You won’t see a sign—just a purple glow emanating from the corner of a strip mall, hidden in the shadow of Walt Disney Concert Hall. It might be why we felt like we were discovering a little secret when we dined at First & Hope, the brand-new, Art Deco-styled supper club across from the Music Center.
Exec chef Shelley Cooper delivers a cheeky, Southern-inflected menu of delicious guilty pleasures. Highlights include a macaroni and cheese flight (featuring macs made with Tillamook cheddar, goat and triple cream brie); Praise the Lard ([pictured below] crispy pig ear, bourbon-braised pork cheeks and Kurobuta pork belly); and the LAPD Doughnut Shakedown (Boston cream pie doughnuts and chocolate dipping sauce with a mini strawberry milkshake).
Cocktails excel, including the signature drinks (like a superfresh Pimm’s Cup) as well as those improvised by First & Hope’s ace barmen (a Corpse Reviver that goes down like lemonade).
We’re told that Fedora at First & Hope, the transporting, glam cabaret room in back, will start hosting live entertainment starting this weekend.
Stop by for some sips and bites before this little strip-mall secret gets out. (Meaning: before Old Fashioned-swilling hipsters come out in droves.) FIrst & Hope, 710 W. 1st St., downtown, 213.617.8555.