Mixed Verdict for Hugo’s Tacos in Atwater Village

It’s no Yuca’s, but Hugo’s Tacos stands on its own as a solid, slightly gourmet neighborhood taco stand.

A sister to famed brunch spot Hugo’s, Hugo’s Tacos just opened a second location — in Atwater Village. And considering it replaced a old real estate office that had appeared to be on its last legs even in the best of times, it’s a nice new dining alternative for area residents.

We’re familiar with Hugo’s Tacos, having dined at the Studio City location. The Atwater Village spot boasts later hours — until 11.

Like the other location, the new Hugo’s Tacos gives a choice of fillings — chicken, steak, carnitas, al pastor, grilled fish, zucchini/corn/string beans and soy chorizo/potato/zucchini — followed by more choices in the salsa department: Pico de gallo, jalapeno/tomatillo, salsa cruda, honey chipotle, salsa negra, salsa habanero and salsa arbol. I tried the fish with honey chipotle (which has a nice kick) and the soy chorizo with habanero (also nice kick) while Maria got the salad (Romaine lettuce, green beans, corn, zucchini, pico de gallo, cotija cheese and vegan spicy caesar dressing). On a separate visit, Evan got the salsa burger — but minus the salsa.

There’s something holding these tacos back from being better than they are, although I can’t put my finger on it. (I kinda feel that same way. In the meantime, it’s still a good fall back choice for lunch or dinner.)

Christmas Tree Lighting Attracts Massive Crowd in Atwater Village

More than 1,000 people showed up to usher in the holidays Thursday night in Atwater Village.

The occasion: Atwater Village’s 17th annual tree lighting ceremony. Yes, it’s big — and so is the tree, a natural one that sits on a Glendale Blvd. median all year round, waiting for its annual spotlight come December.

Not only is the Atwater Village tree lighting ceremony one of the biggest of any L.A. neighborhoods, but I’m guessing that it’s the only one sponsored in part by the Black Eyed Peas. That’s right, the group, which records in the neighborhood, was one of several donors who helped make the event possible.

Of course, the event dragged on a little too long for my taste — light the tree, dammit! But the crowd wasn’t just there for the tree; they were also there to catch their children and neighbors from various schools perform. And, perhaps, to feel the Eric Garcetti love.

By the end, Blogger Preschooler was falling asleep, but we managed to prop him up long enough to witness Santa roll in on his fire truck ride. A few more shots:

Atwater Village Gets Into the Holiday Spirit

A reminder, Atwater Village will throw its free Christmas tree lighting festival tonight at 6:30 p.m. on Glendale Blvd.

Unlike the Grove and Americana trees, the tall one in Atwater Village is very much alive. The event is also a chance to get your kid up close and personal with Santa, without having to plop down those insane mall photo prices.

I’ve been slow to feel the holiday spirit — it really snuck up on me this year — so I hope this event will jump start that cheer. If you see the Franklin Avenue trio there, feel free to unlurk and introduce yourself.

Los Feliz Cancels Its Holiday Festival, But Atwater Village Carries On

One of our favorite neighborhood holiday events, the annual Los Feliz holiday festival, has been canceled this year.

According to the Los Feliz Business Improvement District, the festival was scrapped because the group is “re-evaluating our festivals and fairs.” But it also came down to money: The city’s no longer waiving its fees, and “street closures are expensive.”

(Flickr pic by Jory.)

Good news now: The 17th annual Atwater Village Tree Lighting Ceremony is still on.

Event takes place this Thursday, December 4, 2008 starting at 6:30 p.m. Details:

The tree lighting ceremony will be accompanied by a Holiday Festival in the Wells Fargo parking lot at 3250 Glendale Blvd. The evening’s program will include children’s choirs from local schools, the world premiere of a new locally produced song, a fashion show featuring local merchants and citizens, a short film about the Atwater neighborhood, and traditional Christmas harmonies by the Tam O’Shanter Singers. Santa Claus is scheduled to arrive on a Los Angeles Fire Department fire truck, heralding the lighting of the tree at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Also this year: The Old Bank District Holiday party takes place 6 p.m. to midnight on Dec. 6. It’s free. Details:

- Main Stage presented by Little Radio with live performances from The Like, Whispertown 2000, The Afternoons, Restaurant, and special guest headliner performing from 6 pm – 12 am.

- An outdoor Beer and Wine Garden on 4th St., with seating for partygoers to enjoy the lights and entertainment.

- Harlem Place Alley will be transformed into an intimate Jazz Bar with performances by Pablo Calogero and band, hosted by Pete’s Café & Bar.

- Comme des Garçons, Blends, Orange 22, and Fremont Apparel, as well as other neighborhood retailers including those on Main St. like Banquette, Blossom, Raw Materials and others, will be offering specials and discounts for holiday shoppers.

- An Art Bazaar will be hosted in the historic Farmers and Merchants Bank, featuring the work of over 30 local artists. The Bazaar will be cash only and all work will be $200 and under.

Maria’s Thursday Three: Fonts, Online Shops and an Atwater Boutique

1. Obamabats: Forget about Gotham, Obama’s font of choice for his political campaign. Designer Jeff Domke created this collection of Obama dingbats in honor of the president-elect. Available for download and use free-of-charge. I like free.

2. Frecklewonder: I wish I can fit into this dress, featured in Frecklewonder’s online shop. Seriously, this lady has an eye for fashion and vintage is her game. And the prices? Far too good to be true.

3. Amelia Fitzwater: I kinda want to keep this store to myself, tucked away among beauty salons and gallery spaces along Glendale Blvd. in Atwater Village. The assortment of cards, jewelry, books, accessories and everything else is top notch.

FREE L.A.: Kid-Friendly Halloween Events

We’re big fans of the annual trick-or-treat event in Atwater Village down Glendale Blvd. It’s a great dress rehearsal for the following week’s real Halloween trick-or-treating (plus, we get extra use out of that Target costume), and it’s a great way to see the neighborhood up close.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Hugo’s will be passing out tacos to big kids and small.

The event, now celebrating its 5th year, is free. Over 68 businesses are participating — so yeah, that’s a lot of candy.

Event takes place THIS FRIDAY from 4 to 5:30 p.m. More details here.

This weekend, Pasadena’s Kidspace museum holds its annual Pumpkin Festival. As you can read above, the event is completely free, and features a pumpkin patch, carnival games and music from the likes of Peter Himmelman. The festival takes place Saturday and Sunday, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Rate-A-Restaurant #183: Viet Noodle Bar

Restaurant: Viet Noodle Bar

Location: 3133 Glendale Blvd. (Atwater Village)

Type of restaurant: Vietnamese

We stipulated: It was a Saturday night, and neither of us felt like cooking. Neither of us also felt like spending a ton of money for dinner. Oh, and we couldn’t just abandon our Blogger Preschooler. We could go to one of our staples, Indochine Vien in Atwater Village… or we could try something new. It was time to finally check out the rival Vietnamese joint across from Indochine, Viet Noodle Bar.

Springrolls

What we ordered: Appetizer: Bo Bia Chay (Fresh Springrolls: jicama, carrot, tofu, basil, shallots: $5). Fresh rice noodles: Bun Ca Thi La (White Fish Noodle: with dill, turmeric, white fish: $8) and Bun Chay (Vegetarian Soyskin noodle: Soyskin, shiitake: $8).

White Fish Noodle

High point: The White Fish Noodle was a nice surprise — guess you can’t go wrong with dill and curry. Delicious. I would have eaten it all myself, but we were sharing both dishes.

Low point: I’m sad to report that Viet Noodle Bar is cash only. I rarely carry much cash on me — but thankfully our bill was small enough that I could cover it. Just remember to plan accordingly — or you’ll be facing ATM charges somewhere.

Vegetarian Soyskin Noodle

Overall impression: The Blogger Preschooler enjoys the noodles at Indochine Vien, but I gotta say, we’re kind of leaning toward Viet now. The food’s good, reasonably priced, and the restaurant has a cool, stark, minimalist/urban vibe. And my main issues with Viet — small menu and the communal dining table — have also been addressed now that the restaurant has expanded. According to Eating LA and the Daily Dish, the new menu includes banh mi — hurray!

Chance we’ll go back: We definitely have to check out the expanded space… and try a banh mi.

For a complete list of our nearly 185 restaurant reviews, check out our companion Rate-A-Restaurant site.

Thursday Odds and Ends

:: I find myself obsessed lately with this catchy tune from 2005, Nizlopi’s “JCB Song.” A big hit in the U.K., it never crossed over to this side of the pond, and I just discovered it on an import compilation I recently bought.

Of course, so much of why I like it has to do with being the dad of a 3 year old. Everytime I hear this song I want to go grab the Kid Formerly Known As Blogger Toddler and do something fun with him — so it’s a good thing.

(Photo: Gina Lee)

:: Since we’re kind of on the father tip here, you may have already visited the blog Matt, Liz and Madeline. But in case you haven’t, it’s a heartbreaking yet superbly written ongoing journal of a local Yahoo! staffer who’s chroncling his life as a new dad adjusting to a new world without his wife, who passed away the day after their daughter was born. Matt and Madeline appear to live close by (Atwater Village or Glassell Park, it seems) — local faves like Swork coffee are frequently mentioned.

:: Now on to another topic entirely: Radio. Congrats to Mimi Chen, most recently a colleague at KCSN, for scoring a sweet new gig: A DJ post at the new 100.3 The Sound. Mimi’s no stranger to the AAA format, having been a DJ at the late, lamented 101.9 KSCA “L.A.’s Finest Rock.”

Thursday Odds and Ends

:: I find myself obsessed lately with this catchy tune from 2005, Nizlopi’s “JCB Song.” A big hit in the U.K., it never crossed over to this side of the pond, and I just discovered it on an import compilation I recently bought.

Of course, so much of why I like it has to do with being the dad of a 3 year old. Everytime I hear this song I want to go grab the Kid Formerly Known As Blogger Toddler and do something fun with him — so it’s a good thing.

(Photo: Gina Lee)

:: Since we’re kind of on the father tip here, you may have already visited the blog Matt, Liz and Madeline. But in case you haven’t, it’s a heartbreaking yet superbly written ongoing journal of a local Yahoo! staffer who’s chroncling his life as a new dad adjusting to a new world without his wife, who passed away the day after their daughter was born. Matt and Madeline appear to live close by (Atwater Village or Glassell Park, it seems) — local faves like Swork coffee are frequently mentioned.

:: Now on to another topic entirely: Radio. Congrats to Mimi Chen, most recently a colleague at KCSN, for scoring a sweet new gig: A DJ post at the new 100.3 The Sound. Mimi’s no stranger to the AAA format, having been a DJ at the late, lamented 101.9 KSCA “L.A.’s Finest Rock.”

Hugo’s Tacos Comes to Atwater Village

The Atwater Village Newbie wrote last month that Hugo’s Tacos is opening an outpost in the ‘hood… and as of today, the “coming soon” signs are up.

The new Hugo’s Tacos is located on Glendale Blvd. in the tiny store that formerly housed Long’s Realty. Not sure how Long’s stayed in business; the only property they ever touted was some 400 sq. foot office space on Broadway in Glendale. Guess it finally caught up to them.

Maria and I were actually thinking the space would be perfect for a small wine bar or other mini food spot. But I gotta imagine Hugo’s has some work ahead of it, as there isn’t any sort of kitchen in the tiny space, as far as I can tell.

We reviewed the original Hugo’s Tacos — itself an off-shoot of the popular Hugo’s brunch chain — in 2006. Here’s our review from then. A highlight:

It still seems weird that brunch staple Hugo’s now also operates a taco stand. But because it’s fairly new, the stand is clean, operates well, and is a gourmet alternative to your typical greasy taco shack. It also offers up vegetarian options, like a soy chorizo and potato taco, as well as a zucchini/corn/string bean one.

Always nice to have yet another dining option in Atwater Village. And since I pass by that old Long’s Realty shack every day on the way home from work, I can imagine plenty of nights in the future where I’m bringing home tacos to the Franklin Avenue 3.