After visiting the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live on Wednesday, July 22, 2009, we had dinner at the Panini Café. It’s nearby in the South Park neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles. We left the Grammy Museum at 7:30 pm when it closed (see earlier blog). We then walked north on Figueroa Street to 9th Street where we turned right (east). Someone walking the other direction said to my wife, “I like your shirt”. She was wearing her black T-shirt with the names Michael, Tito, Germaine, Jackie, and Marlon in white lettering on the front. We passed the Ralphs Fresh Fare that’s now over two years old. It’s in a building connected to an apartment building where we used to live 3-4 years ago.
Panini Café is in the ground level of the building on the southwest corner of Hope and 9th. It has outdoor seating along the sidewalks of both streets. We entered through the north entrance where they have a large bar. The host said we could sit anywhere so we chose to sit inside in the room past the bar with windows looking out onto Hope Street. Many other tables were occupied both inside and out. The table next to us initially had a couple of loud talkers but they left early on. Across the room from us a group of cops sat at a table. The room, along with the bar had lots of light wood paneling. It was well lit, though a ceiling fan above us created a strobe light effect. Shelves near the bar indicated that they sell their own brands of wine and coffee.
The server soon gave us menus that were large. Panini doesn’t just serve Italian food but also Mediterranean food. The menu has separate sections for Panini sandwiches, salads, pastas, and Mediterranean wraps among other items. We ordered and they were a bit late bringing my wife her glass of water. The server had to be reminded. But it didn’t take long for them to bring our food. My wife ordered the stuffed eggplant. It was a Mediterranean dish stuffed with rice and cooked ground beef with a large salad and hummus on the side. It was so much food that she gave me the hummus and pita bread. The bread was golden and had the right consistency of flour and oil. The hummus was slightly spicy and enough for all the bread. My order was also a lot of food: the turkey club Panini sandwich made with huge slices of the fresh bread. The bacon in the sandwich was crunchy and there were many pieces of it. The avocado was also an ample amount but not messy at all. But the best part was the bread: billowy, thick and with its own great flavor. It was so much food that I could only finish half of it. I had the other half for breakfast the next day.
At our bidding they gave us our check. We paid and walked north on Hope to the Red Line/Purple Line station. The sidewalk was closed between 9th and 8th Streets so we had to walk over to Flower Street and walk by the front door of the apartment building where we used to live. It didn’t look like much had changed since then. We got to the subway station at 7th and Metro. Unfortunately the next train wasn’t coming until 8:50 pm. This was going to cut it very close for us since we hoped to catch the 9:00 pm Metrolink train from Union Station, the last train of the evening. The subway took a little longer to get to Union Station because it opened on the opposite side of the platform from where it usually opens. When we arrived we had barely 3 minutes to catch the Metrolink train. We ran up the escalator and through the station. My wife didn’t bother having her 10-trip ticket punched in the machine. She had the conductor do it and he had to borrow our pen. He also noticed my wife’s T-shirt. The train actually lingered at the station 5-7 minutes after its scheduled departure time at 9, but it eventually left and we made it home.
Panini Café is in the ground level of the building on the southwest corner of Hope and 9th. It has outdoor seating along the sidewalks of both streets. We entered through the north entrance where they have a large bar. The host said we could sit anywhere so we chose to sit inside in the room past the bar with windows looking out onto Hope Street. Many other tables were occupied both inside and out. The table next to us initially had a couple of loud talkers but they left early on. Across the room from us a group of cops sat at a table. The room, along with the bar had lots of light wood paneling. It was well lit, though a ceiling fan above us created a strobe light effect. Shelves near the bar indicated that they sell their own brands of wine and coffee.
The server soon gave us menus that were large. Panini doesn’t just serve Italian food but also Mediterranean food. The menu has separate sections for Panini sandwiches, salads, pastas, and Mediterranean wraps among other items. We ordered and they were a bit late bringing my wife her glass of water. The server had to be reminded. But it didn’t take long for them to bring our food. My wife ordered the stuffed eggplant. It was a Mediterranean dish stuffed with rice and cooked ground beef with a large salad and hummus on the side. It was so much food that she gave me the hummus and pita bread. The bread was golden and had the right consistency of flour and oil. The hummus was slightly spicy and enough for all the bread. My order was also a lot of food: the turkey club Panini sandwich made with huge slices of the fresh bread. The bacon in the sandwich was crunchy and there were many pieces of it. The avocado was also an ample amount but not messy at all. But the best part was the bread: billowy, thick and with its own great flavor. It was so much food that I could only finish half of it. I had the other half for breakfast the next day.
At our bidding they gave us our check. We paid and walked north on Hope to the Red Line/Purple Line station. The sidewalk was closed between 9th and 8th Streets so we had to walk over to Flower Street and walk by the front door of the apartment building where we used to live. It didn’t look like much had changed since then. We got to the subway station at 7th and Metro. Unfortunately the next train wasn’t coming until 8:50 pm. This was going to cut it very close for us since we hoped to catch the 9:00 pm Metrolink train from Union Station, the last train of the evening. The subway took a little longer to get to Union Station because it opened on the opposite side of the platform from where it usually opens. When we arrived we had barely 3 minutes to catch the Metrolink train. We ran up the escalator and through the station. My wife didn’t bother having her 10-trip ticket punched in the machine. She had the conductor do it and he had to borrow our pen. He also noticed my wife’s T-shirt. The train actually lingered at the station 5-7 minutes after its scheduled departure time at 9, but it eventually left and we made it home.
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