beverly

On Thursday, one of my very favorite people who is currently living and working in D.C. asked me, “What are you doing for dinner on Sunday??” Flying into LA for work on Sunday and Monday, my D.C. friend would have only ONE night to eat out in the city! My boyfriend J. and I immediately began brainstorming how we could make D.C.’s one night with us in LA a delicious one. We decided on The Golden State Cafe.

Nestled among the Jewish delis of Fairfax, The Golden State Cafe serves up sandwiches, salads, and hot dogs from LA’s Let’s Be Frank. Golden State also serves the famous Scoops gelato (one

of a handful of places that you can get the delicious stuff) and boasts an impressive beer menu–including a tasty selection from the Craftsman Brewing Company in Pasadena.

Although I love delicious ice cream and beer just as much as the next person, what keeps me coming back to The Golden State is their delicious burger–one of my top 3 or 4 burgers in LA that warrants one of my only 5-star reviews on Yelp. The meat is always juicy and tender is perfectly complemented by the gooey, flavorful cheddar. Arugula and homemade aioli add a tang to the burger and applewood smoked bacon adds crunch and texture to the otherwise soft hamburger. J, D.C. and I all ended up getting the burger.

The three of us then headed to Milk for dessert–a tiny shop nearby on Beverly Boulevard with milkshakes, malts, floats, baked goods, ice cream and more. I’ve yet to be anything short of giddy with anything I’ve ordered here.

D.C. ordered an Ooey Gooey Chocolate Cookie and a Red Velvet Popper, and J and I shared a Strawberry Shortcake milkshake. I can’t speak for D.C.’s cookie, but I got a Red Velvet Popper of my own to go, and it was delicious. Although the red velvet cake itself is good–not great–, the cream cheese frosting is among the best I’ve had…and I’ve had a LOT of cream cheese frosting from red velvet cupcakes in my time. The red sprinkles on top also added a nice crunch.

The Strawberry Shortcake is a combination of vanilla ice cream, malted milk strawberry sorbet, and buttery crunchy cookie crumbles. The vanilla ice cream was rich and creamy, and the strawberry sorbet–in big red chunks throughout–lended a nice contrast in flavor and consistency every few spoonfuls. I slurped my half (and maybe some of J’s half) down pretty quickly and was crushed when it was all gone. This is definitely one of my new favorites, and I’m STILL thinking about it.

It doesn’t get much better than burgers, beer and ice cream in my book and, I have to say, I think J and I did a pretty good job of feeding D.C. on his one night with us!

The Golden State Cafe

www.thegoldenstatecafe.com

426 N. Fairfax Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90036

(323) 782-8331