SoCal Chow: Los Angeles (Eagle Rock), California

There are five crucial questions a journalist must ask (and, ideally, answer) when researching and developing a story: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. These Five W's, along with a bonus "How" for further clarity, will preclude each blog post to provide proper insight into this weird, wild nomadic journey.

The Five W's + H:
​Who: The triumphant trio: Christina (Extraordinary Oncology Nurse), Sophia (Not-so Nimbly Bimbly Brown Tabby) and Me-a (Internationally Streamed Spotify Artist. No, seriously)
What: Top 5 places to drink up 
Where: Eagle Rock (10 minutes north of downtown Los Angeles), California
When: July 2022 - October 2022
Why: This may be the most pertinent of the five. WHY do we keep going back and forth between Texas and California or Arizona? Why can't we just go from Arizona to California, just stay in California and drive to California, or even do back-to-back contracts in Texas? Why must we insist on making the drive harder for ourselves? Oh that's right: because yours truly is the driver. 
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How: 

How I feel every time we make the same 20-25 hour drive back and forth two to three times a year.

Once more into west Texas, my friends, once more. This extremely familiar route is—yet again—approximately 1500 miles and 22 hours of drive time. We spent our first night in Fort Stockton, Texas; second in toasty Tucson, Arizona; and sped through our last day in sunny CA before arriving in Eagle Rock. ​

Five Places to Drink Up: Eagle Rock, CA

Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen (4247 Eagle Rock Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90065)

Quotable: "Neighborhood cafe perfect for breakfast, brunch, or lunch." 

With three locations and counting across the Los Angeles area—much like your waistline after dining on delicious breakfast burritos, crumb donuts, and grilled cheese sandwiches--Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen is primed for expansion. The Eagle Rock iteration of Hilltop was located (dangerously) just a few hundred feet from the front door of our place. We made sure to make the most of our opportunities living next to this neighborhood gem.    

The Bangin' Breakfast Burrito filled with scrambled eggs, hash browns, black beans, melted cheddar, peppers, onions and chipotle crema was a breakfast staple in our household. There were many mornings that MY WIFE would dabble in being the greatest spouse ever by grabbing a couple of these before I was even out of bed.

While the Coffee Crumb Donuts could also be considered a fast breaking-must, I beg to differ. Any time of day you can get your hands on these coffee crumb caked morsels of deliciousness, you do it. Get it warmed up, or devour it cold; either way it hits the sweet spot.

For lunch, the Grilled Cheese is packed with cheddar, provolone and pimento cheeses on crunchy griddled sourdough bread. Tack on a side of hearty, salty, crispy Tator Tots if you're real and you've got yourself a complete meal.

Cara Restaurant (1730 N Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027​)

Quotable: "High end fare, poolside." ​

Located inside the Cara Hotel near the foothills of Griffith Park, Cara Restaurant features a beautiful vista nestled between 100-year old olive trees and California palms. To fully soak in the beauty, the outdoor dining area is located in the courtyard of the hotel, adjacent a reflective splash pool. 

After admiring the view from your seat, and checking the sitch around you to see if there are any famous folks in your vicinity, it's time to treat yourself to a cocktail. Join the stars with the Make Me Famous (vodka, watermelon, raspberry), or refresh and secure a Late Checkout (tequila, grapefruit, rosemary) to keep your cool poolside. 

Soak up that alcohol with some fresh Warm Baked Banana Bread (try saying that five times fast). Infused with dark chocolate and walnuts, this isn't your average B movie banana bread. 

For your mains, check out the Avocado Toast: loaded with local avocados, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil and topped with spicy chili flakes for some heat. Another favorite is the timeless Steak and Eggs. Eight ounces of sliced Bavette filet goodness is topped with two eggs of your choice (poached is the way) and paired with a side of crispy breakfast potatoes. 

Colorado Donuts (1578 W Colorado Blvd Los Angeles, CA, US 90041)

Quotable: "The croissant donut capital ... of Eagle Rock."

If you follow this blog—and I'm sure all my Thirsties (workshopping a new name for fans of my blog, all two of you) out there are on the edge of their seat eagerly awaiting my every post—you know that I'm a sucker for a delicious croissant donut. They sometimes aren't easy to track down, but when my taste buds finally found one of Colorado Donuts delicious concoctions it was love at first bite.  

Keep it real with the perfectly Glazed Croissant Donut, or do it big and upgrade to the Strawberries and Cream Croissant Donut​: loaded with fresh strawberries and a house made cream cheese. If that's still not enough, Colorado Donuts has a plethora of tasty treats including: Elmo and Cookie Monster speciality donuts (pictured above), candy bar infusions like the M&M or Butterfinger donut, or just good old fashioned reggie donuts like chocolate or blueberry glaze (a personal favorite).

Triple Beam Pizza (5918 N Figueroa Street Highland Park, CA 90042)

Quotable: "Fully customizable, dense and delicious Roma-style pizza" 

Just southeast of Eagle Rock, trendy Highland Park features a pizza shop that focuses on customization and simplicity. Triple Beam Pizza lets you have your pizza your way. 

Is a speciality pizza catching your fancy, but don't want to waste an entire pie? Triple Beam Pizza pies are made Roma-style (square cut), so help yourself to a big slice (roughly a quarter of a pizza). Know what you like but not interested in blowing out the button of your brand new jeans? Grab a half pizza (8"x10"). Ready to go all the way, damn the cost (or just actually have friends to share with)? The whole pizza option is 16"x13" and can feed roughly four people. 

No matter what size you choose, each option can be modified. Add proteins (the vegan chorizo is a must), veggies, cheeses, garnishes or just make sure they're aware of any food allergies. Gluten get you poopin'? Go easy on your intestines and choose the gluten-free crust option. 

A great base pizza to try, if you fancy the funghi, is the Roasted Mushroom and Shallot pie. This cheesy concoction is loaded with mozzarella, fontina, and black truffle cheeses and topped with roasted mushrooms, shallots, garlic, oregano, and thyme. 

Spuds more your speciality? The Potato Sage and Truffle pizza (pictured above) comes fully equipped with roasted Yukon Gold potatoes, fresh sage, and a trio of melty cheeses: fontina, mozzarella, and black truffle. 

If all else fails just grab yourself a big ass, house made Garlic Knot (shown above). Roughly the size of a fist, these doughy balls of deliciousness more than hit the spot.

LA Tacos and Kabobs (4411 Eagle Rock Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90041​)

Quotable: "Quench your craving for homestyle burritos or nacho fries" ​

Unassumingly located in a random shopping center about a quarter mile from our humble abode in Eagle Rock, LA Tacos and Kabobs (LATK) serves up quick and tasty Mexican comfort food. I'd classify this genre as simple American-style Mexican: tacos, nachos, burritos, etc. Many people, me included, sometimes seek out fast food chains like Taco Bell when craving this type of grub. Luckily, when you find a place like this, you never need to slum it at Taco Smell again. 

For example, Taco Hell now features seven-layer nacho fries. If you haven't tried them yet, don't because they are awful. Luckily, if you're in the LA-area, LATK has had their own version of this for years and it blows the fast food imposter variation away.
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LATK's LA Fries come with your choice of carne asada, chicken, or meatless with veggies (winner winner) and are loaded with vegetarian refried beans, mixed cheese, pico, guacamole, sour cream, jalapeños, and LATK's special spicy sauce. 

​If tortillas are more your jam, the LA Burrito is essentially the LA Fries (see description above) in burrito form which equates to a deliciously delightful combo. Either way you can't go wrong in your search to satisfy those guilty, greasy cravings.