Tibi Eats 016 | Ètra
737 N Western Ave, Suite B, Los Angeles, CA 90029
Over the past few years, our creative team has had the special opportunity to travel around the world from St. Simon’s Island, to Vienna, to Melbourne for book clubs, campaign photoshoots, style events, and much more. Along the way, we have met some incredible human beings across a range of industries - chefs, musicians, artists, curators - and through these relationships we have discovered a handful of hidden gems - places to stay, eat, dance, shop, and learn. Last month I spent a week in Los Angeles, CA working on what will become our first edition of a new project within the CP world, the CP City Guides, the goal of which is to share these gems with you all. Travel guides are neither scarce nor a novel concept, but one designed through the lens of a Creative Pragmatic mindset has yet to exist, and on my journey to create a segment for the city of LA, I visited an incredible restaurant that is the featured highlight of Tibi Eats 016.
Ètra, opened in late 2023 by Chef/Co-Owner Evan Algorri and GM/Co-Owner Andrew Lawson, is the perfect encapsulation of that aforementioned “hidden gem” term. The quaintly intimate restaurant is located behind sister concept Cafe Telegrama, characteristically sheltered from the general Melrose Hill passerby - a place to only be sought out or stumbled upon by way of curiosity fueled fortune. The space is small, but not too, and dimly lit just so, with walls especially adorned to feature the work of local artists and friends, like Daniel Dooreck, of Danny D’s Mudshop.
Upon arrival, Andrew asked us for the name on the reservation we didn’t have and then happily offered up what I consider to be the best seat in the house - the end of the bar next to a rectangular slit in the wall, a perfect frame of the chef’s pass with a hint of the pasta station that becomes visible when a proper leftward tilt of the head is engaged. As we walked to our seats, I glanced at the wine fridge and immediately caught a glimpse of my favorite red wine I’ve had the privilege of tasting, the presence of which is an intangible indication and establishment of credibility, in my opinion, setting the stage for what was to come.
We ordered four plates - a tuna tartare, mixed greens, meatballs, and ramp pasta…and some olives, which were wonderful. The food, the staff, the ambiance, the entire experience, down to washing my hands in the bathroom, can be best described as meticulously unfussed. Scrupulously imperfect in a way that makes you feel warm and cared for - it is clear that there are actual humans behind every detail at Ètra, a genuine hand responsible for every move and decision made. My trip to LA was largely driven by a desire to find the real people, creating real things, in real places, and in this quest, I had a realization - the realest, and most memorable, impressions are paradoxically those that are neither perfect nor faultless. Rather, character, creativity, and humanity rest in the flaws that serve to enhance the uniquely intrinsic qualities that, in this context, make Ètra, well, Ètra.
At the end of the evening we had an opportunity to chat with Andrew and Chef Evan about their careers, inspirations, and future goals as they closed for the night, putting faces and names to the charming experience we had just been granted. As I recount that evening, affectionate memories rush back - the faucet in the beautiful bathroom that is slightly too low for washing your hands (mine at least) without brushing the floor of the sink, the personal preference of a generous cheese grate on the meatballs, the marginally extended wait for our last pasta dish which was hastily made up for with a glass of wine and dessert on the house - all elements that I look back on with fondness and excitement for my next opportunity to dine at Ètra. It can feel like a rarity nowadays to be comfortable for hours at a restaurant without being pushed out in an attempt to turn the tables and make an extra buck, but we were the last to leave that night, an element that went wholly unnoticed until I turned around to say bye as we walked out the door.
We visited a plethora of restaurants during our trip to Los Angeles, two of which made as deep of an inspirational impact as any I have experienced this year - Ètra is most certainly one of the two, and you’ll have to stay tuned for the release of the CP City Guide LA Edition to find out the other.
Ètra and Telegrama have been such great additions to our neighborhood and delighted to see your post highlighting them!