Breakfast at Bottega

Ah, Bottega Louie: The mere mention of this uber-popular, cavernous, small plate-specializin' deli/bar/eatery near Grand and 5th makes us want to wrap Downtown L.A. in our arms and smother it with kisses. MWAH!

The way Yuri puts it: If we had wads of money falling out of our pockets, we'd eat there, oh, three or four times a day.

It isn't, though, the easiest place to bring an infant or toddler. We've only eaten their once, in fact, and that was on our anniversary, when we let grandma and grandpa play with Aki while we ate at Bottega then caught Band of Horses at L.A. Live.

But it left a deep impression. So, when Aki recently had his last summer class at Colburn, we decided to spoil ourselves and head down to the marble-tiled, high-ceiling'd Louie to grab some fancy (and surprisingly affordable) breakfast a hop, skip, and jump away from Colburn and the Disney Concert Hall.

I had eggs, which comes with a smattering of short order goodness: applewood-smoked bacon (not visible in the first picture above because, well, Aki ate it all), toast, home style potatoes, and a succulent turkey sausage.

Yuri's salmon benedict easily put mine to shame. Talk about your pitch perfect hollandaise. And if there's a better slice of salmon in town, I don't need to know about it.


Books and crayons: Don't leave home without 'em!

We ordered a delicious and refreshing medley of fresh and seasonal fruits for Aki, but as I mentioned above, the bacon kind got in the way. Whatever makes the kids happy while you chow down!

Meanwhile, Bottega's morning cup o' Joe lived up to its afternoon and evening selections of wine. And the servers (and managers) couldn't have been any nicer.

Whoever's in charge of this place, keep doin' what you're doin'. Downtown and its denizens thank you!


View of Disney Concert Hall from Colburn Music School