For several years, Bastide was the main culinary draw on West Hollywood’s ritzy Melrose Place. Chefs with impeccable pedigrees like Walter Manzke and Ludo Lefebvre drawing some of the most fashionable people in Los Angeles. Now models, designers, and other chic people take breaks between shopping at stores like Carolina Herrera and Bottega Veneta at a multi-faceted building that houses Alfred Coffee, Compartes Chocolatier and a cafe called Croft Alley that’s hidden from the street. Passersby would never know its there. Enter this airy cafe through a back alley. To be specific: Croft Alley. Longtime restaurateur Michael Della Femina and chef Phuong Tran opened Croft Alley in 2014 featuring a sun-soaked patio, communal wood table, and shady central courtyard strung with Christmas lights.

My initial visit to Croft Alley featured a surprisingly strong Turkey Sausage Banh Mi ($10). Colleen DeLee is a baker who also supplies Petit Trois and The Beverly Hills Cheese Shop. She produces sturdy baguettes with beautiful chew that is stupendous for sandwiches. In this case, each baguette hosts a trio of seared turkey sausage patties flecked with lemongrass. Each banh mi also hosts cucumber, cilantro, spicy mustard, and Fresno chilies. The combination results in a well-balanced, colorful sandwich.