The Grain Cafe is a somewhat new restaurant located in Mid-City LA.  I’ve read that the people that started The Grain Cafe came from Golden Mean in Santa Monica.  I really like Golden Mean, so I already had good expectations for what was to come.

Strawberry Milkshake

I can never resist a milkshake.  A part of me is glad more places don’t offer this menu item, because I’d be drinking them all the time.  Anyway, I ordered a Strawberry Milkshake ($6.50), which was made with real strawberries and had a nice flavor.  The only thing about it that I didn’t like, was that it was slightly on the icey side.  Not icey like a slurpee or something, but not as creamy as those dairy-based milkshakes from your local diner.

Club Sandwich

I read a bunch of Yelp reviews and people seemed to like the Club Sandwich ($10.95) which includes marinated chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, smoked tempeh bacon, and garlic aioli sauce served on sourdough bread. It is also served with a mixed green salad.  The salad was just ok.  I thought the dressing was too tangy, but there was a nice little touch of quinoa.  The Club was very delicious.  I added avocado ($2), because one always has to yes when asked to add avocado (and then proceed to get a second job to cover the costs of all the added avocado).  The sauce on the club was fantastic and the bread was perfectly toasted.  I would definitely recommend this sandwich.

Chocolate Crepe

Lastly, I got the Chocolate Crepe ($9.95).  This crepe had some chocolate mousse, strawberries and chocolate syrup.  There used to be a French vegan crepe place in LA, but I wasn’t really a fan of their crepes (kind of under-cooked and soggy for me), but I love crepes.  As for The Grain Cafe’s crepe – I did like it.  This crepe was thoroughly cooked and had a nice flavor.  I was expecting a thicker mousse, though.  I was imagining a crepe full of a a fluffy and rich mousse.  Maybe it had melted?  It just looked like chocolate syrup.  It tasted good, just not what I was expecting.  Also, since it was winter, the strawberries weren’t in season and they weren’t very sweet.  I think this crepe would have been better during strawberry season.  I’m really interested in trying their other crepes, because I did like the way they prepared it.  Good job to them!

The Grain Cafe
4222 West Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90019