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Restaurant review: Newsroom




Newsroom is undeniably the hippest café in Los Angeles. The people in the restaurant look like they belong in the car commercial that says “Spending money like it’s going out of style … is going out of style.” Even though Newsroom is mostly filled with the stereotypical Los Angeles person, owning only designer items and talking about a celebrity, anyone is welcome. Unlike the waiters at the other celebrity-filled restaurants, Newsroom’s waiters are pleasant and you don’t have to make more than $6 million a year to get excellent service.

This is the first place I’ve never gotten bored while waiting for a table because there are televisions in every corner each displaying a major news station, a newsstand loaded with practically every magazine and a scrolling message board above the bar, which consists of a daily quote, news, and a “Did you know?” It’s no wonder the restaurant is called Newsroom. It’s busier during breakfast and lunch than it is during dinner and more often than not I’ve been able to sit down immediately.

The Tuna Deluxe, my favorite, is a huge green salad with a layer of rice on the bottom. The tuna tastes really good despite the minimal amount of mayo (not “fishy” at all).

The sandwiches, like the sweet and spicy Tandoori chicken, come with your choice of a News salad (baby greens with balsamic vinaigrette dressing) or Terra chips (the ones that look like potpourri but are edible). I would recommend the salad because the dressing has the perfect balance of oil and vinegar.

After the tuna salad, my favorite is the pasta. The fresh Ahi with fusilli (corkscrew pasta) is seriously the most delicious pasta I’ve ever eaten, and this is coming from someone who usually orders pasta at every restaurant. That magical sun-dried tomato sauce goes surprisingly well with grilled Ahi. It’s creamy for a tomato sauce and savory and sort of melts in your mouth. This dish is so addictive that I’ve never had a chance to try the tempting Spicy Noodles Diablo: “whole wheat udon noodles, broccoli, greens, smoked tofu, bean sprouts tossed in spicy Chinese black bean, garlic, ginger, chile, toasted sesame tomato sauce.” I’ll eventually muster the strength to turn down my beloved fusili for a chance to try the noodles.

Newsroom is also a good place to eat breakfast, which is served any time. All egg dishes are served with organic eggs, roasted potatoes or sliced tomatoes, and nine-grain bread. I like the News scramble with sun-dried tomatoes, spicy pesto and caramelized onions. But when I’m not in the mood to have eggs, I go for a more carby plate, the Healthy Jumbo Hotcake, a dairy-free, six-grain pancake, served with a banana and maple syrup.

You can also make your own dish from the “You Da Chef” section of the menu. You can choose from “meats” of steak, fish, chicken, turkey or a soy drumstick. Then you choose from sauces like barbeque or mushroom with caramelized onions. And then you choose a side. Maybe you want couscous with your fat-free miso-glazed salmon or roasted garlic mashed potatos with your ranchera steak sauce-covered filet mignon. It’s up to you, and it’s also the priciest item on the menu, ranging from $13-$15.

Everything comes in large portions and there’s a vegetarian/vegan option on every section of the menu. Everything else is reasonable priced, with breakfast from $6 to $10, soup from $4 to $6, salad from $6 to $11, and sandwiches around $10. They’re not cheap, but they’re definitely worth the extra bucks, especially since they taste better than the sandwiches at other restaurants, hip or un-hip.

There’s parking on the side of the block, but it’s ridiculously expensive: $4 for 2 hours, so find street parking, usually available at most two blocks away.

Unfortunately, there’s no Newsroom website, but there are plenty of websites with the Newsroom menu and more information which you can find by typing “Newsroom Café” into Google.

Hours:
Mon-Thu 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Fri 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Sat 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sun 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Reservations accepted for dinner or for parties of eight or more people.

Locations:

120 N. Robertson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-3115
Phone: (310) 652-4444

530 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Phone: (310) 319-9100