Results tagged “southbroadway”

Sometimes grabbing an ice cream cone on a mellow LA evening can be a quick, inexpensive, and wholly satisfying thing. Having recently found ourselves exiting the Red Line at Pershing Square, on our merry way to an evening of Grand Performances, we were presented with the idea of snagging a cone at the just about to close for the evening Grand Central Market. The Market happens to be one of our favorite destinations for food and people watching downtown; this time we were in an out in seconds flat, for less than a dollar apiece. The Tropical Zone Ice Cream & Juice Bar--one of the two ice cream vendors there--is at the front of the market, on the Hill Street Side. They have a decent selection of standard flavors; we're not sure who their supplier is, and, unlike Bennett's, Fosselman's, and Mashti Malone's, we're pretty sure they don't make their own. One scoop of Rocky Road was loaded onto a regular cone, followed by one scoop of Strawberry Cheesecake on another cone for our ice cream indulgent companion. Happily we licked our 90 cent cones and almost literally walked off into the sunset. Dusk started to inch its way over the city, as we slurped down our ice cream. Craving: satisfied. Sure, Tropical Zone can't boast more than their bargain prices, but for this time, that was plenty to do it. We'll rank them #4. This week our Ice Cream summer was quick and dirty style. We'll be out tasting again next week...

The downtown location, known as Clifton's Brookdale, is the first of the themed Clifton's that brightened up the food-service landscape, but also the only one that remains open. The over-the-top tropical-themed "Pacific Seas" location closed down in the 1960s, leaving the little woodland creatures on South Broadway to fend for themselves. But it's not just history or artificial grass that makes Clifton's unique--the food is actually quite good. Yes, we know that the word "cafeteria" conjures up painful memories of adolescence. Our own junior high cafeteria served something called "Meat Pie" that was neither meat nor pie. Clifton's must have something right, though, since they've been heaping helpings onto eager trays since 1935.