Cube Cafe In The Afternoon

The time between 2-5pm is usually when when restaurant employees eat or when the lunch shift goes home, but before the dinner shift begins, so finding a good place to eat during these hours can be a challenge.

Thankfully, Cube Cafe is open all day and serves up a varied menu from small bites to full plates until 11:30pm. I met some friends for a 3:30pm meal and was surprised to find the restaurant was half full in the middle of the afternoon! I guess we weren’t the only ones who eat at “odd” times.

Still or sparkling triple filtered water is offered gratis to all tables, and it tasted as clean and fresh as any bottled water. They offer teas, coffees, and wines, and house made limonata and aranciata (lemon and orange sparkling sodas). We were offered a taster plate to start with Nicasio cheese and candied pecans that was an unusual combination of pungent cheese with sweet crunch that worked perfectly together.

I chose the Charred Baby Romaine with olive oil croutons, shaved red cow parmesan, cherry tomatoes, anchovy vinaigrette for $10 that had enough anchovy to make me happy. This was a nice light bite for anyone who wants something green and fresh with some flavor.

I also had the Braised Baby Octopus, served with charred radicchio, cipollini onion marmelata for $8. I loved the accompaniments and the baby octopus was tender, my only note would be that some of the octopus was not as tender as other pieces, but overall the flavors were well balanced.

Kerry ordered the Margherita pizza and was shocked that it was so big (about 18″ x 12″). Made with buffalo mozzarella, basil for $13, this passed Kerry’s pizza taste test (she is a Margherita expert) and she loved the thin crust.

Marian chose the Italian tuna paninni with basil pesto, market tomato, and an argula salad as her included side for $12. She was thrilled with the basil pesto accent to the rich tuna,

Brendan chose the Piedmontese burger for $15 with blue cheese, charred shallots, heirloom tomato, arugula. He is a burger aficionado, so his thumbs up was a good sign. He became addicted to the home made ketchup and was dipping every scrap he could into it (including bits of Kerry’s pizza crust).

Finding a good place that is open all afternoon and late into the night is more difficult than it may seem here in Los Angeles, but finding Cube Cafe proves that there are food treasures if you look for them.

Yes to Asian-Ya

Looking for a place to eat at 11:30 pm on the Westside during a week night is no easy task. There are of course the usual diners and the Brazilian place that over cooks nearly everything on their menu, but my friend Mika was starving and wanted something good. We were willing to try something new before resorting to the old mediocre standbys.

We saw the neon “Open” sign at Asian-Ya as we were driving to the mediocre places and Mika did a U-Turn, saying, “I hope they are good” as she turned into their parking lot. We were willing to chance it and we grew hopeful as we saw half the tables filled with young students, and the posted hours said open until 00:00 (Mika translated and told me it means midnight).

They are a bit of a sake bar, with a menu devoted to flavors ranging from dry to sweet, made from sweet potato, barley, and rice. Prices ranged from $5 to $15 a glass and a “glass” is a ceramic cup that is big enough to hold about 8 oz. For some strange reason when I asked for my sake cold, they put ice IN the sake. I didn’t mind since I had not chosen a $15 sake, but be forewarned if you do want your sake cold and order a premium sake.

Since I was along mainly for company, not because I was hungry, I chose the clams in sake for $7. They were very flavorful and tender. The broth was so delicious that I could have drunk it as a soup.

Mika ordered the Miso Eggplant which had a slightly sweet paste and the toasted sesame seeds added a nice smoky crunch to the soft eggplant.

Mika also chose the shrimp fried rice which was she liked so much she kept eating spoonfuls even after she declared, “I’m full” . It was also a very generous serving, easily enough for two.

Mika’s eyes were bigger than her stomach, so she only finish about half of everything she ordered, including the grilled mackerel, which was done classically and well; not too dry, and not too oily.

The mackerel dish also came with miso soup and the grand total for everything we ate (and all the food that Mika took home) and drank (Mika had a hot tea) was only $36!
It was a steal considering the quality of the food and the wide selection (there are some Korean choices on the menu as well as ramen, curry, and exotic grilled meats like beef tongue and gizzards). Even with these prices, they have a happy hour from 5-7pm with drinks priced below the already reasonable menu prices.

I think we may have found our late night spot on the Westside open and serving with a smile at 00:00:-)