An Ace Up My Sleeve

Greetings, Readers!

I hope you have all recovered from the festivities of National Sandwich Day like I have.

To celebrate this special day, I decided to have some lunch with family at the Ace Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.

The Ace opened earlier this year on Broadway in the historic United Artists Building. Originally built in 1927, the building has been updated but still keeps a lot of its old school charm and feel. Broadway has been going through a bit of a revitalization over the years and this is a gleaming anchor of the district.

The rooftop bar provides not only excellent drinks but a great view of DTLA that is well worth visiting the hotel for on its own. Even better for sandwich lovers though, is the restaurant, L.A. Chapter, on the main floor. Taking a seat on the sidewalk seating, I took my time with the menu. The salads and other eats all looked amazing, but the sandwiches showed someone had taken their time in crafting them.

The Lobster Roll won out over all of the other options, though i'm sure I will be back to try the others. Savory chunks of lobster are stacked in a toasted roll with harissa, celery, hearts of palm and furikake. This savory sandwich surprised me with a bit of sweetness throughout along with a kick of spice. The buttery lobster was an incredible experience and some of the best seafood I've had in awhile.

The roll was buttery and lightly toasted, a great complement to the savory insides of the sandwich.

If you're in Los Angeles, or you live here and want someplace new to check out, hop on Metro (yes it exists) or drive on down to this bright and shiny updated section of Broadway and get to know a little known neighborhood. Starting at the Ace and LA Chapter are definitely the way to start this visit off on the right foot.

Until next week, Readers...


The Lobster Roll
**** Stars
L.A. Chapter at The Ace Hotel
927 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA

A New Summertime Favorite

Greetings, Readers!

As I showed last week with revisiting two places that I had eaten at and reviewed previously, there is an inherent problem with this blog: While trying to bring you all fresh new experiences and sandwiches each week, I sometimes don't get the chance to repeat at some of my favorite places.

Take for example Sweetsalt in Toluca Lake. I love this place. It's fantastic, with a great atmosphere, and it's right in the middle of a lot of great shops and stops on the main street of Toluca Lake.

So on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, we headed back to this quaint lunch spot.

The previous sandwich I reviewed from them, their duck confit, is still a standout sandwich, but this time around something new caught my eye. Something I've been wanting to try for quite sometime anywhere I could find one: A lobster roll.

Stacked between two halves of a brioche bun, this sandwich is packed with thick chunks of Maine lobster, topped with cucumbers, shallot, dill, and sundried tomato aioli. The creamy smooth texture of this sandwich is punctuated with the pop of lobster chunks and the crunch of the fresh, green cucumber. The lobster is smooth without an overpowering seafood flavor, and the cucumber helps to cut through all the other flavors offering a complementary taste.

The brioche bun, with its buttery flavor, held together until the end.

Overall, this was excellent and gives me hope for the future of lobster rolls to come. So if it's a beautiful Sunday afternoon (which for the next few months here in LA it will be), drive on down to Sweetsalt, pick up a cool drink and a refreshing summer sandwich like their Lobster Roll.

Until next week, Readers...


Lobster Roll
**** Stars
Sweetsalt
10218 Riverside Drive
Toluca Lake, CA 91602