Glendale Blvd. is a sweet street whether you’re on the North side of the 5 or the South. This week, we will focus on the South side… because we feel like it.

This street has got you covered for a classy dinner for two at Gingergrass or a dirty, sleazy, 4am, post-party, drunken breakfast at Astro. I love polar opposites.  Gingergrass has a great atmosphere, which is key to a cute Friday night dinner with your boy or girl. It’s an American-Vietnamese fusion restaurant (emphasis on the fusion). You won’t find your $5 bowls of pho here, but the food is still tasty. Don’t forget to order their house spring rolls. It’s all about the jicama. Their vegetarian jungle curry is massive with heaps of crunchy veggies. A popular drink here is the basil-lime elixir. It has crushed basil, lime juice and soda water and tastes like heaven. Eat outside with help from the heat lamps on a cool night, it’s easier to get a table out there and it’s more romantic. Then we’ve got the always lovely Astro Family Restaurant. This place isn’t good. It’s the place you go to when nothing else is open and you want some greasy eggs and bacon or maybe a burger and fries. People watching is always fun, and the game, “I Spy A Hooker” is enjoyable here as well. I’m exaggerating, it’s really not that bad. Ok, it’s pretty bad.

We recently wrote about Silverlake Wine’s fabulous wine and food pairing on Sunday with none other than the delicious Mozza pizza. Well guess what? It’s on this week’s sweet street! It’s first and foremost and fabulous wine shop, but they offer incredibly priced wine tastings on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays. “Sundays at three” start at 3PM and includes 4 wines and an apertif with hor d’oeuvres and a wine presentation. Then “Blue Mondays” start at 5PM and includes 3 wines, cheese, olives, and bread from La Brea Bakery. Finally there’s “Thursday Night Flights” at 5PM with 3 wines selected according to that week’s theme based on region, grape, or winemaker. This tasting comes with bread. Believe it or not, the tastings are only $12. Kind of ridiculously cheap and amazing! Silverlake Wine is badass. If you’re not really into wine, you can always stick with your iced coffee from Silverlake Coffee and Co. just down the street!

Well we can’t brush aside the two late night stops on most eastsiders’ list: Cha Cha Lounge and The Red Lion Tavern. Cha Cha has been written up here before, so check out that review if (when) I miss something. The main draw for me is the photo booth and the seating area near there to sit around and drink with friends. It tends to get crowded, so be prepared for that. But the positive side to this place is the dark red lighting makes everyone look hotter than they really are. But sometimes people actually look super scary in the lighting….. whatever. They’ve got karaoke some nights and happy hour is from 5-9PM every day with $1.50 PBR and $2.50 wells. Then Red Lion across the street is totally the opposite of Cha Cha in my opinion. Tons of people piling into the two floors of the building, huge beer garden/patio area, waiters in German outfits, sausages in front of everyone on their plates, and lots of happy beer-drinking people. It’s a very fun, laid back place that you should check out when you’re in the area!

So after a crazy night out on Glendale Ave. the next morning you’ll definitely need a refreshing jog along the reservoir before checking out Ghettogloss’s Silverlake Art, Craft and Vintage Fair every Sunday from 9AM-4PM. The fair takes place in the Citibank parking lot right near Gingergrass. There are a bunch of booths set up with handmade crafts, gardens, vintage clothing, jewelry, art, antiques, and more. A morning jog and a bit of craft shopping will cure any hangover.

Don’t you love sweet streets like Glendale Blvd. where you can eat, drink, shop, and play in new and unique ways? Chain places =  sadface.

Want to suggest a sweet street? E-mail us!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 4:03 pm and is filed under Sweet Streets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.