Where: 25 West Gutierrez Street, 805-962-4566
What: Industrial chic spot for delicious breakfasts and lunches plus the bakers of the area’s best bread.
How much? Bread loaf $2.50-$6.50; sandwiches $7.15-$11.40
The dish: Los Angeles has La Brea, we have D’Angelo — it’s that simple. This is bread with so much flavor it almost doesn’t matter what goes inside your sandwich as that filling’s only going to be a supporting player. All the varieties are good, but get a toothsome taste of the walnut rye or the sourdough multigrain and it will be a wonder if you ever have another bread again. The breakfasts are straightforward and hearty, with the buckwheat waffle a filling favorite. The sandwiches, always accompanied with a dollop of fresh greens, are all good but if you have a hankering for egg salad, this is the place to de-hanker. They bake, too, as if your stomach has room, but once you look again it magically does. That is if you’re up early enough to catch those sour cherry Danishes with their lovely crumble or in on a day when they have the mini-lemon meringue tarts, all buttery crust, zesty lemon, and light as air egg white.