I planned this one.
I was joined by Bill (for the majority of the time) and Jo. Kate, Ed, Max and Sadie joined us at about 1:30.
Hermosa Google map
'Hoods Hermosa packet
'Hoods Hermosa flickr album
What a beautiful day we picked for Hermosa. Mid 70s. Sunny.
Perfect day to start on a patio.
Though, note. Parking was more difficult in this neighborhood than expected. Lots of permit parking only, mostly on north/south streets. I mean, we FOUND parking. It just took a hot sec.
Jo, Bill and I met at Rica Arepa on Armitage at 11 for brunch. A well rated Venezuelan joint. Their little side patio was lovely. We got a plain arepa to share. Like a corn fritter. We used it to try their 3 sauces: garlic, house (super spicy and vinegary) and a green spicy. Then I got the pabellon stuffed arepa (shredded beef, black beans, cheese, plaintains). Jo and Bill got some other delicious stuffed concoction. Jo declared arepas better than tacos. Though the arepa was a delight, I vociferously disagreed.
Time for a walk.
We spent a lot of time pooping around the old Schwinn factory. Huge. Now mostly empty.
Then we sampled some gorgeous ciders at Right Bee Cider. Charlie, owner and founder was our bartender. After calling us nerds for our packets, he got really into it, requesting one for himself, sharing it with a regular and local who came in after us, requesting suggestions from him, etc. We had some nice chats with Charlie while Bill and I tried 5 of his offerings. I got a howler of the Rose Cider to go. Jo got aggressively into Charlie.
St. Philomena Catholic church is imposing, has been there since the 1890s, and so it was confusing when I could find NOTHING about it online. No history. No web site. And even more confusing, when we got there, it was locked up tight. Catholic churches are ALWAYS open. On a Saturday afternoon? No? Really? Confusing. Even though on their little side chapel it said they had perpetual adoration. Huh. So no inside pics, even.
That's where we picked up Kate, Ed, Max and Sadie. Max got a snow cone from a street vendor.
Ed got a loaf of french bread from a bakery as we strolled along Armitage to...
Pipeworks brewery. It's their production facility and bottle shop. But NOT a taproom. So we had a few one ounce tasters to try some options. Kate and I got some beer to go. Nice staff with lots of answers to questions.
We got off the big street (Pulaski) and took more residential streets to our next stop. We definitely saw 2 chickens just wandering on the side of the road. I got VERY excited.
The neighborhood is MOSTLY these residential streets. Really well tended smaller homes. Bungalows and 2 flats and workers cottages. Lots of flowers and plantings. Some decor tended towards the gaudy. But lots of people on the street. Folks sitting on porches hollering at neighbors. Kids riding bikes. A STRANGE number of ice cream trucks. Mostly Puerto Rican and Mexican families. Everyone super friendly. Saying hi as we walked by. Exclaiming over the baby.
We found the church where Walt Disney was baptized. At that time St. Paul United Church of Christ. Now Bethany Evangelical Baptist. Walt Disney's dad, a carpenter (worked on the Columbian Expo), actually built the church. Even gave sermons there on occasion. Also, closed. No going inside.
Then a few blocks away, the house where Walt Disney was born. His dad built that house, too. Disney lived there til he was 3. The current owners are fixing it up and will eventually open it as a museum. But they're not quite there yet. So just an exterior visit for us.
At this point we lost a Bill, and the remainder of 'Hoods got in our cars and traveled to Ponce restaurant on Fullerton for a snack. Puerto Rican food. Super busy. Even at 3pm. And I can see why. Delicious food for crazy cheap. BYOB. We had some of our Pipeworks brews. We sat on the street patio. I had two dumplings, a banana and a yam, each stuffed with pork. Kate had a gooey ham and cheese sammie. Ed had a jibarito. Jo had a pork skewer and some corn fritters. I finished with flan. All for $29. Unbelievable. Would go back.
Jo and I finished with some drive bys of the two major parks in the hood. Hermosa park was pretty small. Kelvyn park was bigger, more populated, and had a really nice field house. It was also on this strange little boulevard.
We routed ourselves out of the neighborhood via the historic bungalow district in its Northern half. Lots of pretty bungalows. Lovely.
Hermosa is pretty far from where we live. But it was a really pleasant neighborhood with some great food. Would def go back, if nearby, for a stroll or a bite. And some cider, for sure.
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