Message: | I too was excited to see The Ritz on Hollywood, and not just for the obvious reason. The novelty of the numerous businesses and products to which I am not heir wore off the minute I learned to read and write my name. Anyway, I've wondered what's up with that place. The management seems to be quite haphazard (if at all marginally existent), so I understand why Jennifer posed these questions to the board...
First of all, the juxtaposition of this semi-hip storefront tucked into a former theater that’s been converted into a funky Spanish language church sets the tone. Kind of the past, present, and possible future of Hollywood Boulevard all strangely rolled into one.
The very friendly woman staffing the counter was quite frazzled the one time I ventured in--and there was only one other customer ahead of me! No menu in sight, she just asked what I wanted and made lovely sandwich with simply prepared and excellent grilled vegetables. Not extraordinary, but certainly far more than serviceable considering the location and other options. I was a bit surprised at the price ($7) because it came without any sort of side companion. The randomness of the place struck me; several of the ingredients (the cheeses in the case, olive spread, etc.) were either obviously store bought and still in their jars, or displayed with the Trader Joe’s price tag still affixed! It’s almost as if I decided to open a sandwich shop and stopped at TJ’s in the morning to pick up my provisions. I had some concerns about the sanitary practices, as she didn’t wear gloves or wash her hands in between handling money and food. Despite the many idiosyncrasies there is some promising potential. I hope they get it together, and will check back in a few weeks.
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