Eat Out. Malo [Sunday Brunch].

Silver Lake's Malo restaurant is well-known for its great margaritas and happy hours, but it just so happens that it's a great place to visit after those margaritas and happy hours too. The Mexican eatery recently began opening up early for weekend brunch, and the hip Eastside crowd is loving it--for good reason.

The brunch menu offers all the regular, great-for-the-hangover brunch favorites, like the breakfast burrito and chilaquiles (both seen above), but with Malo's extra attention to detail in flavor and fresh ingredients. The chilaquiles, though obviously not the healthiest meal, actually wasn't as greasy as I had imagined, and the portion was just right not to make me feel like I'd see it (or the night before) later. There were also fun and unique options like the mango and banana French toast that seem worth trying out.

And of course, with any good hangover brunch, Malo offers drinks--top-notch, of course. Their sangria is always a favorite of mine, and a mojito would probably be nice around noon. We tried the Malo Cafe, which had coffee mixed Kahula and tequila, and it was pretty strong. Made for a good wake-up call, at least.

Malo is located at 4326 Sunset Blvd. in Silver Lake. Brunch is served Saturdays and Sundays, from 9am-3pm.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: the BEAT

Eat In. Chilaquiles.

Basically the breakfast version of nachos, this is a great meal for a morning after drinking or just a tasty brunch in, really. This was one of the first Mexican meals I learned to cook, and it's incredibly simple, and it can be made in a healthy way, or with plenty of cheesy, greasy goodness.

Here's the healthy version:

-- 1 pack of corn tortillas
-- 2-3 eggs
-- Salsa Pato OR Trader Joe's soy chorizo (really tasty) OR regular chorizo
-- Sour cream or crema fresca
-- Canola oil
-- salt to taste

First, tear about five corn tortillas into triangles. The smaller the more quickly they will fry into chips. Add very, very little canola oil to a pan (NOTE: Olive oil will not work here -- for sure, I've tried it). Next heat the oil in the pan until hot, but not bubbling otherwise you might hurt yourself.

Drop tortilla triangles into the hot oil, flipping when they are just a little crunchy on one side. After all triangles have been flipped, crack three eggs over the pan and scramble. Quickly add chorizo/salsa mixing into the tortilla-egg combination. When the eggs are cooked, you're in business -- turn off the heat.

Mozzarella and cheddar works well on top of this as does a good dollop of sour cream on the side to dip the chips in.

All these things need to be done quickly to make sure the chips don't burn, but this definitely is good meal to start out a long day or is a good after a long night out.

-- Lauren Williams