Little Tokyo Lands Its Own Matcha Cafe with Midori Matcha

I love finding new restaurants.

Or maybe new restaurants find me. Whichever way it happens, when a location opens up in Los Angeles, I put a little extra gas in my tank, loosen the belt around my waist, and make my way to the new eatery. When I found that Little Tokyo opened its first matcha café in Midori Matcha I did that exactly and made my way to Downtown Los Angeles and let nothing get in my way.

That’s not true; there was nothing but traffic on my way to the café. An extra 30 minutes to be exact. But once I got through that and I was in the cute spot nothing else mattered!

Standing in the shop that just recently opened in LA, I was greeted by the owner, Jason Dmitry Steinbuchel. With so many great green options to choose from, I asked him to offer a few suggestions. His ear-to-ear smile exuded a sense of pride in the shop he created and an excitement to introduce customers to products he had available. He walked me through the items in the case and briefly touched on how his matcha was so special. He explained that he was intrigued by the health benefits, heritage, and overall flavor that could be found in ceremonial grade matcha. With continuous exploration of the matcha he discovered how smooth it tasted and how vibrant it truly was in spite of being so simple. With that, he had me dying to try anything he had to sell in hopes of falling in love with it too!

To prevent my unnecessary demise, I started with the Hot Matcha Latte ($6). It initially seemed a little pricey for the size, but considering the quality of matcha in it, it was understandable. A few sips gave a semi-sweet of the warm latte that felt nice to drink. While I would have liked it to have a greater sense of a milky attribute, it didn’t and that was fine overall. Although I wish I could have kept it as simple as possible, I didn’t. To make it more to my liking, I added a bit of milk and a couple packs of sugar. The few adjustments combined with the perfectly smooth texture to make a delightful drink.

After a few sips of the latte, I dove into the Matcha Danish ($4). Bite after bite I realized I really liked this pastry. My affinity for it came from the nice glaze that was swept across the top of the Danish. Each time I got even the smallest sample of it, I was given a “I’m ready to take on the day, even if it’s a Monday” type of happiness. I think we all know that’s hard to come by. The sweetness from the glaze then led to the flaky crust that got all over me no matter how hard I tried. I wasn’t bothered by it since I knew I could just eat the crumbs later. The best part was the cheese that peaked through center. It was sweet, creamy, and there wasn’t so much that it tasted overwhelming. In fact, there was just enough to make me crave a second one.

Smart move, Jason!

Once the Danish was gone, I took bites of the Matcha Beignet ($4). After living in New Orleans for four years, beignets became a dessert I adore. Since it’s not easy to find great beignets in Los Angeles, whenever I see one I have to give it a shot. Trying it at Midori Café, I realized it’s not the same as a traditional beignet. Here, the dough was a bit dense, tough, and thicker than I would have expected. I was hoping for a light and almost crispy dough but this wasn’t it. While the matcha custard within it was smooth and I liked it just as I had in the Danish, it wasn’t enough to save the pastry as a whole.

My suggestion: if you’ve had beignets from Café Du Monde or a similar pastry shop, these won’t be the same and as a result, you may not like them. However, if this is your first experience with beignets, then you probably won’t mind them at all since you have nothing to compare it to. Probably.

After exploring a few items on the Midori Matcha menu, I can honestly say that it seems like they have a great concept on their hands that could use minor tweaking. As their business grows and their latte and Danish continues to be delicious, I’m sure they’ll get the knack of the beignet down perfectly. When they do, I’ll put a little more gas in my tank, loosen the belt around my waist, and make my way back to eatery to try it all out again.

Who am I kidding? I don’t wear belts at this point.

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