Wednesday, July 21, 2010

thursday night market at yamashiro's.

yamashiro's stone fruit

i brought the wrong camera lens for the market, so there aren't any food shots for you (besides the gorgeous stone fruit. so good.) . but here's what you need to know: a few flower and produce vendors occupy a short row, but the rest is food, baked goods, bulgarini gelato, and liquor. yeeeeeah. a farmer's market on the grounds of a restaurant with a full liquor license means you can bring the family, do some shopping, eat some tasty grub, and wander around the gardens all whilst sipping a beer or quaffing down one a bottle of wine. full on hipster scene poolside (! yes! a pool! with a dj!) which means some bikini-clad women in search of duck confit tacos mix in with children dancing to a live jazz band.

yamashiro's pool

parking: you can get valet parking from the restaurant; if you tell them it's for the market, it's $4. don't forget to tell them it's for the market or you'll be charged $7! there's free(?) valet parking and free shuttle down the hill at the christian science church parking lot at la brea and franklin, too.

the main reason to go, though, is this:

patchy view


from griffith park observatory to century city, you have a true panoramic view of los angeles. priceless, with parking.

yamashiro's garden market,
thursdays from 5pm to 9pm.
1999 north sycamore avenue,
hollywood.
323.466.5125‎.

2 comments:

SinoSoul said...

whoah. you're back. been wanting to try this, but the drive + parking situ scares the bejeezus out of me.

santos. said...

hey SinoSoul, the drive isn't too bad if you can approach it from the east, and/or go on a night the hollywood bowl isn't going on. the drive up sycamore is pretty easy compared to most of the hollywood hills streets i travel.

i got the lowdown on the parking from one of the attendants last night. there is free parking and a free shuttle at the fifth church of christian science at 7107 hollywood blvd. just enter the parking lot from la brea, look for the signs (but there's a guy at the entrance there anyway). the service starts from 5.30pm to 9pm. if you go up to yamashiro's, you'll see people parking on the side of the street, which i don't recommend unless you are really close to the restaurant, fit for a small hike, and have a relatively narrow car. at the restaurant itself, you'll be directed to the valet parking in front. let them know you are there for the market. there are two options: $4, which is standard market parking, means they take your car back down to the church parking lot anyway and it will take some time before they bring it back to you. $7.50 gets you the restaurant valet parking, which means your car is near the restaurant and you can make a quicker getaway.

i recommend the shuttle if you are going to spend some time there, have dinner because it could take 15-25 minutes for your car to arrive if you use the market valet. also, if you arrive after 7pm it gets quite busy at both the market and resto. i've read that some people have been turned away for parking and had to go down the hill to the church anyway.