Lincoln Heights was one of the first neighbourhoods laid out beyond the original pueblo and it has the housing stock to prove it: Victorian and Craftsman houses on hills above a flat commercial street. It has not been redeveloped the way its neighbours have, and North Broadway still functions as a working high street where the businesses open early because their customers start work early. That makes it an unusually good place to be hungry at seven in the morning.
This is an early-morning neighbourhood rather than a brunch one, and the best counters are finished with their rush before most places open. Tell Karpo what time you can be there.
The morning shape
The taco counters, panaderías and small kitchens along North Broadway open early and do most of their trade before nine. Breakfast tacos here are egg with chorizo, egg with beans, egg with nopales — small, cheap, three to an order — and the burrito version adds potato. Alongside them, the bakeries sell conchas, orejas and other pan dulce by the tray, which is the correct thing to buy for later even if you have already eaten.
Coffee is café de olla in the traditional places — brewed with cinnamon and piloncillo — and it is worth ordering over an americano at least once.
What else is on Broadway
The street holds a mix that has built up over a century: Mexican and Central American restaurants, a Chinese layer left from when the neighbourhood absorbed part of the old Chinatown displacement, markets, tortillerías and shops selling things for houses rather than for visitors. The buildings are early twentieth century and largely unaltered, which makes the walk itself worthwhile.
The neighbourhood also holds a growing set of artist studios and small galleries in its industrial edges towards the river — a quieter version of what happened in the Arts District, and one that has not changed the character of Broadway itself.
The park
Lincoln Park, a few blocks east, is one of the oldest parks in Los Angeles, dating to the 1880s when it was East Lake Park. It has a lake, mature trees, a recreation centre and enough space to walk off a plate of tacos. The Plaza de la Raza cultural centre sits inside it and runs arts programming and performances, which makes it a genuine destination rather than just a green space.
This pairing — early food on Broadway, a walk in a nineteenth-century park — is the neighbourhood's best morning, and it costs almost nothing.
Getting there
Metro's L Line stops at Lincoln/Cypress on the neighbourhood's northern edge, and Chinatown and downtown are one and two stops south respectively. The 45 and 76 buses run along North Broadway. Street parking is generally straightforward. The 5 freeway runs along the eastern edge, which makes the neighbourhood quick to reach and slightly cut off from the river.
Practical notes
The commercial street is North Broadway through Lincoln Heights. Taco counters and panaderías open early and do most of their trade before nine; standard orders are egg tacos with chorizo, beans or nopales, plus breakfast burritos and pan dulce by the tray. Café de olla is common in traditional places. Lincoln Park, a few blocks east, dates from the 1880s and holds a lake and the Plaza de la Raza cultural centre. Metro's L Line stops at Lincoln/Cypress; the 45 and 76 run along Broadway. Street parking is generally available.
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Ask Karpo first
Lincoln Heights runs on early hours and finishes its morning before most neighbourhoods start. Ask Karpo what is open at this hour, which counter still has chorizo, and whether Plaza de la Raza has anything on in the park.
