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.