Emil's Swiss Pastry

If you are going to see a film at the Laemmle Royal Theater and want a nice snack or lunch before the show, walk just one block away to Emil's Swiss Pastry. Emil's is a beautiful bakery/cafe with a bright showcase of delectable cakes, tarts, pastries, and cookies.

If you want to sit down and have lunch, they serve an array of wonderful quiches, Panini, and sandwiches, from the classic French baguette with French ham, butter and cornichons (French pickles), to the exotic Austrian, made with Landbrot (Austrian bread), breaded organic chicken, Dijon, cranberry sauce and tomatoes. All the lunches are between $6-$8 and even if you want to add a nice dessert and coffee, you will still get change back on your $20.

They make desserts for every taste and occasion, including the hard to find Croque en Bouche ($55 for 50 puffs), made with little cream puffs filled with cream and topped with caramel, built into a pyramid, to a Mocca 3 Leches ($25 for an 8"), made with yellow cake separated with layers of Capuccino custard and mocca butter cream. All their cakes can be customized, so contact them for your special orders.

Their breakfast pastries come in both a mini ($1.15) and regular size ($2), so you can indulge a little or a lot, and they even offer a multigrain scone and an organic fiber muffin if you want to be "good". If you want to indulge just a bite, then have a espresso here and take home some of their buttery and tender handmade cookies.

I hold a Swiss passport, but I prefer going to Emil's to get a taste of Switzerland. Emil's sells special imported products, including yogurt, cheese, sausages, and ham, so it's like having a Swiss market in Los Angeles without having to sweat hiding my goodies from the Customs dogs.