there are a couple of things i have failed to discuss: our pizza at luggage room and nook.

luggage room pizza caught my eye on tasting table because they advertised 70 year old sourdough starter. we finally tried it out on one of our many trips eastward. we decided to add whatever weight we lost off our heads at the hands of lisa to our tummies. we had the fallen angel and a special farmer’s market ‘za with corn and fresno chiles and goat cheese. i enjoyed the crust as it had a bit of the sour flavor i’m used to in my bread and it had a nice chew, but the ingredients, especially on the fallen angel, were just too heavy-handed. and there was too much cheese which overpowered the crust. i must admit, though, that i loved the fact that the dining room was in the old luggage room of the del mar station and we sat underneath a large wooden sliding door, seemingly original.

nook, on the other hand, has impressed us with its black beluga lentils with merguez sausage and the caesar salad. their soups have also been enjoyable: on two different occasions we enjoyed the pork and green chile stew and black eyed pea soup. my recent craving for mac and cheese was also fulfilled and satisfied by nook as was my curiosity about their shrimp and grits. the shrimp and grits were just as fatty as those at larkin’s but there was a seasoning and elegance to nook’s that i really enjoyed. however, one can only eat so much shrimp and grits in a lifetime. i think i’ve eaten one too many. i would stay away from the squash and zucchini couscous and the burger and the shiitake/gruyere bread pudding. the fries and onion rings were oversalted, but there was a nice crunch to each and they weren’t too oily or thickly battered.

nook | 11628 Santa Monica Blvd #9 Los Angeles, CA 90025 | 310.207.5160

luggage room pizzeria | 260 S. Raymond Avenue pasadena ca | 626-356-4440