. Food and its ties to culture and the story behind it is something I’ve always been deeply curious about and I can’t wait to bring you all with me. See you tomorrow :D

Other places I recommend around LA:

Sancho's Tacos

Porto’s

Sticks and straws

Dupars