Red Oak BBQ: We stumbled upon a Farmer's Market last Sunday, on our way to a disappointing used book store. I don't remember the location, but it was in west LA. Red Oak BBQ looked to have some good meat, so I got a plate of sliced beef (tri-tips). The meat was high quality, but it didn't have the flavor or the smoke ring that I've gotten used to in Texas. It didn't have a rub either, so it wasn't too flavorful. The BBQ sauce was pretty good, though. The baked beans were still chewy and not flavorful, though the sauce itself was flavorful...so in all, they just didn't slow cook anything enough.
At the same farmer's market we bought two straw hats, a wonderful all-juice apple/cherry drink (quite refreshing, lots of apple flavor with accents of cherry), and two mini bundt cakes that were extremely moist and surely weren't from a storebought mix. None of those had signs up with their names.
Portos: We ended up going to Brand bookstore in Glendale (which was great), and just stumbled upon the only other Portos bakery. It was super packed (200 people?) at 2:30 on a Sunday, so I didn't get a pastry. I did get a blended mocha coffee that was excellent, and a strawberry/banana smoothie (not bad, though a bit light on flavor). Again it had multiple ordering locations and the people in front of me in the beverages line were ordering non-beverages so I'm not sure what the deal is. Also, the pick-up (take-out?) area was empty, so maybe one could order there if you knew what you wanted? I'll have to go back sometime...like a weekday morning when I can actually sample the food. Or maybe I'll just call in an order.
Vanilla Bake Shop: Wandering around the 3rd St Promenade, we stopped to pick up a cupcake. I was leery because previous experiences buying cupcakes from cupcake shops have turned out poorly (too much icing of dubious quality on top of a dry flavorless cake). This spicy carrot cupcake was delicious, with a generous (perhaps too generous) topping of smooth cream cheese frosting and a deep infusion of cinnamon. I would go again, though I generally prefer pastries to cupcakes.
Infuzion Cafe: Continuing the wandering, we passed by a very busy Starbucks and found this little cafe that was doing steady, but less harried, business. I was excited about the variety on the menu, envisioning a Thai Iced Tea with strong tea and a separate layer of sweetened condensed milk...with bobas! Ah, a heavenly dream, but what I got wasn't worth describing except to say that bobas must be fresh with that variation in texture as you bite into one...or they really don't belong in my drink. I also got a chocolate croissant that wasn't bad, but I'd recommend getting pastries from the Le Pain Quotidien in the Promenade instead. I'll probably go back here...I expect to be in the Promenade relatively often and this place has several "best of coffee" type awards and editorials posted on their walls. Next time I'll go with something more standard for a cafe...like coffee.
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