Grand Avenue Festival Reveals a Hidden Gem: Colburn Cafe

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Yesterday’s Grand Avenue Festival seems to have largely been a success, though perhaps the change in day left crowds a bit smaller than last year. The Disney Hall garden seemed to be a hit, as the greenery provided a nice respite from the mid-day sun. The Urban Design Studio’s streetscape exhibit was also a very cool touch, and was more intricate than I would have expected.

On a day when the aforementioned sun made for a hot time on the pavement, I’d say the day’s real winner was the Colburn School’s new cafe, open to the public for lunch and dinner through the week, and for lunch on Saturdays.

The Colburn Cafe opened a few months ago as part of the school’s large new addition. Aside from serving the live-in student population, it’s also open to the public. It’s air-conditioned space provided a great break on a sun-filled day, and the food prices were impressive. Ed ordered a personal pizza for just $2, and found it quite good.

Definitely worth checking out is the way the Colburn plaza space flows into the garden walkway behind MOCA and connecting into the Watercourt. The three combined now create a very serene pedestrian linkage atop the hill.

Short cut to make note of: you can connect onto the Colburn courtyard via the unfinished extension of upper Second street, going west from Olive.