Awan Coffee Chocolate Chip Ice Cream: Awan is a vegan ice cream shop with a small "window" in West Hollywood where you can take scoops / pints to go. I'm not normally one to get coffee or chocolate ice cream, but after sampling a few flavors, the coffee chocolate chip was the clear winner to me. The texture is remarkably smooth and creamy for vegan ice cream, and the coffee flavor was toasty and rich, with chips of chocolate chip that had a quality snap in texture. Kiddie size was perfect even for sharing. 4.0/5.0
recommended icecream losangeles vegan awan coffee chocolate chip ice cream 4.0The Base Co Strawberry Shiso Match + Oatly: Purchased at Holy Basil in Downtown LA, this canned beverage is one of many house-made drinks available including Hibiscus Oolong Tea and Thyme Orange Meyer Lemonade. The selection made it hard to choose, but given that I expected the Thai dishes at Holy Basil to have a bit of heat, I opted for a milk tea option. I really enjoyed the fruity, herbal combination of this strawberry matcha drink, which had a creamy finish that was distinctly oat milk (but not overly thick). It gave me nostalg... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended losangeles drinks thebaseco strawberry shiso match + oatly 4.0Mateo's Arrayan Paletas: Mateo's is a chain in Los Angeles that has a rainbow assortment of ice creams and fruit bars, or paletas, featuring tropical flavors from Central America ranging from yellow cherry, mamey, and sapote (a type of ash-colored persimmon fruit). The popular shop had a short line out the door, with two groups allowed in the store at a given time (and no samples during the pandemic). Their arrayan pop features fresh fruit from the arrayan guava, which reminded me a lot of Taiwanese guava I had wh... (read more) 3.0/5.0
losangeles tropical fruit mateos arrayan paletas 3.0Donut Hut Coffee donut: Donut Hut is a brightly colored red and yellow striped to-go shop that on first glance looks like a local hot dog stand. They specialize in no-fuss donuts in a variety of flavors, made old school and at friendly, old school prices (cash only, about a dollar each). This cinnamon donut, glazed with crumbles of cinnamon reminiscent of ground coffee cake, was perfectly fluffy and risen, sweet but just the right amount of sweet. Definitely worth a visit if you find yourself in Burbank. 4.0/5.0
recommended losangeles la donut donuthut coffee 4.0Daybird Strawberry Lemonade: This strawberry lemonade is exceptional on its own but even more so as a companion to spicy foods. I had it alongside the fried chicken sandwich at Daybird (which is definitely worth seeking out), and as amazing as the sandwich was, I was actually left most impressed with the freshness of this drink, which captures perfectly the tart and sweet flavor of fresh strawberries. You can see the quality just in the color of the drink itself, with it's striking red-orange hue. I can't think of any w... (read more) 5.0/5.0
exceptional drinks losangeles daybird strawberry lemonade 5.0Gjusta Lemon Cake: This slice of lemon cake from Gjusta in LA is thickly sliced and has a decently tart flavor. Texturally, though, it eats a bit dry. In the landscape of lemon desserts, this one falls somewhere in the middle - not bad, but not particularly notable. 3.0/5.0
losangeles pastry dessert gjusta lemon cake 3.0