Food Critics

Jan 10, 2010
FOODWINEART LOS ANGELES

Center of Home in Downtown

By Elliot M. Shirwo

107 West 9th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015, around the corner from the historic Orpheum Theatre, resides a place that feels like home. For Chef/Owner Natalia Pereira, this is not only her home away from her home in Minas Gerais, Brazil but also her dream come true. Three years ago, a generous spirit bestowed an opportunity for Natalia to open a restaurant so she can share the love of her mother’s native recipes will all of us that love food and sharing it with those we love. Apparently, others have discovered this soulful comfort food before me and my dear friend stumbled across it the evening of the Zero 7 concert on December 16, 2009. I’ve heard that Chef Alice Waters had dined here a few times. In the restroom, you will find Alice Water’s book, Edible Schoolyard, signed to Natalia, “With Admiration”. I also understand that Giada De Laurentiis of the FoodTV Network considers WoodSpoon one of her favorite spots and will be featuring this restaurant in an upcoming show. Natalia’s restaurant is WoodSpoon, named arbitrarily when she saw a piece of wood and a spoon before her. Start off your meal with a mixed plate of traditional, Brazilian small plates of fried deliciousness: Coxinha (Brazil’s most popular street food made with chicken), Potato Croquette, Portuguese Croquette made with salted cod, Pastel Portuguese Dumplings stuffed with shrimp, coconut sauce, and Kibe made with bulgar wheat, mint and ground beef.

Don’t miss out on the home-inspired sides dishes, especially the julienned collard greens, Brazilian sausage and Yam fries. One of Natalia’s favorite childhood dishes that her mother made from leftovers is a Brazilian Chicken Pot Pie. It will bring you back home. Other favorites to indulge in are the Pork Burger with roasted cabbage and onion on potato bread and the Calabreza Salad. On top of the other dishes on the menu, Natalia produces a special menu on Saturdays inspired by a different country every week. She make her own desserts, including a warm Coconut Macaroons, Chocolate Truffles and others that I can’t wait to try. For Libations, you must order a carafe of Sangria, a special blend of flavors balanced by spices (i.e., black pepper, clove), fresh berries and red wine. Despite her orphan past, Natalia has found her home again as I did when I shared great food with a great friend, WoodSpoon, 107 West 9th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015, telephone: (213) 629-1765, open Tuesday thru Saturday for lunch and dinner.

2009
MICHELIN GUIDE RECOMMENDED

WoodSpoon

By Michelin Guide

This small, friendly, and unpretentious new eatery near the Fashion and Jewelry Districts has quickly won a local following. Basic and comfortable, it combines bright colors in a simple, clean, Art Deco style with a short, affordable menu of petite, tasty dishes. Among the favorites are feijoada, a bean stew served (on Saturdays) with rice and salted pork, or pork burger with roasted cabbage and onion. A good selection of small plates may include cohinha, beignets filled with shredded chicken or shrimp with spicy mayonnaise; as well as skewer-grilled pork sausage with black beans, excellent roasted plantain, and spicy salsa.

The caffeine-loaded Guarama, a Brazilian staple, goes down smoothly with a dessert of flan or Brigadeiro -- simple chocolate candy.

Sep 10, 2009
ESTADAO

Coqueiro que dá coconutn

By Michelle Alves de Lima

A água de coco verde de Petrolina, quem diria, acabou na Times Square. Depois do sucesso do açaí (ah-sah-ee, na pronúncia dos americanos), é a água de coco que está conquistando espaço nos Estados Unidos. Enquanto a venda de refrigerantes e água mineral caiu, a de água de coco dobrou no último ano. E o consumo continua aumentando. Resultado: até as maiores fabricantes de bebida do mundo entraram nesse mercado. Em agosto, a PepsiCo fechou acordo para comprar a maior fabricante brasileira, a Amacoco, dona das marcas Kero Coco e Trop Coco. Na semana passada, a Coca-Cola comprou 18% da empresa americana Zico. As caixinhas da bebida, que há cinco anos eram encontradas apenas em lojas de produtos naturais como o Whole Foods, estão nos supermercados americanos. E algumas celebridades já se tornaram adeptas, entre elas a pop star Madonna. ... Em Los Angeles, a brasileira Natália Pereira serve água de coco em seu restaurante mineiro, o Wood Spoon, desde a inauguração, em novembro de 2006. "Costumo dizer aos clientes que ela é como água benta: é um gatorade brasileiro, que cura qualquer ressaca", diz Natália. A brasileira compra o coco verde em um mercado de produtos latinos e extrai a água. "Quando não encontro lá, chego a dirigir por mais de meia hora para achar coco. Não posso ficar sem." Em dias normais, Natália vende de 30 a 40 cocos. No verão e durante a semana de moda, a Fashion Week, as vendas sobem para 80 unidades diárias. A mineira também oferece no Wood Spoon cinco opções de sucos feitos com água de coco. O mais vendido é o que leva água de coco, açaí, laranja e hortelã. Onde encontrar: Wood Spoon - 107 W 9th Street, Los Angeles, CA, (+1) 213 629-1765.

Translated via Google Translate: The green coconut water Petrolina, who would say, ended up in Times Square. After the success of the acai (ah-sah-ee, the pronunciation of Americans), is the coconut water that is gaining a foothold in the United States. While the sale of soft drinks and mineral water fell, the coconut water has doubled in the last year. And consumption is still increasing. Result: even the largest manufacturers of beverage in the world entered this market. In August, PepsiCo agreed to buy the largest Brazilian manufacturer, the Amacoco, owner of brands Kero Coco and Coco Trop. Last week, Coca-Cola bought 18% of the U.S. company Zico. The drink boxes, five years ago were found only in health food stores like Whole Foods, are in U.S. supermarkets. And some celebrities have become devotees, among them the pop star Madonna. ... In Los Angeles, the Brazilian Natália Pereira serves coconut water in her restaurant, Wood Spoon, since its inauguration in November 2006. "I usually tell customers that it is like holy water: a Brazilian Gatorade that can cure any hangover," says Natália. I purchase the coconut in a Latin market and extract its water. "I drive for half an hour to find the coconut. I cannot do without." On regular days, Natália shares 30 to 40 coconuts. In summer and during the Fashion Week, sales rise to 80 units daily. Wood Spoon also provides the five kinds of juices made with coconut water including acai, orange and mint. Where to find: Wood Spoon - 107 W 9th Street, Los Angeles, CA, (213) 629-1765.

Jul 3, 2008
LA WEEKLY

Downtown's Brazilian Café Wood Spoon

By Jonathan Gold

It may be a little strange to start a review by praising a restaurant’s tap water, but Wood Spoon’s really is the best in town: triple-filtered, no doubt, served sharply cool, and flavored with whole cinnamon sticks, which give the water a delicate fragrance and tint it the color of dilute oolong tea. You almost forget that the restaurant doesn’t share beer. Wood Spoon is a stylish, feminine Brazilian café in the Fashion District, a first stop for the FIDM crowd before they hit the bars, and a hangout for both downtown locals and the artier fringes of the expat Brazilian community, who nibble on heart-of-palm omelets and the soft chicken-bearing pastries called coxhina; salt-cod croquettes; and the crunchy Brazilian version of the meat-filled Lebanese dumplings called kibbeh.

If you’ve been to Rio, you’ll recognize Wood Spoon’s heart as a chicly modest urban café built around smallish portions of grilled chicken, beef, fish or sausage and served with the inevitable black beans, rice, boiled greens and gritty manioc powder — a meal low-fat and balanced enough to eat before a night of dancing. Wood Spoon’s specialties, oddly enough, are chicken potpie and pork burgers, both of which are very good, and there are homemade truffles for dessert.

May 27, 2008
EXAMINER

Tasty Brazilian fare at Wood Spoon

By Abby Abanes

When most people think of a Brazilian restaurant, a churrascaria comes to mind. A churrascaria is an all you can eat restaurant that features Brazilian bbq, which is basically a variety of different meats put on skewers, grilled and then served tableside. A well-known example of a churrascaria is Fogo de Chao. Although Wood Spoon, a downtown LA restaurant in the Fashion District, does offer skewered meats like beef, lamb and chicken, those dishes are only a small percentage of their menu. Before I start talking a bit more in depth about their food, I really have to mention their unique signage. While the words "Wood Spoon" were discretely placed on the restaurant windows, the actual sign above the restaurant entrance was a painting of a wood spoon. That sign is easy to see in the daytime, but not so much in the evening, so that’s something to pay attention to if you’re planning to have dinner there. Upon entering Wood Spoon, the space is minimalistic with the plain walls that were broken up by local art. With the yellow seats, yellow flowers on the tables and sunflowers on the window sills, it is a bright and airy space. As you sit and peruse the menu, I recommend ordering their fresh limeade. Refreshing and tart, it’s great drink to have with your meal. When I visited there for the first time, my dining partners and I shared two of their appetizers. We ordered the Pastel Portuguese and the Coxhina. The Pastel Portuguese looks like an empanada, but with a filling of shrimp that was cooked in coconut sauce and cilantro. The shrimp had a nice texture and the sweetness of the shrimp and coconut sauce went well with the "peppery" bite of the cilantro plus it also came with a very addicting mayonnaise. What I liked about the Pastel Portuguese is that even though it was deep-fried, it had a lightness and delicateness to it that was surprising and could probably be attributed to the fine bread crumbs used as the coating. The tear-drop shaped Coxhina used the same batter ingredients as the Pastel Portuguese, but had a shredded chicken filling that was moist, tender and delicious. For a zing, I added a little bit of this Brazilian chili pepper sauce that was on the table to the chicken and loved the kick it gave to my taste buds.

For my main entree, I opted for the Brazilian Chicken Pot Pie, which was the best chicken pot pie I’ve ever had. When the dish first arrived, I couldn't believe how big it was. I ended up taking half of it home. Other than the size catching my attention, I also thought it looked gorgeous. The outside of the pie was golden brown and it had a wooden spoon accent on the top of the pie. The pie crust was also amazingly flaky and the filling which was made up of chicken with hearts of palm, potato, olives and roasted corn was absolutely delicious. Being an olive fan, I really liked how they added just the right amount of saltiness without being overpowering. I also enjoyed the sweet juicy pop of the corn when eaten with the other ingredients. Overall, that pie was stellar and a must try for any of you who plan on visiting Wood Spoon. I did manage to sample the Pork Burger. Even with a couple of bites, I could see why it's such a popular dish at Wood Spoon. The meat was moist and had lots of flavor. Just looking at the burger cut in half, you could definitely see the variety of spices they put into the meat. I also loved the roasted cabbage and onions that topped the burger, with the roasted onions adding a nice little sweetness due to its caramelization. By the way, if you don’t have a big appetite, you may want to split this burger. Suffice to say, it’s huge. Other dishes that were ordered included a Grilled Beef plate and also a side of black beans and rice. From what I heard, both dishes were given thumbs up. By the time the meal was over, I was pretty full, but I did get to try a Bricadeiro, which the waiter referred to as a Brazilian chocolate truffle. I think of everything that I tried that afternoon; this Brazilian chocolate truffle didn't do much for me. It had a chewy, taffy texture to it that wasn't to my taste. Overall, Wood Spoon is definitely a wonderful part of the downtown LA dining scene. The service, while at times a bit slow was really friendly and the food was wonderful. I really enjoyed my dining experience there and if you haven’t tried it yet, I really encourage you to stop by and check it out for yourself.

Apr 15, 2008
DAILY TROJAN

Downtown eatery borrows from Brazilian influences

By Brittney Olson

While WoodSpoon’s ambience is simplistic, the experience is above average. Downtown Los Angeles offers a plethora of incredible but elusive dining experiences, and the Brazilian restaurant, WoodSpoon, makes no exception. Located inside a renovated storefront on Ninth Street between Spring Street and Broadway, the entrance to WoodSpoon is so nondescript that one could easily bypass it altogether. The only cue is arrival is a small sign featuring an appropriate picture of a wooden spoon. The restaurant décor follows the same minimalist approach, perfectly balancing simplicity with a splash of flair. The interior features soft lighting and blond wood furniture, perfectly offset by bright pillows and fresh flowers; the vibrantly colored abstract paintings that accent the walls seem to exude Rio de Janeiro. Owner Natalia Pereira, a native Brazilian, not only personally renovated and decorated the restaurant, but also serves as head chef and chief waitress. As if those responsibilities were not enough, Pereira features a weekly community table dinner Saturdays, where she introduces a new ethnic cuisine each week. During these gatherings, all of the tables merge into a grand rectangular one, and customers are treated to Pereira’s rendition of a different country’s fare. So far, Saturday dinners have included Puerto Rican, Vietnamese and Mongolian dishes. Though Pereira wears many hats, she always manages to connect with her customers and entertain diners with fascinating stories from her past experiences.

She greets each diner with utmost hospitality, and the unconventional and unassuming atmosphere of WoodSpoon only increases the restaurant’s appeal. It’s about as close as a restaurant could get to a home-cooked meal. The cuisine at WoodSpoon is as simple as its ambiance, but the dining experience is well above average. From the chayote salad to the chicken croquettes (Coxinha) to several types of Brazilian grilled plates, every item on the menu is authentically Brazilian and incredibly fresh. The fresh-squeezed juices and desserts, including the delectable Passion Fruit Mousse, add the perfect amount of sweetness to any meal. The menu is relatively modest in size, but diners can still chose from several appetizers, salads, sandwiches and meat entrees. There are just enough dishes to insure that each is prepared to perfection, especially when considering the small restaurant staff. Though the meal options are varied, all of the choices are consistently healthy and flavorful. Pereira visits a local street market every morning to collect the ingredients that comprise that restaurant’s menu, and only serves a dish until the ingredients are expended. As for the service, the food comes quickly, but customers are never rushed. Attention to detail is noticeable in the presentation of each dish that is embellished with cinnamon, lime or lemon. The unpretentious atmosphere and delicious food account for WoodSpoon’s devoted following and steady increase in popularity. The simplistic nature of this restaurant was a wise choice by its owners, as it allowed the cuisine to speak volumes for itself. WoodSpoon, in its ambience and cuisine, serves as a refreshing addition to the Los Angeles restaurant scene.

Mar 1, 2008
BRIDGE USA

Everybody Comes from Trees, Space and Love of Home Cooking

By Izumi Sunaoka

Translated via Google Translate: Not many restaurants in Los Angeles cater to Brazilian food. "WoodSpoon" is the home of Brazil. It is 14:00 and Natalia Pereira, the chef, was busy running the kitchen in the back of the restaurant, waving to me when she saw me. The outside sign is a wooden spoon. "In Brazil, use a wooden spoon. I have grown up watching my mother cook with it a lot." The restaurant is a wish for Pereira. It opened one-half years ago. During our appetizers, Chicken Pot Pie arrived, packed with potatoes, corn, and a chicken filing continue cooking. "Because people often eat to share the product or something, and I want my customers to taste the different flavors as possible." I just turn and smile. Pork burger boasts compatibility. Lamb, beef, chunks of chicken carefully grilled and served with sides. Sausage salad is served with heart of palm, a great surprise. Freshly fried yams are sweet become a habit. And "Kibe" is made of bulgar wheat, mint, and ground beef are combined to form meat balls. Francisco while enjoying the rich aroma and rich wild & smell the glamorous climb, I decided to enjoy this comfortable space for a while.

Dec 30, 2007
ANGELENIC DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES

The L.A. Business Journal on Downtown at Night

By Rich Alossi

… One restaurant I mentioned in my argument is Wood Spoon. The charming Brazilian cafe on 9th near Main rarely has a full house, even during peak dinner hours. The situation is baffling since the food has been consistently delicious, the owner is charming, the reviews are glowing and the prices can’t be beat. I believe the biggest problem is that people don’t know about small joints like Wood Spoon; marketing would make all the difference. …

Oct 25, 2007
LOS ANGELES TIMES

The rich flavor and vibe of Brazil served on a plate

By Jessica Gelt

NATALIA Pereira, the chef and co-owner of downtown L.A.'s WoodSpoon restaurant, says her mother taught her everything she knows about the rich, whimsical food of Brazil. Raised on a family farm in the town of Betim, Pereira remembers her mother cooking for everyone, including the priest and Pereira's school friends. "Every morning when I woke up, my mom was by the wood stove, and also every night when I went to sleep," she recalls. A petite, fashionable woman with smooth coffee-colored skin, a broad smile and warm, brown eyes, Pereira talks about food with the same careful attention to detail with which she cooks. "Food is a very provocative thing; you can learn a lot from it," she says over a large cup of cafe com leite made on the kitchen stove with thick, twice-boiled milk and dark, aromatic coffee -- just like the kind found at Rio's "dirty foot" bars.

It's WoodSpoon's trademark: combining an authenticity of flavor and vibe to make a truly holistic dining experience. "Brazil is a poor country, a simple country, but there is a beauty there that is fresh and real," Pereira says. Her restaurant reflects that simplicity with smooth, blond-wood tables, picture windows populated by sunflower stalks leaning playfully out of milk bottles, and a warm, open kitchen. There, Pereira works to translate the sensuality of Brazil into the delicate flavors on the plates of food she serves. Her chicken pot pie is particularly well-loved -- its golden exterior sheltering a comforting mixture of tender chicken, hearts of palm, potatoes, olives and roasted corn. Equally adored is her pork burger topped with crisp cabbage and onions and served with thinly sliced yam fries. And there's no arguing with her Brazilian grill featuring smoky sausage, beef and lamb -- accompanied by farofa, a traditional grainy flour. "Brazil is not just rice and beans," Pereira says with a shy grin. "Rice and beans are the mother and father, but there's so much more."

Aug 2007
H-MONTHLY

Eats WoodSpoon – Taste The Love

By Corey Marcus

Rarely do I leave restaurant feeling giddy, like a teenager who just learned delicious secret. WoodSpoon brought this out of me. Located on the edge of Downtown’s Fashion District, in an unassuming strip of shops, it is an austere restaurant with high white ceilings, handmade tables and scant but colorful art. Brazilian Chef and owner Natalia Pereira works her nostalgic recipes in the open back kitchen and her cuisine is straight from the page of her heritage. Forget what you think you know about Brazilian food. The Americanized dishes that go out at Bossa Nova or Fogo de Chao have their place in gastronomy, but WoodSpoon is the real deal. Lunch started with an assortment of fried dumplings and croquettes, served with a little herbed mayonnaise. The first thing noticed about the plate was there was no oil dripping off of it as is the case with most little fried mouthfuls. Chef Natalia told us later she uses a secret blend of ils to prevent that saturation from occurring. The effect is surprisingly light treat that is more about the stuffing than dough. The Kibe croquette was a real winner; a mixture of bulgar wheat, mint and ground beef rolled into a little log. Also amazing were the dumplings stuffed with shrimp and coconut and the Coxinha, another meat stuffed dumpling with a combination of seasonings that left you picking at the crumbs on the plate for just one more taste. We washed this all down with made to order limeade that was perfectly sweet and tart. Close your eyes for a moment and you are sitting at a café off of a beach at Ipanema. Amazing over the low-key crowd of newcomers and regulars, I focused on the origins of the “Mmmmmm’s” coming from most of the tables. The way to go for a main dish seemed to be the pork burger and the chicken pot pie, which our Brazilian server described as “ridiculously good”. Included with the burger were yam fries, but my friend and I had to go for the plantains, a separate side, as well.

My mouth wasn’t empty for the next ten minutes! The pork burger was a monster of freshly pattied and authentically seasoned meat, served in a perfectly sized bun with sautéed cabbage and onion. Our server dropped of a squeeze bottle of yellow mustard, which I cringed at, but he was absolutely correct in recommending. It just made sense. On the third bite, my friend proclaimed it to be “the best burger I have ever had.” I had to agree. The tin-less pot pie was filled to capacity with tender pulled chicken and hearts of palm, even tossed in a light cream and encased in a lightly sweet and flaky crust. This is not the potpie your mom would defrost for you as a kid and you might find yourself denouncing your lineage, wishing you had Brazilian roots. True to the earlier dumplings, the yam fries were not dripping in oil and were cut to such a size that you can actually taste the yam, as opposed to microcut sticks of fried sweet potato that are ubiquitous at tropically themed restaurants. The same goes for the plantains, which didn’t need to be overcooked in oil because Chef Natalia throws them in the pan at the perfect stage of ripeness. They were sticky sweet ovals of joy. People, there is love and pride in this food. You can taste it. As soon as we walked outside I wanted to go back in. There was so much more on the menu I wanted to try. The grilled sausage looked amazing, as did the chicken and pancetta sandwich with roasted corn and mozzarella. They were out of salt cod dumplings; I might go back just for that… and everything else on the menu. A note to readers; on Saturday nights WoodSpoon offers a communal table offering themed international cuisine by reservation only. I would definitely be clawing my way onto that list.

Jun 4, 2007
DOWNTOWN NEWS

Getting Cozy at WoodSpoon

Brazillian Eatery Serves Up Traditional Favorites and Homey Flavor

By Jay Edwards

A general consensus seems to have emerged that opening a restaurant in the current Downtown requires attaching Big Names. Just as producers attach Big Names to film scripts, developers look to connect their project to a Name Restaurateur and a Name Chef. They’re even adding Name Designers to decide where to put the tables. Admittedly, this can sometimes result in a superb dining experience in a dazzling room, but more often what you get is a Big Name price tag slapped on small appetizers, marked-up entrees and ridiculously inflated drink prices. One new Downtown Los Angeles place is actually enforcing a dress code. A dress code? In our Downtown? Don’t they know the market? Of course, some quality, charming start-ups are still slipping through, and they’re being rewarded by loyal local patronage that prefers personality and substance to disaffected style. Wood Spoon, at Ninth and Spring streets, is one of them. Owned and operated by Natalia Pereira, this fashion District eatery has no dress code, and it definitely doesn’t have a designer. You’ll notice the cherry restaurant’s signage at first, a large wooden spoon above the door. The small, minimal dining area sports wooden benches along plain walls, and yellow chairs set beside tables on a linoleum floor. Save for the sunflowers in the windows and some striking local artwork, the most flamboyant interior touches are embroidered throw pillows scattered on the benches (the owners made the furniture and decorated themselves). This place doesn’t even have a cash register – the server works out your bil on a handheld calculator and delivers change from a lock box. This lack of posturing, once par for Downtown, is again refreshing, as are the friendly service and reasonably prices.

Composed of authentic Brazilian cuisine, WoodSpoon’s menu includes a Portuguese Croquette, which is a mix of codfish and vegetables in a rich cream sauce covered with breadcrumbs and then deep-fried; the Coxinha is similar but with moist shredded chicken. The Calabreza salad is so named for the spicy Brazilian sausage chopped and tossed with heart of palm, black olives, and hard-boiled eggs. A more filling option is the huge Brazilian Chicken Pot Pie, which mixes shredded chicken with minced potatos, hearts of palm and roasted corn under a nicely textured pastry crust. The golden brown top is garnished with a spoon. Though you won’t get the endless meat you would at a Brazilian grill house, the grilled meat here is marinated in a variety of ways and served on skewers. I’ve had the beef, which is tender and just pink enough, and I intend to go back for the lamb, chicken, and sausage. The grilled items are served with black beans and rice, and a strange and delicious salty side called Farofa, made from a type of seasoned and buttered flour. You can also get a surprisingly tasty variation on collard greens – the leaves remain crisp, bright green and flavorful. The most sought-after item at WoodSpoon is the delectable pork burger, a large, potent patty tamed with grilled onions and cabbage in a sesame roll. If pork is your thing, this is an essential lunch destination – it delivers more flavor than any pulled-pork sandwich at a barbecue joint. Wash it all down with a freshly made limeade. Because the pork burger gets so much attention, the large, commanding steak sandwich seems to go unnoticed. WoodSpoon’s excellent beef is diced and cooked on the grill with onions and pimento, then topped with a dose of sweet chili sauce. Both sandwiches come with fried yams, which are like sweet potato fries, but a little more tender and addictive. For dessert, try the Coconut Macaroons. Topped with thick shreds of coconut, they are airy, soft and delightful (WoodSpoon also, to my knowledge, is the only Downtown lunch and dinner place that has authentic macaroons). Likewise, the Brazilian flan is thick and creamy custard that’s sweet enough to tickle your teeth. At 107 W. Ninth St., (213) 629-1765. Catering available.

May 21, 2007
BLOG DOWNTOWN

Weekend Lunch in the Fashion District

Tiara Cafe and Wood Spoon

By Eric Richardson

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — In the comments yesterday David Kennedy wrote about new weekend hours at Tiara Cafe and how some service and a little advertising could make the place a cool weekend hangout. I really enjoy their food, but it was tough for me to get over there when they were only open for weekday lunch. Kathy and I actually headed down that direction for lunch on Saturday, but ended up at Wood Spoon. I had written about their opening back in that January post on 9th & Main, but hadn't actually made it inside. After one lunch I'm sold. I had the Pork Burger with sweet potato fries and really enjoyed both. Even our water was unique -- the carafe they brought had cinnamon and lemon inside, a taste I wouldn't have thought of but ended up intrigued with.

An event that I'm definitely interested to check out is Wood Spoon's Saturday night social meal. Each week brings a different main dish, served family-style around one big table. Reservations are required, check with them to see what's coming up. Wood Spoon and Tiara Cafe are both on 9th street, in the respective blocks to the west and east of Spring street.