Travel to the east side of Los Angeles for some of the city’s best food spots and a vibrant specialty-coffee scene.
BY EMILY JOY MENESES
ONLINE EDITOR
Featured photo sourced via Pixabay
Note: The city of Los Angeles, including areas of the San Gabriel Valley, is still experiencing devastating wildfires. Yesterday, we released a list of resources for those affected by the natural disaster. For coffee community members who have been impacted and are in need of support, please reach out to our editor, Emily Joy Meneses, at emily@baristamagazine.com so we can amplify your efforts to rebuild.
One of the best things about growing up in Los Angeles is being more familiar with the lesser-known corners of the county: the places less frequented by tourists, but no less deserving of praise. I’ve always had a soft spot for the San Gabriel Valley, or the SGV, located to the east of downtown Los Angeles along the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.
Stretching from Pasadena to Pomona, the region is one of the most ethnically diverse in the country, and within its humble radius, one can find food from around the world: street vendors slinging tacos, 24-hour dim sum shops serving red bean buns and xiao long bao, warmly lit bakeries offering tamales until sell-out, or Vietnamese sandwich shops packing up bánh mì by the dozen, always on freshly baked bread. Aside from its vibrant culinary scene, the region also has a number of notable specialty-coffee shops, and we’ve gathered a list of our favorites.
Dash Coffee Bar
Situated within a quiet plaza in Pasadena, Dash Coffee Bar is a place where Southeast Asian ingredients take center stage—cue ube matcha lattes, Thai tea topped with espresso, and a variety of snacks imported from Thailand.
“Our mission is to bring specialty coffee infused with Asian cultural flavors,” says Dash Coffee Bar owner, Jane Tansurat. “Among our standout offerings is the Pandan Latte, our most popular drink. It features pandan leaves infused into our house-made cane sugar syrup, paired with a double shot of espresso, creating a perfect harmony of aroma and flavor without overpowering either element. For those who prefer non-coffee options, we proudly serve ceremonial-grade matcha from Yume, Japan, made fresh to order.“
Jane also shares how, despite the fact that Dash was launched amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the shop has managed to find a loyal following amongst the SGV community. “Dash Coffee Bar opened its doors during the challenging times of the 2020 pandemic shutdown. Construction was halted halfway through, and the uncertainties were immense. However, fueled by determination and unwavering support from our community, we persevered and have proudly thrived for four strong years,” she says.
Three Fields Coffee
A short drive away from Dash Coffee Bar is Three Fields, located along Alhambra’s Main Street: a quaint hub where one can find amazing boba, comic book stores, cozy bakeries, and incredible food from Indonesia, India, Korea, Peru, and more—all along one block.
Though it just opened its doors this past year (the shop is still in its soft opening phase), Three Fields has quickly become a favorite amongst SGV locals, with a bright and airy space perfect for doing work or catching up with a friend. The shop pulls espresso from a La Marzocco Linea Mini and also has an impressive pourover setup, complete with a collection of Hario V60s. When I visited, I ordered a single-origin flat white with oat milk; smooth, balanced, and creamy, it was the perfect way to start the day.
Café de Leche
Operating since 2008, Café de Leche has been a pillar of the SGV specialty-coffee scene for the past two decades, specializing in directly sourcing coffee from Latin America and roasting everything in-house. Notable coffee offerings include Belen—a medium-roasted, washed coffee from Mexico produced by Belen Arias—and El Silencio, a medium-roasted, natural process coffee from Colombia with notes of tangerine, mango, and chocolate.
Café de Leche’s founder, Anya Schodorf, a native of Nicaragua, shares how, throughout her life, coffee has served as an important way for her to channel a sense of home. “Sometimes when I take my first sip of café de leche in the morning, as if by magic, my soul is transported back home. The smell and taste of this drink evokes happiness in me,” she says. “The aroma of the coffee in the house flirts with my senses and creates a feeling of comfort, a feeling of home, a sense of family. The smell of coffee brought everyone to the table. It was a family ritual that I still enjoy to this day.”
The café sadly recently lost its Altadena location to the Los Angeles wildfires, and the team is asking for support. To aid their efforts to rebuild, they are asking customers to visit their Highland Park and Hollywood locations, or purchase a coffee subscription through their website.
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