Mingleicious
My favorite blended summer drink, plus more mariscos and mid-century moderns.
Sup readers? I’m spending the week visiting family and friends on Long Island. I love LA, but there is absolutely nothing that compares to an East Coast summer, especially coming off the highs of the Knicks win.
In today’s newsletter: Mingle’s Coconuts, Loreto, and The Eames House.
Mingle’s CocoLatte
Mingle’s Coconuts is a family owned & operated coconut vendor that operates at farmers markets across LA and Ventura counties. They pride themselves on their never frozen, plant-based, premium Thai coconut products. A variety of delicious items grace their stands, from freshly cut whole Thai coconuts and spirulina coconut smoothies, to coconut horchatas and chia cups with fresh coconut and fruit. None of their products contain added sugars, fillers, or artificial sweeteners.
The crème de la crème at Mingle’s, though, is their CocoLatte.
It’s a blend of organic coffee brewed with fresh coconut water and coconut meat, served cold. When shaken before drinking, it turns into a rich, naturally sweet coffee coconut smoothie unlike any you’ve tried before. The natural fats from the coconut prevent the jitters I sometimes get from coffee, something I appreciate as a mostly decaf coffee drinker.
Though enjoyable year round, these summer months are especially ideal for a refreshing CocoLatte to keep cool while shopping at the market. I catch Mingle’s Coconuts at the Hollywood or Brentwood Sunday markets, but here’s a full list of their weekly locations.
Loreto
One of the greatest privileges of living in LA is having access to seemingly endless options for experiencing new food, and good food at that. With dining out becoming a luxury, where I choose to eat out the one to two nights a week I budget for it has become even more of a thoughtful decision. The choices I make around these meals are in constant competition: should I try to snag a reservation at a new hot spot, or do I leave room to stumble spontaneously into a spot that looks great? Should I plan a day around eating somewhere a healthy distance from home that I’ve been wanting to try, or return to favorites I know consistently deliver?
Having lived in NYC and now LA, my standards, and the costs associated with dining out, are high. It takes a lot for me to return to a restaurant. The ones I do visit time and time again earn that distinction with no hesitation. They are steady in their delivery of service, quality, and vibe, making them worth the drive, cost, and planning.
Loreto is one such place for me.
I love its secluded location in Frogtown, and how quickly it transports you to a meal in Mexico, with the colorful facade, incredible mariscos, and when you sit outside, tables on dirt surrounded by impressive gardens of cacti and desert plants.
If I’m drinking, I order their michelada, a delicious clamato, citrus, salsa, and Pacifico blend. The biggest challenge for me is always saving enough room for the Pescado Zarandeado, a butterflied branzino served with beans, rice, quesadillas, avocado, and homemade salsas. It’s a must for the main course. I work backward from there.
The soft shell crab tacos are a favorite of mine (I included the dish in my first ever Substack post as one of my favorite bites of 2025!). Their take on esquites, with shrimp and lobster mayo, never fails to impress. The bang bang shrimp tostada is a sweet and spicy delight. And to start I always have either an aguachile or ceviche. Both are delicious, so choose based on your tolerance for spice. The sashimi to start is also always a good idea.
The space both inside and outside lends itself well to celebratory meals with friends or family, and I think it’s one of the greatest restaurants in the city to hold a special event. When I got engaged, we had a small, informal gathering outdoors. It would be a beautiful, intimate wedding venue.
Loreto is always on my lists of favorites in the city, and in a contest for my repeat patronage, it continues to come out on top.
Eames
My husband grew up in the Palisades, and we spent time there almost every week before the fires. Despite passing by it probably hundreds of times, I lost my Case Study House virginity at The Eames House just a few weeks ago.
The house, which only narrowly escaped the Palisades Fire, closed for five months following the disaster to tend to the significant smoke damage it endured; no small task for a structure that has an entire foundation, community, and group of world-renowned scholars devoted to its conservation.
The home was designed, built, and completed in the 1940s as part of The Case Study House Program, launched as a solution to the lack of affordable, modern homes in high demand following World War II. Its architectural and historical significance has earned the Eames House the designation of a National Historic Landmark.
The three acre property is set back from the street and sits atop a bluff with an unobstructed Pacific Ocean backdrop. The Eameses lived and worked in the home and studio, which are built of steel and glass panels of varying colors, tints, and textures. Though we weren’t able to enter the home, peeking through the glass reveals a sanctuary stuck in time, preserved with the authentic furniture, decorations, and layout as during the husband and wife’s lifetimes.
Prices of self-guided outdoor tours have increased significantly in recent years, and an indoor tour is thousands of dollars (yes, you read that right: $2,500 for up to four people, to be exact). I hope the foundation can work to make the celebrated property more accessible for all to experience in the near future.
The song stuck in my head this week:
Loreto is an absolute banger!! and i still need to check out the Eames house...just rose higher on my summer list :)
omg must get hands on a CocoLatte STAT