Eat Out. Local.

Finding a place to brunch on New Year's Day is not an easy thing to do -- everyone else out there is just as hungover and lazy as you are, and wants some good food in them to start the year out right. But somehow D and I lucked out, and came upon the awesome Local, located in Silverlake.

We originally picked the place -- even though we had never eaten there before -- because we figured its vast outdoor seating would help us to getting eating soon. It definitely exceeded expectations. It's one of those order-and-then-choose-a-spot-to-sit-in places, which can be annoying (i.e. Father's Office), but people seem to move in and out fairly quickly, and the waiters and waitresses always help out with getting you a table. And speaking of the service, the guy taking our orders at the register, although trying to handle a billion requests at once, was extremely cheerful and helpful, in the most genuine way possible. He was probably the owner, and he seemed to be completely in love with what he was doing. It was quite inspiring.

And then there was the food. I'm actually pretty sad I didn't take any pictures -- but we probably scarfed it down too quickly anyway. D got the breakfast sandwich, which was the special on the blackboard that day and looked amazing, while I stuck with whole wheat pancakes with eggs and bacon. I don't think I've actually had whole wheat pancakes before, and I don't even particularly like pancakes, but these had to be some of the best pancakes I'd ever had -- whole wheat or not. The wheat gave it a nuttiness that went perfectly with the sweetness of the butter. Totally mouth-watering. We also, for total over-indulgence reasons, ordered the spicy fries, which too, were delectable.

It's also good to mention that the food is mostly locally sourced and organic, and vegetarian friendly -- it is Silverlake, after all. Feeling good and having amazing food at the same time? A great way to start out the year.

Local is located at 2943 W. Sunset Blvd. in Silverlake.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: Yelp