Miss S. Irene Virbila is back on the beat, this week with a review of Canele, an Atwater Village neighborhood spot that's been on the lips of many Eastsiders since day one, be it good or bad. In her review, Canele sounds like the perfect place for winter months: communal dining, honest fare, earnest service, warm. The whole review—and its timing—make sense. Miss Irene seems perfectly at ease, with just a few remarks on imperfections. Then she offers a word of advice for the (seemingly young) LA fashionista set; an interesting tact since her readership tends to skew on the, ahem, more mature side:
Canelé is no Balthazar or Lucques. It's modest in scope and ambition, more a great neighborhood restaurant than the kind of scene that gets mentioned in the trades or gossipy blogs. Good thing too. Because this is the kind of place where you don't have to worry whether your outfit passes muster. It's pretty much come as you are and kick back over a homey bowl of soup or a plate of roasted beets with fennel and goat cheese.Irene awards the eastside charmer two stars, and today the "S." stands for "subdued." Blogger Atwater Village Newbie adds the glowing review to the top of the list of growing reviews for Canele.
Elsewhere, Rustic Canyon quickly getting discovered. More Mozza. Going ethnic with Ethiopian at Nyala. Getting into the holiday gorging spirit at La Bottega Marino, Csardas Hungarian Restaurant, and Cube at Divine Pasta Co.