Culinary Musings: The 101 Coffee Shop

I love macaroni and cheese so much that no matter what city I am in; I order the mac ‘n cheese. Even if all I see is a photo of it, heck, just the words mac ‘n cheese makes me dream of the deliciousness that is cheese and macaroni. On a recent adventure of a friend’s new neighborhood, we walked to the 101 Coffee Shop [photo] off of Franklin. There is a big painting on the side of the Best Western with a cappuccino with the words “last cappuccino before the 101”. For a few years I thought of the painting as a threat, “get your coffee now before you pass out from traffic on the
101.”

The 101’s mac ‘n cheese was the first I have had in a long while that has been very tasty. I knew nothing of the fine food they had, I thought we were just going to have coffee and a donut. Thank goodness we didn’t. I liked that the macaroni is baked in large portions and served by the plate since I get to antsy waiting for my mac ‘n cheese to bake. The best part was the yummy exposed baked segments. Adding on to the great experience was the Grilled Salmon dish served with mashed potatoes and some green vegetables, asparagus maybe? Green beans? I do not remember what it was. I am also a big fan of 50/50 shakes made with some dairy component with some orange component. They do a very good job with orange juice and vanilla ice cream. I also like the orange sherbet with clear soda, but not too many places do that. One dish someone in my party did not like was the Blackened Chicken sandwich; unless you want the food to taste how it sounds, burnt and charcoal like, don’t order it. (!!?? – ed.)

The wait staff was very nice and we got our feed in a speedy manner. If there is one thing I hate doing, it’s waiting for food. There were lots of industry people there, well they looked like industry people but if you leave them alone they won’t bother you. But as I notice from working in Hollywood, every other person works in the industry. (. – ed)

I recommend this place; I have since been here four times and always order the mac and a 50/50 shake. But since I’ve been to Violet, I can now say I have had the best mac ‘n cheese in LA but the 101’s mac does its job as a comfort food. Their coffee is also decent for restaurant coffee and my friend had an Iced Chai Latte that was tastier than most either of us has ever tried. (most either? ah – most ICLattes. got it. – ed)

101 Coffee Shop
6145 FRANKLIN AVE HOLLYWOOD, CA
90028-5220, PHONE (323) 467-1175