Hidden Gem #3 - Yorkshire Grill

Our favourite weekday place to grab some lunch is the Yorkshire Grill on W 6th Street.

The place isn’t huge but they shuffle people in and out fairly quickly. The host and servers have always been great with us (I say always, we have been there four times).

The Yorkshire is very much like a New York Deli and the portions are very big, especially the sandwiches. All things considered for the area, the prices are reasonable.

H usually gets the Matzoh ball soup and a small potion of potato salad. Since I am a picky eater I seem to dig the hamburger and fries-both are great.

There is something on the menu for everyone and the atmosphere is very relaxed and friendly. Lots of ’suits’ during the lunch hour so it can be a little loud but we like that kind of place - where there is some action in the air and people are having a good time.

610 W 6th St

Los Angeles, CA 90017

(213) 623-3362

Hidden Gem #2 - New York Tailor Shop

This past weekend H got a great deal on clothes at Macy’s in the Beverly Hills Center - three pairs of dress pants and a pair of jeans for a little less than $80. Of course they needed some tailoring so we were soon on the hunt for someone with a good reputation and decently priced.

H reached out to a colleague in her Chicago office who before moving to the Windy City (you do know why they call it that right?) lived all her life in LA. She recommended the New York Tailor Shop in the fashion district. Apparently she goes as far as to bring any clothes she has purchased in Chicago back home with her to be tailored at this place.

So after work yesterday I meet H at the car and we drive on over, somehow finding a spot on Los Angeles Street at 5:00 p.m. without a problem.

If we didn’t know the address we would have missed the place because they have a tiny little sign outside that you probably wouldn’t notice if you drove by. The shop is on the mezzanine of the building, just a short flight of steps up.

You are greeted by the working room, and I say this because I can’t imagine there is much else to the place. Packed into what I would guess to be 350-400 sq. ft. are a number of sewing machines, three change rooms and plenty of guys working.

I’m afraid I don’t know who helped us but he was very nice and paid attention to detail when pinning and fitting. He wrote up the receipt when we were done and we were surprised to see a bill for $27 for five pairs of pants! That seems like a good deal, no? Three pairs had cuffs and I am guessing they was a little more expensive.

So here’s the best part.

He asks when we want these done, and H replied the sooner the better but in all honesty whenever they can. The guy replied “How about tomorrow afternoon?”. Are you kidding me? Back in Chicago this would have cost $80 and taken a week!

So we are headed back there this afternoon to pick things up and see how they turned out. I have no doubt that the job will be well done, sometimes you can just tell.

For those of you in the LA area …

New York Tailor Shop

824 S. Los Angeles Street, LA, CA 90014

Mezzanine Level #101  (213) 627-5293

Hiddden Gem #1 - The Flower District

I’ve given it to you pretty good lately downtown LA but I am also not afraid to give you your props when deserved.

Last week I stumbled upon the Flower District and I must say what a find!

During our home finding visit to LA back in January, H and I were accidentally drove through the flower district. We didn’t stop since we really didn’t have time but it definitely stuck in our head that we had to check it out. Well, since we don’t have any furniture in our place we needed something to at least make it look like someone lived there. The unit owner left a vase under the sink so the other day I loaded up on quarters (for the meters) and headed down to the flower district.

I didn’t spend much time there because I figured H would like to check it out at some point. I wandered into a few different stores, just looking and browsing. I then came across a nice mixed bunch and figured they would bring some life to our bland living quarters. I asked how much they were and was told six dollars.

Six dollars?

Six American dollars?

Maybe she said sixteen … So I asked again.

Nope, six dollars.

Well I grabbed those puppies and headed to the counter just in case she misspoke. What a steal! Something like that would go for $12-14 back home and they wouldn’t have been as fresh.

They have looked good on the counter and served their purpose well over the last week. I am sure we will head back into the area some time this weekend. There appears to be a lot of flower shops in the area, and I am sure you could get lost for an hour or two just wandering around and checking things out.

So there you go LA - a little love from me and one of the cool things you have to offer. I know there are more gems in the downtown core and you won’t let me down in the long run.