Home State

Some mornings you wake up craving hearty comfort food with just the right amount of salt and grease.  The wonderful thing about Home State, a Tex-Mex joint in Los Feliz (far removed from Central Texas in more ways than one), is that it serves up hearty and comfort while leaving out the remorse that often follows the salt and grease.  In other words, if you're craving a Tex-Mex style breakfast in LA, slowly make your way to Home State -- you'll find your answer there.

Le Menu.

Welcome Home.

A Texas Kitchen -- so much love for the Lone Star State at this place.

Basic needs for you and your furry buddy.

Lonestar Migas -- shredded brisket, pico de gallo, scrambled eggs with cheddar, corn chips -- $8

Migas.  I've probably made this bfast treat before, in a hasty add-eggs-and-whatever-else-you-have-in-fridge kind of way.  After all, you can hardly call meat, eggs, and cheese scrambled together a unique morning meal.

Trinity Taco -- eggs, bacon, cheddar, potato, wrapped on Home State's flour tortilla -- $3

Tacos are tasty, especially with a few shakes of their housemade hot sauces (green and red available).

Loaded Queso -- chili con carne, guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream -- $8

While I haven't had the pleasure of growing up on queso, I do love cheese and I know enough that Velvetta does not equal queso.  Home State's loaded queso is packed full of flavor and is surprisingly, not as rich and heavy as you'd think.  One order can easily be shared amongst four (or two queso-loving) friends.

All-day breakfast is served from 8am-3pm, and the lunch menu kicks in at 11am.  Personally, I'm a fan of their bfast menu, especially with a cup of Austin's finest Cuvee coffee.  

The most recent news is that HomeState has now paired up with neighbor, Bar Covell, to serve up boozy breakfast!  What kind of booze, you ask?  Classic mimosas, micheladas (Mex beer cocktail), wine, and for you true Texas, Shiner! All reasons to check out this Los Feliz gem -- you're welcome.






cuisine: Tex-Mex
location: Los Feliz
hours: Daily, 8am-3pm
websites: { HS | menu | yelp | facebook | twitter | instagram }
attire: Casual
parking: Street
price: $5-$10
notes: No reservations. Order at the counter and grab a number.  Order online/ take-out available. If you look at the Home State landing page, you might spot me and my friends on the right.

MessHall

Now that summer is in full swing, you may be planning (or have already planned) a camping trip in the glorious California mountains or on the beautiful California beaches (hooray for having such options!). If you're adverse to bugs, limited running water, forest fire warnings, and sleeping on creaky bunk beds or ultra-thin tents, you can still enjoy the delights of camping at Mess Hall, a place where fond & nostalgic summer camp memories, mimosas, and Stumptown Coffee (!) coexist.

Dinner is solid, but brunch is when Mess Hall really shines (and this is notwithstanding my love for all things brunch-y).

For instance, they serve this:

Buttermilk Biscuits & Gravy w/ topped with chives -- $8

The gravy has bits of pork sausage.  Makes me want to wade in its buttery dreaminess.

Egg-White Mushroom Omelette with mixed mushrooms, goat cheese, and slow-cooked onions -- $13

Create-Your-Omelette with 3 ingredients (kale, ground turkey, green bell pepper) -- $13

The omelettes are tasty and each come with toast and home fries or fresh fruit.  A substantial portion for $13.  But the real flavor-kicker the morning is this bad boy:

East Breakfast Sando with pork belly, red chili aioli, cilantro slaw, fried egg, all on a buttery brioche -- $12.50

It is messy, but like most ooey-gooey sandwiches (and dishes), it is chock-full of delicious flavors, this time of the East(ern world).

But whether you go the traditional route with waffles or grits, MessHall will doubtlessly test your tastebuds with its innovative (but not too outrageous) culinary twists (i.e. - waffles w/ fried chicken and syrup, grits with shrimp and poached eggs).  In other words, like most summer camps, it's a safe place to invite your friends and family.  At night, you can sit by the campfire and sip your wine in sweet peace.  Enjoy!






dined: Saturday Brunch
cuisine: American
location: Los Feliz
price: $$ (~$10-$17)
hours: M-Th: 11:30am-3pm & 5pm-11pm; Fri: 11:30am-3pm & 5pm-midnight; Sat-Sun: 10am-3pm & 4pm-11pm.
websites: { MH | yelp | facebook | twitter | instagram }
parking: Valet ($5); Street (read the signs)
attire: Casual, and true to its 'hood, lots of plaid.
notes: In addition to weekday night HH (4-5pm), they have other specials! Mon: $15 Burger+Beer; Tues: $1 Oysters & $5 Draft Beers; Wed: GNO; Thurs: Throwback Thursday w/ HH all night long.

Home Restaurant

TexMex Burrito (two scrambled eggs with sauteed onion, tomatoes, bell pepper and bacon bits. Topped with chipotle sauce, melted jack and cheddar cheese, and sour cream) - $9.95

Fresh bowl of fruit

California Omelette (bacon, cheddar cheese, mushrooms, avocado and sour cream. Served with Home fries and your choice of toast) - $9.95

Another good brunch place, again located in Los Feliz. If I were hipster, I would be a born-again yogi, living walking distance from all these delicious places. But... I'm not hipster so that's that.


cuisine: American Brunch
location: Los Feliz
hours: M-W, Sun: 8am-10pm; Thurs-Sat: 8am-11pm
website: { Home | yelp }
attire: Casual
parking: street
note: I've only been here for brunch. If you can, sit in the patio.

Mustard Seed Cafe

I'm pretty sure I've said this multiple times already on this blog, but it bears repeating: brunch is my most favorite meal of the day. I even dedicated Facebook albums for it: see here and here.

And Los Feliz is blessed with many delicious brunch locations. 

[written on 12/11/2007]

Located across the street from the famous Alcove Cafe, Mustard Seed Cafe is a snug... alcove (ha) with a welcoming vibe. (Apparently it's also the usual spot for many yogis and yoginis and a guy named Steve.) Though it was a beautiful day in Los Feliz Village, it might've been a tad bit too cold to sit outdoors, and being in the shade didn't help much either. Other than that, the food was good, the server was cool, and my date was lovely.

Oh! And they too had dog bowls for patrons with dogs. Who knew Cali was so dog-friendly??  Score.

Mustard Seed Omelet (eggs whites, tomato, avocado, mushrooms, broccoli, and basil topped with cheddar jack cheese) with roasted potatoes and olive bread toast on the side - $9.95

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cuisine: American
location: Los Feliz
hours: M-F: 8am-10pm; Sat-Sun: 8:30am-10pm
website: { menu | yelp }
attire: Casual
parking: Street, but biking or walking highly suggested 
note: I've tried lunch and dinner here too... still best for breakfast/brunch. Also, the space is pretty tight so expect to wait especially for weekend brunch.