http://www.voiceplaces.com/locations/directions/locationId:2436049/
View on Large Map
Get Directions
|
00000 - 00000 of 00000 |
|
advertisement
At Last Café's first-time customers turn into instant devotees. Every one of the 18 or so seats is filled nightly. Those who didn't think to snag a reservation either wait it out on the street or order to-go. Either way, budget about 30 minutes to find parking, which is frustratingly scarce and the inevitable topic of conversation for the first few minutes of your meal. The rest of the time, you'll talk about the food, about how chef John McLaughlin manages to charge a fraction of what other establishments of this caliber would. For example, his Brick Chicken: a deboned half-bird cooked flat under the weight of a brick, its crispy, mahogany skin reminiscent of the best Armenian rotisserie hen and meat so juicy it bursts. The cost for this soon-to-be-famous poultry is a mere $9.50.
DO NOT EAT AT THIS FILTHY RESTAURANT! What I experienced just now in their restaurant I have never even witnessed in my 35 years of living in Southern California.
Upon walking in I was told to sit anywhere that's clean. I understand that they didn't have a hostess but to be told to by Cesar the waiter to sit anywhere that's clean, means that you could care less where I sit. Once I sit I ordered a lemonade but switched to Orangade by the waiters recommendation. I was brought a lemonade. That's OK. Then when our food came one of the plates had a hair in it. Its OK just take it away. But as they take the plate, me and my guest notice that Claudia the salad prep is denying the fact that its a hair and is calling it a cucumber vein. Meanwhile she is not wearing gloves or a hair net. They have an open kitchen so Claudia the salad prep keeps on giving our table and my guest dirty looks. Very disrespectful for simple lunch guests. I was on a business lunch with an up and coming jewelery designer. Simple business lunch. Food is not even the objective. Business was our objective.
Then as I'm finishing my meal I pull a six inch black hair out of my mouth. OUT OF MY MOUTH!!! I tell the waiter and within seconds my table is being bombarded by menacing staff acting aggressively towards us. So without a gripe or demand I asked for my check, paid it and walked out the door. As I was in front of the restaurant talking to a girl who lives in my building, the bigot owner and head chef John McLaughlin stormed out the back door and yellled loudly in the street for me and my guests to "go do drugs or something", when we are all drug free, in front of my neighbor to witness. Then he hastily and angrily approached us and had to be held back by Cesar his waiter.
It was literally so offensive to us that it felt like something out of a civil rights movement and then, to actually have to pay for it. I have never been treated as poorly as i was by any restaurant or any business ever in my life and by the staff at the At Last Cafe. It was literally something out of a redneck movie from the 50's. DO NOT AT HERE!!!! THEY ARE BIGOTS AND HORRIBLE SERVICE PEOPLE!!!!
It's easy to imagine a bad, lumpy meatloaf. But a good meatloaf—the kind you find in an older aunt's or grandmother's kitchen—is hard to come by. At Last Café, a tiny jewel of a place that might be missed if you're not paying attention (it's tucked into a narrow wedge of Orange Avenue, just a block and a half up from the beach), serves up a meatloaf that's tender, thick and juicy, full of spices pulled from chef John McLaughlin's own back yard, and good enough to lick your fingers over. The little restaurant has been cultivating a steady following since it opened earlier this year. A small menu, loaded with homemade signature dishes such as the creamy, fresh peach cheesecake, is only outdone by its ridiculously affordable prices—most dishes run between $4.50 and $12.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Site Map © 2013 Village Voice - All rights reserved.
Find everything you're looking for in your city
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city