Local Table, where Downtown Refuels & Recharges after a long, hard day or after a long night of Clubbing.

By Laura Medina

http://www.localtable-la.com/6724/menus-and-order
 https://www.tastemade.com/places/local-table-800-s-figueroa-st-los-angeles-ca/U9o7v7HHS8CIlSlHWQwWrg

You know that saying, whatever has been so low-down, that it has no way but to go up.  This is what people are saying about Los Angeles' long-morbid birthplace, Downtown Los Angeles.  As locals would say, "DTLA."

Angelenos realized their town is now a city is when they are forced to stop expanding and starting revamping, rebuilding, revitalizing, and recycling long-forgotten neighborhoods then re-do them for the new generation by the new generation, such as Downtown Los Angeles.

As ex-pat New Yorkers exclaimed, with popping eyeballs, the space...the space.  The "revitalizers" behind Downtown LA Renaissance are them, ex-pat New Yorkers gee-gawking over the square footage and the cheap rent that comes along with them and Downtown LA's urban nitty-grittiness that reminds them of home, back East.

Those ex-pat New Yorkers account for only one-third of the revitalizers.  The remaining two-thirds are native, local Angeles who are rediscovering their city's origin and fixing up the abundant space with super-hip night-clubs or the club-restaurant hybrids or art gallery-clubs or club-performance art space whatever.

Downtown LA is also a fertile field for fresh restaurants and top-notch cocktail bars where the celebrities are the cocktails and the slumming celebrities are just fans.  The majority are night owls.  Where should one go if you're up really, really late hitting the art gallery-concert-clubbing circuit or you're a decent DTLA professional yuppie who needs a decent, wholesome, clean-cut place to eat.

Dariush Fakheri knew that the revitalization of DTLA was ripe for the pickings, but he also spotted there is a gap among DTLA's night-time world, for a nourishing breakfast for party-ing night owls (such as this culture vulture scribe) and a straight-up clean, gourmet dinner place for early-to-bed professionals.

He came up with Local Table, in the heart of DTLA's Financial District.  The name, "Local," has two meanings.  First, it is for the locals of DTLA yet it's welcoming and open to anyone, say late-night clubbers starving for fulfilling breakfast that isn't a greasy spoon.  "Local" also stands for the locally-sourced fruit, vegetables, and meat that are grown and raised not too far away from DTLA.

The name "Table" represents the long communal tables and benches that the neighborhood locals quickly fill up.  Again, people from other neighborhoods are welcomed to join in.

Local Shakshukah Pan a.k.a. Baked Eggs in a Skillet Pan

 http://www.localtable-la.com/6724/menus-and-order
 https://www.tastemade.com/places/local-table-800-s-figueroa-st-los-angeles-ca/U9o7v7HHS8CIlSlHWQwWrg

Okay, this scribe will reinforce this...unlike Hollywood where there is nowhere to eat after a long night of clubbing,  DTLA's Local Table recognizes you need to refuel and recharge and detox after clubbing.  This is why they have hearty but healthy breakfast that soaks up the alcohol while it feeds you nutrients, such as this easy to gobble Local Shakshukah Pan.

For the hung-overed,  we shall stick to "Baked Eggs in a Skillet." Don't worry, the wait staff knows what you're eating about.

The Local Shakshukah Pan is a nourishing but easy- to- gobble dish consisting of easy-baked sunny-sided up eggs nestled in a sea of traditional tomato salsa with slices of baguette toasts for you to soak up the sauce of egg yolks and salsa.

Croque Forestier

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The Local Shakshukah Pan was the easiest dish to start off your morning.  Let's gradually work our way up during breakfast, the vegan yet decadent Croque Forestier.

Dariush Fakheri always wanted Local Table to be for everyone and anyone.  He knew "healthy and organic" isn't restricted to the "sticks & twigs" stereotype of being organic.  He caters to the vegan and gluten-free.

One never expects "vegan" and "decadent" to be paired together, but they are in the Croque Forestier, the sassy vegan sibling to the traditional Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame.

Think of the Croque Forestier as a fancy grilled cheese sandwich meets Biscuit & Gravy.  Instead of ordinary white bread or biscuit, it's two thick slices of fluffy Brioche Bread hugging a gooey filling of roasted wild mushrooms sauteed in Gruyere Cheese then drizzled generously in Mornay Sauce, a béchamel white cream sauce of Parmesan Cheese and even more Gruyère Cheese.

An ornate yet gooey goodness that comforts your soul and tummy after a long night.  It's a warm hug of a breakfast sandwich, one where fork and knife are required.

Clean and healthy never means boring and plain...or dry.

Steak & Eggs

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If you're a fan of a hearty breakfast, especially for hangover, this scribe wouldn't disappoint you.

Next up is the clean but no less fulfilling Steak & Eggs classic.  Yes, Local Table's version is very classy.  Classy enough to double as a light yet nourishing dinner for the Yuppy Worker Bee at night.

You'll get your money's worth in this moist, succulent Hanger Steak.  It's just like Filet Mignon; and it stays that way for dinner too.  Out of the four breakfast dishes, the Steak & Eggs is the most "dinner-like" with the heaping sides of mixed greens, roasted fingerling and sweet potatoes, and the three sunny-side up eggs.

It is the eggs that makes it "breakfast."  If you did what this scribe did (after vacuuming up the Local Shakshukah Pan), slurping up only the eggs, what you got is a really great dinner.

Local Burger

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 https://www.tastemade.com/places/local-table-800-s-figueroa-st-los-angeles-ca/U9o7v7HHS8CIlSlHWQwWrg

If you're really, really hangover and hungry and you really need that "greasy spoon" feeling to soak up all that previous night alcohol, folks at Local Table don't judge.  They understand.

They'll tell ya' to go ahead and order their newest addition, the juicy Local Burger for the ultimate hangover soak-up.

Because of the Gruyere and blue cheese encrusted, grilled grass-fed beef patty, smothered in Rosemary aioli, fresh peppery arugula, Applewood smoked bacon caramelized onions and smothered even more in their house-made sauce, the Local Burger is like having (this scribe's favorite) a My Father's Office burger for breakfast.  What's really cool, you can actually order the Local Burger for breakfast, fresh off the grill for a soul-satisfying, post-partying breakfast.

Maca Chocolate Shake

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Alright, anyone who knows this scribe, they know this scribe has a sweet tooth.

Local  Table goes beyond breakfast and brunch...and lunch.  They can do dinner amazingly well, too.

Their pastries and candies go beyond the expected for a local joint focusing on being clean and healthy.  Their cases display an array of fanciful desserts of mousses, tarts, cheesecakes, Tiramisus, and adorable cakes in a jar.  Their desserts and pastries and candies are so impressive, that this scribe have to return there, just to review the sweets alone for another, separate article. Oh well, let's return to breakfast...

If your stomach isn't awake yet and can't handle a real meal but you really need to wake up, again...Local Table do not judge.

They have "liquid meals" a.k.a. smoothies to soothe your tummy and to fuel your day.  Actually, the locally sourced ingredients are so potent, their smoothies energize and fuel local fitness fanatics at the neighborhood Gold's Gym at the revamped Fig + 7th outdoor mall.

This scribe was quite taken by their Maca Chocolate Shake. 

Under their Superfood Smoothies, the Maca Chocolate packs a powerhouse of Maca, chia seed, cocoa powder, banana, cinnamon, almond milk, vanilla, and raw honey.

They say Maca Root powder increases libido while it clarifies skin complexion and equalizes the hormonal balance in women.  What more can a girl want?  A rich, thick chocolate smoothie that makes your skin radiant, evens out the hormones, and bumps up your libido.  This scribe nicknamed it, the "Sex and the City" Smoothie.  It's so effective, because of the Maca Root powder, that Local Table recommend taking it once a week.

The Hulk

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For a drink that's even more women-friendly, try The Hulk.

Don't let the he-man name put you off.  This ultra-green concoction of cucumber, celery, kale, spinach, pear, lime, and ginger root fortifies skin & bone health and immunity while tackling nausea.

Sounds like a pre- and post-Legree Method Pilates refresher after burning off all these calories while toning your small muscles into a long and lean physique.

Bullet Butter Coffee

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This scribe believes it is the tiniest of details, everyday, that can make or break the whole machine.

What most overlook is the coffee.  Local Table's Bullet Butter Coffee is what this scribe calls, the "Toffee Coffee" because of the coconut palm sugar (which is diabetic-friendly), coconut oil, and French Butter.

They said those ingredients make a world of difference.  Unlike the usual coffee, cream and sugar,  the coconut oil and French Butter carries the caffeine more efficiently, sustaining the energy longer in the blood stream, making it ideal for working out.  

For this scribe, the melting combo of coconut palm sugar, French Butter, and cream makes it "Toffee Coffee,"  an amplified dessert coffee.  This scribe is surprised that Starbucks haven't caught up on this.

Demonstrating that they're fair and reasonable and hospitable, Local Table also prides themselves in reusing all of their take out bags and offering customers a reward system for bringing their signature mason jars back to the restaurant to be refilled. 

The restaurant also offers free wi-fi throughout, encouraging guests to stay as long as they please, and delivers to customers in downtown by bicycle and foot.

Local Table is an unique gem, through-out the whole Los Angeles area, especially in Downtown LA.  In a neighborhood soon dominated by late-night mixologist cocktail bars (which this scribe doesn't mind at all) and upscale, hip, night-time only restaurants,  Local Table is a refuge during the first dawn of light. A wholesome cafe-restaurant that can morph morning, noon, and night into a elegant evening restaurant for dinner.

Closed Sunday...sorry...They're open Monday to Friday from 7:30am until 10pm for the financial worker bees then 9am to 9pm for the Downtown culture vultures and clubbers who need a clean, hearty place to recharge, refuel, and revitalize.