Filed under: Food Writing
Let’s be clear—I love Los Angeles and its incredible mix of fancy pants dining establishments, greasy burger joints, and ethnic outposts full of exciting new treats. But I’ve been finding something lacking even in my favorite spots. Namely, the experiences never feel like mine. Maybe that makes sense for a city of roughly 9,878,554 people and it’s too much to ask for a really intimate meal that makes you feel utterly at home in the City of Angels.
But then I discovered Wood Spoon and this gripe had to be removed from the list. Simply put, Wood Spoon, a tiny Brazilian café located in a spare, comfortable storefront downtown, is the answer to many of my culinary prayers. There you can look into the quasi-open kitchen and observe Natalia, the owner, zipping between industrial stoves and the refrigerator actually singing to herself. A happy cook is a good sign for any meal and the food she prepares is certainly worthy of song.
Potpies cooked to a golden crisp reveal a meaty inside full of shredded, tender chicken, hearts of palm, fava beans, and green olives. The coxhina are soft and flavorful and not too greasy. And the homemade truffles….oh the homemade truffles. They are dusted with cocoa powder and beyond rich. Even the water is amazing—infused with piles of cinnamon sticks, raw sugar cane, or refreshing orange peel.
Most people associate Brazilian cuisine with the costumed pomp and circumstance of the meat orgy occurring at Fogo de Chãos across the country. But the food at Wood Spoon transcends traditional recipes transplanted and made cliché with nostalgia—it tastes joyfully alive.
Wood Spoon
107 W 9th St
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 629-1765
