Week in Reviews: The Park, Home Silver Lake, Rush Street, Noodle House, Palate, MORE

It's probably smart for S. Irene Virbila to look into some of the budget eats these days because not everyone can afford the luxury of $200 dinners a night just so they get their Riedel stemware. The Park in Echo Park isn't the first restaurant you'd expect to find the critic---edgy neighborhood, young chef, DIY written all over the place---but she makes her way to find a pleasant experience especially for the price:

The Park offers honest food at an honest price without a whiff of pretension.,.Though pasta is not this kitchen's strong suit, I'm less fond of the linguine with white clam sauce (too few clams for the amount of noodles) than the spaghetti with meatballs...The Park burger may be the best $10 burger in town, made with ground sirloin, which means it has some flavor. They'll cook it to a true medium rare if you ask, and for a buck each, you can add bacon, or caramelized onions, homemade aioli and other condiments. I recommend the fries, too.

Chef/owner Josh Seigel and staffers can breathe easy: They get one-and-a-half stars. Not bad for a group of 20-somethings who painted and scraped the space themselves. Today the "S." stands for "slumming it." [LAT]

ELSEWHERE: Jonathan Gold takes a quick look at Rush Street; Metromix's first impressions of the new Silver Lake Home: mixed; EDBM gives "two thumbs up" for Palate Food & Wine in Glendale; Franklin Ave gives "LA's most authentic bagels" a spin at Brooklyn Bagel Bakery; checking out hot dogs at The Stand; and a couple raves for Noodle House in SGV.