Hollywood: Croft Alley at The Standard Hotel
drinks by Aaron Polsky
I checked out a popup within a popup, Croft Alley at the Standard hotel. Croft Alley took up the restaurant residency at the Standard after Ari Taymor took his popular Alma popup to Santa Monica. Croft Alley off Melrose Place is a popular breakfast spot best known for yogurt with chlorophyll. Imagine latte art but on your yogurt and bright green.
Chef Phuong Tran then staged a popup night to benefit the LA Food Bank in honor of the late critic, Jonathan Gold. The Nom Nom Nom popup featured Vietnamese food. And Aaron Polsky from Harvard and Stone created drinks to go with the popup menu.
We kicked off dinner with a couple of drinks. I loved the Little Lover Sour. And I also enjoyed the Night Phowler Mule though possibly I had more fun saying “phowler” than anything else.
Little Lover Sour – Bombay Sapphire gin, sawtooth herb, sriracha, lime, Bittermens tiki bitters
Night Phowler Mule – Bacardi Heritage rum, ginger, Thai basil, Tabasco, lime, Barkeep Chinese bitters
bun bo hue
I love bun bo hue. I loved the flavor of this spicy beef soup though I felt the tendon needed to be more tender. The noodles were great.
Vietnamese sticky wings
We got our protein in with a plate of chicken wings. They were served with pineapple sambal. I thought they were plenty flavorful on their own so I skipped the sambal (and licked m y fingers!).
bun cau
Rice vermicelli with soft shell crab was a favorite. I only wish there was more crab!
Cha Ca La Vodka Martino
There was one other drink on the menu so my friend and I shared it. Bright yellow from the turmeric, this felt healthy.
Cha Ca La Vodka Martino – Grey Goose vodka, dry vermouth, turmeric, dill, sesame oil
green beans
And no Minty meal is complete without some sort of greens. We went for the green beans. These were simple but done well.
Now I’ll have to go back to Croft Alley for that Instagram-worthy yogurt! Plus, I hear they have the best tuna sandwich in town.
Croft Alley at The Standard
8300 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90069 — (323) 650-9090
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