The Astronomer and I found ourselves with hours to kill one Saturday a few months back when June jetted off to an amusement park with friends at the last-minute. Soon, plans were hatched to dine at a duo of restaurants that I’d been wanting to try but were too cramped, crowded, or unpredictable in some way to consider visiting with our kiddo in tow. First stop: Quarter Sheets in Echo Park.

We snagged two bar stools peering into the kitchen after placing our order toward the front entrance.

First up was the Quiet Storm ($6.50), which came topped with maitake mushrooms, cream, mozz, Meyer lemon gremolata, thyme, and granna. The Sicilian Corners ($7) had vodka sauce, Bloomsdale spinach, fior di latte, Calabrian chile, and pecorino.

The melons refresher salad ($8) made with Weiser Farms melons, marinated cucumber, coriander, sesame, pineapple sauce, and chiles arrived next. It was sweet, savory, spicy, and very good.

For dessert: the most magnificent strawberry shortcake slab cake ($15) with plush layers of polenta chiffon, vanilla bean custard, fresh strawberries, and strawberry preserves.

What’s not to love about Quarter Sheets?

For the second part of lunch, we headed to Found Oyster in East Hollywood, where we were quoted a 45 minute wait for a table. We walked around the neighborhood — basking in the glory of the late afternoon sunshine, the Kaiser medical facility, and the Scientology Center — and soon we received a text that our seats were ready. The narrow dining room was packed to the gills and full of palpable weekend energy when we sidled up to the bar.

The first dish to hit the table was the best one of all: the scallop tostada ($19), a fried tortilla raft layered with the raw scallops, yuzu kosho, green apple, and opal basil. It was so good we should have ordered two.

While the scallop tostada impressed with its restraint, the razor clam ceviche ($24), which was one of the daily specials, had too much going on.

To top it all off, a lobster bisque roll with serrano chile and served with very good fries ($29). I’m glad that I finally found my way to Found Oyster.

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Quarter Sheets
1305 Portia Street
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Found Oyster
4880 Fountain Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90029

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One year ago: Slacker.
Two years ago: Slacker.
Three years ago: Slacker.
Four years ago: {swoon} Anchovy Pizzetta From Chez Panisse Cafe
Five years ago: The Arthur J – Manhattan Beach
Six years ago: Slacker.
Seven years ago: N/Naka – Los Angeles
Eight years ago: {swoon} Grilled Cheese with Pastrami at The Hat
Nine years ago: “Old Chengdu Traditional Dishes” at Dan Dan Tian Shui Mian – Chengdu
Ten years ago: Umami Burger – Pasadena
Eleven years ago: Son of a Gun – Los Angeles
Twelve years ago: Crest Cafe – San Diego (Hillcrest)
Thirteen years ago: Maple Bacon Biscuits
Fourteen years ago: Phở Hòa- San Diego
Fifteen years ago: Cơm Tấm – Broken Rice
Sixteen years ago: Jim ‘N Nick’s – Birmingham