Town and Country - a Review

Town and Country was a recent place we stopped to get some brunch. Located in the Silver Lake area of Sunset, it has a nice feel to it, with outdoor seating and a deli case featuring lots of goodies.

The other good thing about this place was the awesome blackberry jam/preserves/compote/concotion.
Unfortunately, that's where the good parts ended. It wasn't a hectic morning, half of the tables were empty and we were lucky enough to get two waiters. They were both unattentative at best and we couldn't figure out which one was the real waiter. It took a long time to get an extra set of silverware, I had to get up to get some salt from a table across the room that nobody was using and to top it off, they could only accept two forms of payment. Either Cash and one card, or two cards and no cash, but definitely not 5 cards.

Listen, we are trying to pay you money, if you do not have the means to accept it, i.e. no credit card machine then that's one thing, call yourselves cash only, but if you are half empty and can't take the money that I want to give you, then don't charge for the meal.

I skipped one part, the food, it was pretty good, despite it being overpriced, and outrageously priced for add-ons.
The tiny fruit salad cup that comes with the pancakesdoesn't even come with it unless you ask for it. I understand you are trying to save money and all, but at least accompany the pancakes with it, as somebody else at the table will probably eat the poorly assembled blend of melons. While I am at it, making the $5-6 pancakes cost an extra $3-4 for an egg and some bacon on the side is a bit much don't you think?

The other people at my table got some sort of breakfast burrito which wasn't bad, and what appears to be eggs and avocado.
I can't exactly pinpoint what it was, but there were a lot of things off about this place, and you should never leave with several bad tastes in your mouth. I rate this place slightly above average for the food, poor for service, below average for value and the experience. If you have the guts to venture in here, let me know how it goes, otherwise save yourself the trouble and money and walk down the street in either direction and find something better.

The Griddle Cafe

A couple of weeks ago, I was treated to breakfast by Lauren's brother while he was out in Los Angeles on business. When he lived in Los Angeles, he had the chance to eat some of the city's best food, so along with a fantastic breakfast, I got a few great recommendations to try out.

We went to one of his breakfast staples. The Griddle Cafe. The place is known for their gigantic buttermilk pancakes, and sometimes they get carried away with sweetness. Nobody will argue with you, if you try to pass off their "A Time to Love" pancakes as a dessert. The description reads, Enter into a world of Wonder with our streusel, butterscotch chip, and caramel filled "Tis the Season" originals... Topped with powdered sugar, whipped cream, and caramel. (Signed, Sealed, Delivered!)
In order to fully appreciate this pancake, you have to understand what the "Tis the Season" original is. Which just so happens to be, what I ordered.
"Tis the Season", pancakes are... "Our "Good Ol' Fashioned" recipe mixed with our own pumpkin pie filling. Topped with real whipped cream and powdered sugar (Everyday is like a holiday at The Griddle!). The Good Ol' Fashioned just refers to their original buttermilk recipe.

They don't lie, it felt like a holiday when I took a bite of the pumpkin goodness, which not only had real whip cream on top, but some of the pumpkin pie filling as well. It wasn't as sweet as a pumpkin pie in the cake part, which was a welcome relief. Anything that sweet would have been overpowering in bulk.

I got the short stack (2), apparently, you can order a single cake, which by the size (bigger than my head and the plate), would have been enough for two. Lauren's brother and I made it through half of it, as he had his own breakfast to eat.

He ordered an eggwhite omelet which came with fruit, and a side of Griddle Potatoes, which was more like a Potato casserole. The Griddle Potatoes were cooked well, and were great with a dash of salt, ketchup or both. Definitely worth getting. I didn't hear any complaints from his end of the table, which meant we were free to talk about other exciting places to dine and mundane things like the Olympics.

I hear they also have a lunch menu, if that's what you are into. Even though the place is called The Griddle, sometimes you just want lunch food. Even though, I didn't try any of their lunch foods, I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be above par (as in better than the norm, which is different when playing golf, where they use par regularly).

Thank you to Lauren's brother for bringing The Griddle and other Los Angles restaurants to my attention, and if you ever find yourself in Los Angeles, swing on by and give it a try.

7916 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90046 (cross street is Fairfax)
(323) 874-0377
griddle@thegriddlecafe.com
Hours: Mon-Fri: 7 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sat & Sun: 8 a.m.-4 p.m.