There’s a sublime and almost eerie vibe that hits you the moment you walk through the door. It's like stepping back into the past, to a time when black-and-white movies were being cranked out in a town called Edendale (now Silver Lake and Echo Park). While you may no longer find stars of the 1920s seated nearby, the feel of that era runs through this place like a vintage Hollywood scandal. But the food is another story. Chef Paul Downer has a thing for the cuisines of Asia, the Mediterranean, and Latin America, but he brings them together in a way that could only be called down-home Southern. Bacon-wrapped meatloaf oozes creamy mozzarella at the center, while brown butter becomes the sauce of choice for chewy pappardelle. After dinner, wander back to the sprawling outdoor bar, where, even if you’ve never heard of Carole Lombard, you might rub shoulders with her ghost. Or was that just someone in white, part of the new glam crowd?

Brown butter pappardelle
Bacon-wrapped meatloaf
Creamy baked mac and cheese with chile-garlic bread crumbs
Tom kah dumplings
Short ribs (Asian-style) and greens
view full menu here

The sepia, antiques-like indoor dining room is ideal for date night. If you’re in a social mood, set yourself down in the bar area that flows onto the outdoor patio.

From 1922 to 1989, this building was a hotspot of another kind—the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Station 56, which served the Edendale area straddling Los Feliz, Silver Lake, and Echo Park.

Dinner: Sun–Wed 5 PM–10 PM; Thu–Sat 5 PM–11 PM
Brunch: Sun. 11 AM–3 PM

$15 (8-oz. Angus burger) to $27 (steak frites)