Coconut clouds bookend baker's dozens of homemade harvest cookies. Towering tiers of iced lemon bundt cakes are backdrop to rustic peach and multi-berry scones. Graduated pyramids of strawberry buttermilk muffins snuggle beside their blueberry cornmeal counterparts, while magic bars and marshmallow cream filled cupcakes decorate devastatingly beautiful cake plates - no doubt French flea market finds. This: just the view from outside the window at Joan's on Third.

When it comes to Joan's, I am humbled. My devotion borders on addiction. This little haven on Third, my Dean & Deluca come west, is a demonstrative embodiment of its luminary namesake. Here tuberose and thyme climb out of turn of the century body pitchers. Milky marble tabletops host hunks of brie, aged gouda, and Humboldt Fog: the homage to fromage, an education, a celebration, a counter culture you'll want to wait in line for. And the marketplace, seasonally dictated, with its cobalt rimmed enamel tubs brimming with organic heirloom tomatoes, baby butter beans with pecorino, a rainbow of farmers market fare accented by wondrous olive oils and fabulously fragrant herbs. The rosemary punctuates, the roses billow and branch, and the ambiance at large is a circle dance of divine dining. Where others have cut corners, Joan has decorated them with marcona almonds and molasses cookies. And Sinatra salutes, with the sound track...

Joan's is the counter to the frosty feel of Bristol Farms. The comfy but how come I'm still hungry question at Clementine. The if only I could get everything else here quandary when departing The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills. It is a touchable, taste-able tribute to sumptuous cuisine, artful and heart full presentation, and homespun helpings of whole foods revered and relished. Here the grandeur of good taste has grown up and grown out. After glorious years of gracing LA's bustling boulevard between The Beverly Center and The Grove, Joan's on Third has broadened its walls, extended its menu, and opened its doors for breakfast. Heart be still.

In Joan's new wing, tripling its size, an oversized farm table invites communal noshing, playful in gesture and unpretentious in practicality. Grilled cheese has taken on three new forms and grab-and-go items abound. There's more candy, both for the palate and for the eyes. And now they're open at 8am, everyday. Once upon a time in New York, Joan's bashful beginnings were all about omelet making. Now in her present, we get a taste of her past.

The savory fare is as standout as the sweet. There is no better place to pack a Hollywood Bowl picnic (a bag of pita chips and the Tarragon Dill Dip make for beautiful beginnings). And the sandwiches! While I personally pledge allegiance to the grilled vegetables and goat cheese, my husband's deference rests with the tuna melt with aged Vermont cheddar and tomato. And the macaroni and cheese served by the square? It would make them famous if nothing else did.

Strip Joan's of its marketplace manifest and still you'd have plenty to savor. For a shop so stocked with the best of European abundance, the merriment is made wholly by the meticulous love of beautiful things. Presentation is not a postscript but a religion. Ridiculous? You take in those barn wood mirrors, those 1920's bread bins, the subtle but surrounding collection of bovine, and tell me you don't feel tickled if not inspired. Etched in cursive is a quote that hangs from above. "There are places one comes home to where one has never been." Mmm. Amen.

I am by no means above cliché. I love eating that grilled vegetable salad outside at The Ivy, and I'll be the first to admit that the pizza at Mozza is as good as you've heard. But if asked my favorite place to eat in Los Angeles, bar none, Joan's wins. Call me on it, mark my words; she is third only in providence. I have been a fan forever. This is where I send my friends. This is where I send anyone I want to think highly of me. If you are visiting Los Angeles, please don't reboard that plane without paying Joan a visit. If you live in LA and have yet to introduce yourself, I envy you. A whole untapped reason to love where you live.

When I first entered the newly expanded and much, much anticipated Joan's (countries have been developed with less consideration), I told Joan I saw my soul illuminated. She said write that down. So there it is, plus a little more. Thank you, Joan, for daring the dominance of Dean & Deluca. For giving foodies a friendly little Louvre to visit and revisit, and play house in the pantry of their dreams. And for understanding that beauty is to be seen, felt, touched, tasted, and topped with vanilla sprinkles. Your vision is our delight.

By: Jolie Loeb

JOAN'S ON THIRD
8350 West Third Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
323.655.2285
www.joansonthird.com