Four centrally located LA restaurants to meet midway for a memorable bite

Now, more than ever, it’s important to support Los Angeles restaurants. Meet your displaced fire friends and treat them to a meal at one of these casual restaurants.

Haute Mess for sandwiches, pastries, and vino

By far, Haute Mess makes the best sandwiches we have recently devoured in Los Angeles. Located on Beverly Blvd right across from Erewhon, this European-esque market and cafe is a one stop shop that not only sells coffees and teas, pressed juice, homemade lemonade and cold teas, but also sells homemade gelato in the back (on cones or to-go in containers), pastries and desserts (like Paris), and numerous cheeses and charcuterie. Plus, there are over 500 delicious wines to pair with.

The sandwich menu is exciting and varied, but the secret to such sensational sandwiches must be the bread that’s baked fresh daily, producing a light crisp bite. We wonder if the dough is finished off with a butter glaze. It’s so darn good!

Our top favorite sandwiches include:

#1: Chicken Milanese

#2 Old Fashion Salumi (like an Italian deli sandwich with mortadella)

#3 Meatball and Cheese

Other popular choices include the tender smoky Brisket Di Annerita and Pastrami de Fumo made with spicy pastrami, both twists on old school classics. The spiced pastrami is complemented by country style mustard and creamy house made coleslaw with crispy pickled onions. Another fan favorite is the Gimlet Bianca with sliced turkey, provolone cheese, crispy bacon, fresh tomato, lettuce, and avocado aioli.

Dine on the sidewalk patio, order a custom charcuterie board to take away, or curate your next gift bag with specialty products customized to suit a friend. Haute Mess makes an ideal centrally located spot to meet up, especially if friends live across the city, like one in Santa Monica and another in Hollywood. Meet in between!

Della Terra for an Italian feast and great happy hour specials

Elevate your friendship with a mid-city meetup in the Fairfax district. Another stellar option, right next door to Haute Mess, is longstanding northern Italian Trattoria Della Terra, where exceptional Italian dishes abound. Dine outside on the wraparound sidewalk patio, where dogs are welcome, or the cozy dimly lit illuminated bar restaurant – where any good Italian will want to start with the Antipasto Plate, loaded with imported cured meats and assorted cheeses OR a plate of fresh paper thin Carpaccio topped with arugula and shaved parmesan. On a weekday day night, singles slide into the bar, while girl groups and dates quickly fill up the space.

A specialty glowing passionfruit Mezcal cocktail starts the night off right, with a flavorful Agrumi foam; or a bubbly champagne gin French 75 elevates the evening. On Wednesdays, Della Terra offers 50% of all martinis all night while Happy Hour occurs every week day from 3 – 6 PM with $4 off all cocktails and glasses of wine and with over 500 bottles on their wine list, it’s easy to enjoy your perfect vintage. Opt for a glass of Tuscan red to enhance your entree or one of the preferred Sicilian style vinos, the 2020 Luma Nero Davao.

Share more courses – like the juicy plump mussels in a red broth, Calamari Fritti, and several sensational homemade pastas like Linguine with Braised Short Rib (Brevi Costole) with a rich sauce, Lasagne, Linguine Pescatore, or Luganica, a papparedelle pasta with homemade sausage, mushroom, and arugula in a creamy tomato sauce. Complement your meal with grilled veggies with burrata. Come on a Monday and score pasta specials for $16.

There is also an exciting wood fired pizza menu and lengthy calzone selection. Part ways with your Angeleno buddies and wish them good luck with traffic, as you might want to stay here all night. Linger on to avoid more vehicles on the road, by ordering two desserts, as sometimes it’s better to share more than one treat. Savor the Butterscotch Budding with salted caramel and Chantilly cream and the traditional Tiramisu. You’ll soon remember the benefits of living in Los Angeles.

Bottomless brunch is also uber popular at Della Terra from 10 – 3 PM on Saturdays and Sundays along with lunch.

Hey, Sunshine Kitchen for fast casual vegan

Pull over and meet your plant-based-loving friends in Culver City, somewhere between the ocean and Koreatown, or hipster land – where meeting each other halfway might feel like true love, especially in LaLaLand. Here at this one-year-old cheery fast casual establishment, you can Build-Your-Own Bowl to match your eating mood – with main options like plant based soy chicken, spicy jackfruit carnitas, and sesame crusted avocado or choose from one of many creative options such as Backyard Barbecue Tofu, Mediterranean Chickpea, Fiesta Carnitas, or Heart Beef Crumble. Wash it down with a refreshing large glass of Wild Blueberry Lemonade or Strawberry Mint Lemonade.

Since sharing is caring, order some vegan comfort food, like a round of Chickpea Nuggets, with one of their homemade sauces like buttermilk ranch (contains nuts), jalapeño cream, lemon dijon vinaigrette, lemon herb aioli, pistachio caesar (contains nuts), tangy carrot vinaigrette, traditional bbq, or bbq ranch (contains nuts).

Dine outside – or for health reasons lately, it might be better to dine in over other creature comforts – on a plant-based Crispy Chicken Sandwich on brioche with pickles, onions, buttermilk ranch or a grilled plant based Classic Cheeseburger and a side order of sweet potato fries.

Founders and sisters, Heather Golden Ray and Jenny Engel, owned a vegan cooking school, wrote two cookbooks, and founded Spork Foods. Learn about their pollinator program in the cafe. Non-GMO and organic ingredients are used whenever possible. Catering is offered too.

33 Taps for a beer and a game

With a 4th location opening in West Hollywood in the heart of the Rainbow District, consider this Culver City neighborhood restaurant and sports bar for an easy meetup to socialize and meet new friends. Other locations can be found in Silver Lake, Culver City, and Downtown Los Angeles.

A sports fan’s paradise, every seat in the house has an ideal TV view, with a jumbotron and many individual TVs located throughout. Sip the brand’s namesake 33 beers and house-kegged cocktails on tap, with fan favorite food items including brunch and handcrafted burgers, wings, tacos, and more. Daily programming includes happy hours, trivia nights, seasonally sports-driven activities, and late-night food offerings until 11 pm during the week and 12 am on the weekends. @33taps