Rate-A-Restaurant #190: Butter Tart

Restaurant: Butter Tart

Location: 4126 Verdugo Road (Glassell Park)

Type of restaurant: Coffee and baked goods

We stipulated: A few months ago, Maria and I finally took in our dusty, decrepit bikes to get tuned up. It was an ambitious move: Neither of us had ridden bikes in years; hell, since the birth of Evan, neither of us do much exercise, period. We bought a bike trailer from Target for the Blogger Preschooler to ride along… and a few Saturdays ago, we took our maiden voyage — to a Coffee Bean in north Glendale. Since then, we’ve been on the lookout for other Saturday morning destinations. When we heard that a new boutique coffee shop had opened up nearby, it seemed like a perfect time to head on over.

What we ordered: “Colossal Coffee Cake,” $2.95; Bacon Butter Tart, $2; Large Coffee, $2; medium coffee, $1.45

High point: They don’t lie, that slice of coffee cake was indeed colossal — plenty for me to share with Evan, and even Maria (who found herself having to share the Bacon Butter Tart with our 3 1/2 year-old bacon fiend). Both were buttery good, and went well with the Groundworks coffee.

Low point: Strangely, the large coffee and medium coffee mugs seemed to be nearly the same size. I’m wondering if I should order my coffee “to go” next time. Also, it’s too bad the hours are so limited (Butter Tart is closed by 11 a.m. on weekdays and noon on weekends), although I get why they want to wait and test demand before being open longer.

Overall impression: What a needed and perfect addition to this part of the South Glendale/Adams Hill/South Eagle Rock/North Glassell Park region. The well-designed spot (love the cardboard moose heads) is bright and inviting, and the music was right on, a cool mix of indie, chill out and more. Then, of course, are the baked goods: All homemade, and all worth the bike ride over. (Hey, we earned those treats. It’s all a wash, right?) Some of the items may be a tad too buttery, but that’s quibbling. We’re so psyched to have Butter Tart nearby that we’ll be spreading the word.

Chance we’ll go back: You may see us there almost every weekend. Butter Tart’s Karena told us that bike racks are coming, which will help us concentrate on what’s on our plate, instead of keeping an eye on our bikes outside.

For a complete list of our more than 190 restaurant reviews, check out our companion Rate-A-Restaurant site.

Home Depot Slinks Away from Atwater Village/Glassell Park

(Flickr pic by Luis Lopez.)

The No Home Depot Coalition fought the big box chain, and won. Home Depot has officially given up its attempts to take over the old abandoned K-Mart store on San Fernando and Fletcher (above). Write the No Home Depot folks:

“Home Depot has reportedly abandoned its efforts to open another store in Fletcher Square at the old Kmart site. Los Angeles Council District 13 released the information that the leasehold on the old Kmart site ( 3150 San Fernando Rd ), which Home Depot purchased several years ago, is up for sale.

This latest update is welcomed news to the No Home Depot Coalition (NHDC); and many community activists in both the Atwater Village and Glassell Park communities who vigorously protested against Home Depot installing a 3rd store on a four mile stretch of San Fernando Road.

The NHDC continues to believe that a Home Depot in this location is contrary to the spirit and intent of the Northeast Community Plan and the recently adopted Fletcher Square Community Design Overlay. With the lease on the site reportedly for sale the NHDC hopes that community efforts will focus on attracting a development that satisfies the community’s desires and needs.”

The group was particularly bothered by the fact that Home Depot is already a mile or two north and south of the site on San Fernando — was another one necessary? Others on Curbed LA point out that the declining house market may have as much to do with Home Depot’s retreat than the protests.

As for the site, I know the neighborhood has big dreams: One mock-up illustration suggested a Grove-like structure, complete with chains like The Cheesecake Factory.

But there’s a big snag to attracting big name retailers: There’s a large sex shop right across the street. Not exactly the most family-friendly of spots!

Home Depot Slinks Away from Atwater Village/Glassell Park

(Flickr pic by Luis Lopez.)

The No Home Depot Coalition fought the big box chain, and won. Home Depot has officially given up its attempts to take over the old abandoned K-Mart store on San Fernando and Fletcher (above). Write the No Home Depot folks:

“Home Depot has reportedly abandoned its efforts to open another store in Fletcher Square at the old Kmart site. Los Angeles Council District 13 released the information that the leasehold on the old Kmart site ( 3150 San Fernando Rd ), which Home Depot purchased several years ago, is up for sale.

This latest update is welcomed news to the No Home Depot Coalition (NHDC); and many community activists in both the Atwater Village and Glassell Park communities who vigorously protested against Home Depot installing a 3rd store on a four mile stretch of San Fernando Road.

The NHDC continues to believe that a Home Depot in this location is contrary to the spirit and intent of the Northeast Community Plan and the recently adopted Fletcher Square Community Design Overlay. With the lease on the site reportedly for sale the NHDC hopes that community efforts will focus on attracting a development that satisfies the community’s desires and needs.”

The group was particularly bothered by the fact that Home Depot is already a mile or two north and south of the site on San Fernando — was another one necessary? Others on Curbed LA point out that the declining house market may have as much to do with Home Depot’s retreat than the protests.

As for the site, I know the neighborhood has big dreams: One mock-up illustration suggested a Grove-like structure, complete with chains like The Cheesecake Factory.

But there’s a big snag to attracting big name retailers: There’s a large sex shop right across the street. Not exactly the most family-friendly of spots!

A Night at the Fresh & Easy: The Recap

The Glassell Park Fresh & Easy at night; the underwhelming inside.

Burgers… and baked goods.

Chicken tortilla soup ($2.99); their version of Pirates Booty: “White Cheddar Pirate’s Treasure” ($1.68)

Fat-free milk ($1.78); 7 petite chocolate chip cookies ($1.49)

Pomegranate & blueberry sorbet ($1.98); blue corn & chile lime crackers ($2)

Green Thai-style chicken curry ($3.99); seedless red grapes ($2.43)

Chicken salad ($2.99); whole wheat pizza dough ($0.99).

Great review here on the experience by Rose, who must’ve been there right around the same time we were. She hits most of the points right — a nice new grocery alternative, but still somewhat disappointing, particularly given all the build up.

And by the way, this annoys me: Rose writes as a plus: “They mailed out $10 coupons to the neighborhood, which brought in more customers. And after my purchase I received a $6 coupon (on my next purchase over $30).”

Dude, we (a) didn’t get those coupons, even though we live just a mile away, and (b) I didn’t get a $6 coupon when I checked out. Boo, Fresh & Easy, maybe I was too positive in that last post… I’m getting less and less enthused about the place.

A Night at the Fresh & Easy: The Recap

The Glassell Park Fresh & Easy at night; the underwhelming inside.

Burgers… and baked goods.

Chicken tortilla soup ($2.99); their version of Pirates Booty: “White Cheddar Pirate’s Treasure” ($1.68)

Fat-free milk ($1.78); 7 petite chocolate chip cookies ($1.49)

Pomegranate & blueberry sorbet ($1.98); blue corn & chile lime crackers ($2)

Green Thai-style chicken curry ($3.99); seedless red grapes ($2.43)

Chicken salad ($2.99); whole wheat pizza dough ($0.99).

Great review here on the experience by Rose, who must’ve been there right around the same time we were. She hits most of the points right — a nice new grocery alternative, but still somewhat disappointing, particularly given all the build up.

And by the way, this annoys me: Rose writes as a plus: “They mailed out $10 coupons to the neighborhood, which brought in more customers. And after my purchase I received a $6 coupon (on my next purchase over $30).”

Dude, we (a) didn’t get those coupons, even though we live just a mile away, and (b) I didn’t get a $6 coupon when I checked out. Boo, Fresh & Easy, maybe I was too positive in that last post… I’m getting less and less enthused about the place.

Fresh, Easy and Finally Open

I wanted to hit the brand spankin’ new Fresh & Easy in Glassell Park early on Thursday (the store is open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.), but work duties interfered. So Blogger Toddler and I made it there around 7 p.m. last night to finally get our first taste of U.S. Tesco.

The parking lot was still packed, and by the looks of the inside, it was a successful first day. The ready-to-cook meals were fairly picked over, and the aisles were still bumper-to-bumper with carts, making it tough to navigate. But we did, and got a good idea of what F&E is all about.

First off, there are things that are Trader Joe’s-esque (a reliance on store brands, a food sample booth, pizza dough) and things that aren’t (there’s still a wide selection of national brands, and more traditional grocery items — like bug spray, or even diapers — than TJ’s).

Wasn’t too impressed with the food sample booth — pieces of lettuce with blue cheese dressing (really? On day one, that’s your only sample in the entire store? Shouldn’t F&E be offering samples of just about everything?) Like TJ’s, the produce selection is relatively small (actually, if possible, it’s smaller than Trader Joe’s). But in other ways — the sheer variety of both F&E brand and national brand ice creams, for example — F&E offers much more than TJs.

I was impressed, for the most part, by the prices. And let’s face it, another grocery option so close by is a good thing — and a welcome addition to the working-class Glassell Park neighborhood.

The store is big, but not too big, and simply designed. (The wall that separates F&E from whatever will move in next door is empty and stark.) Majority of the check outs are do-it-youself, although on opening day plenty of F&E employees were on hand to help ring people up.

Ultimately, I think the real draw for F&E will indeed be its ready-to-cook entrees. For dinner, I picked up a Green Curry Thai Chicken rice bowl for $3.99. Good price, good flavor (although I’m still tasting the garlic) — and there’s plenty more to try.

As for the store brands, like TJs, F&E sells a number of offbeat products — and interesting flavor combos, such as a blue corn and lime cracker. I think TJs easily still beats F&E for the sheer variety of budget gourmet choices. Disappointed to see that Tesco didn’t import any British items — particularly, candy — for its F&E stores.

Stay tuned for pics of the store, as well as our initial purchases.

The L.A. Times was out at several F&E stores, and filed this report:

The Fresh & Easy model is simple: The markets are relatively small, at about 10,000 square feet per store, and the advertising campaign includes references to environmentally friendly packaging and food free of artificial colors, flavors and trans fats. Stores are stocked with big names and in-house brands and offer more prepared entrees and side dishes than typical supermarkets.

Some industry watchers have said that Fresh & Easy might change the Southland’s grocery-shopping landscape, if only because Tesco plans to open dozens more markets in the region by next year. (The six stores that debuted Thursday are in Anaheim, Arcadia, Hemet, Glassell Park, Upland and West Covina.)

The paper brought “Good Food” host Evan Kleiman to the Glassell Park location; she was quite impressed, and said she’d be back.

One Day to Fresh & Easy

A sneak preview of what the new Fresh & Easy grocery chain — which opens tomorrow in several spots, including Glassell Park (just around the bend from Franklin Avenue H.Q.).

It’s looking more and more like, sadly, there won’t be any imported British items from parent Tesco. But nonetheless, we’re still excited to see what sort of ready-to-heat food options (apparently a specialty) F&E will be offering. See you there on Thursday! (Nope, we didn’t get an invite to the big grand opening party Wednesday.)

One Day to Fresh & Easy

A sneak preview of what the new Fresh & Easy grocery chain — which opens tomorrow in several spots, including Glassell Park (just around the bend from Franklin Avenue H.Q.).

It’s looking more and more like, sadly, there won’t be any imported British items from parent Tesco. But nonetheless, we’re still excited to see what sort of ready-to-heat food options (apparently a specialty) F&E will be offering. See you there on Thursday! (Nope, we didn’t get an invite to the big grand opening party Wednesday.)

Maria’s Thursday Three

1. Silversun Degrees Of Separation: Living in L.A., people are bound to have some association with members of the band — I used to work with Nikki at Rhino; she’s super sweet and always wear killer clothes. Also, in the blog-la-sphere, Celia’s cousin is drummer Christopher. Any of you out there who somehow has some association with the band? (P.S. We’ll announce the winner of tix to Saturday’s show at the Wiltern tomorrow.)

2. Ugly Podcast: I listen to the Ugly Betty podcasts (go to iTunes) hosted by Becki Newton (Amanda) and Michael Urie (Mark) weekly and those two are quick-witted, super funny and seem to be extensions of their characters on the show. Every week, they tease the upcoming episode and talk about some inside stuff happening on production. This week’s podcast, for example, features a couple of special guests and they all quickly get into playing like they have callers calling in the show and being stupidly funny.

3. High on Highland Park: On a rare night out a few weeks ago, we finally ventured to check out the Verdugo Bar in Glassell Park (right around the corner from Franklin Avenue HQ) — but sadly they were closed. Not sure if they have re-opened but the Chowhound thread indicates that they may have liquor license issues. We ended up at The York, where they served some stiff top-shelf drinks for $6 a pop– pretty good deal. The vibe was good (hipster, not the Marc Jacobs kind). Quickly checked out Johnnie’s as well– smaller but seems cool. Would definitely go back to these two bars again.

Maria’s Thursday Three

It's apparently still 1998, and "The Rachel" is still all the rage, at "Top Chef" contestant Casey's hair salon.

1. Really happy that the final three on Top Chef are Casey, Dale and Hung. Hung has gotten likeable in the later episodes and you got to give him props for his skills. Dale has the knowledge and Casey has the heart. I’m especially happy for Casey as she’s proven herself to be a real contender in the kitchen. Plus (above), she’s in a much better place now after Brad left her for Angelina.

2. Can’t wait to check out Verdugo Bar in Glassell Park, which is a hop, skip and jump from our house. Verdugo Bar, 3408 North Verdugo Road, between West Avenues 34 and 35.

3. The frozen pie crust from Trader Joe’s is my new best friend. There have been many, many frustrating moments in our kitchen with me trying my hand at making pie crusts. As far as store-bought crusts are concerned, the crust from TJ’s is the best.