Trois Familia Review: Does French Technique Work With Mexican Flavors?

This review originally appeared in the Los Feliz Ledger.

When French chef Ludo Lefebvre first started doing innovative pop-ups around town and then opened the tasting menu-focused Trois Mec and its little sister Petit Trois, he probably wasn’t thinking Mexican-French fusion.

But the perpetually forward-thinking Frenchman and longtime Los Angeles resident doesn’t slow down for long, and so when the former Alegria location in a Silver Lake mini-mall came up for lease, he decided to honor the space’s roots in his own European way, with help from partners Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook of Animal.

Trois Familia serves only breakfast/brunch/lunch in a much more casual atmosphere than their other restaurants, with colorfully painted walls, picnic table seating and no reservations.

Silver Lake residents probably never knew they wanted French burritos or chorizo crepes, but now that they’ve got it, they’re plenty happy to put their name on a list and wait for a spot on the communal benches on the mini-mall sidewalk. Boho decor touches include succulent pots lining the walls and a turntable and records on a corner shelf. When a baby starts bouncing to a vintage punk song by the Slits, it’s hard not to be caught up in the festive ambiance.

These are Mexican dishes filtered through Lefebvre’s lens of French technique, and they’re unlikely to be like any you’ve seen before. A beet “tartare” tostada is only nominally Mexican, though it rests on a perfectly crunchy and tender tortilla round and is topped with a delicate avocado creama that could be the snooty cousin to guacamole. It’s more akin to a Russian salad, with a light creamy dressing…and then, a hint of heat creeps up on you towards the end, gently nudging you to remember that you are in some kind of imaginary Mexican territory.

That breakfast crepe filled with salty chorizo custom-blended by their meat supplier is topped with a perfectly-cooked egg and striped with more of the luscious avocado crema; the flavors somehow simultaneously evoke a creperie in Brittany and a quesadilla from the streets of Mexico City.

If there’s a signature dish, it’s the hash brown chilaquiles. Crispy potatoes stand in for the traditional tortilla chips, while “salsa macho” gives the dish an acid jolt. There’s very little resemblance to the dish it’s named for, but it has its own terrific flavor. The only issue is that at $9.95, you’ll really want two, and then you’ve spent $20 for two eggs -- before even ordering the $5 cup of Heart coffee.

I’ve never made it as far as the churro French toast, because as much as I love Salt & Straw ice cream, who needs it for breakfast? The menu changes frequently, so if anything made with the creamy, cheesy Anson Mills grits makes an appearance, snap it up. The only dish that slightly underwhelmed was the burrito, which didn’t quite add up to enough flavor as rustic beans overshadowed the delicate garlic brown butter. For something more filling, try the double decker potato tacos or chicken Milanesa.

Fans of homey desserts will go wild for the tres leches birthday cake.There’s no alcohol, but there are a few decadent drinks like the house-made horchata, Nutella malted “iced hot chocolate” and an Abita root beer float.

It’s pure Silver Lake of the moment -- so how much you will like Trois Familia will depend on how much you’re willing pay for breakfast, whether you miss Alegria and how happy you are to be eating in one of Ludo’s restaurants right in Silver Lake.

Three and a half forks

Trois Familia, 3510 Sunset Blvd., 323-725-7800

Sqirl on Virgil: How to prolong your apricot bliss

brioche toast with Blenheim apricot jam and almond butter, La Esperanza coffee

I've been obsessed with apricots almost my whole life. "Daddy, please buy me an apricot roll," I used to beg in the aisles of the old Food Giant on Canon Drive, where I would then wrap the fruit leather around my thumb and suck it while my dad finished his shopping.

Sqirl menu: The specials change frequently

And when I was in Israel this summer, one of the few Hebrew words I managed to memorize aside from hummus and toda (thank you) was mish-mish, the adorable word for apricot. At Sqirla's new breakfast and lunch cafe on Virgil, you can prolong the too-short apricot season with a swath of deeply flavored brown sugar Blenheim apricot jam on a buttery slice of brioche bread. A dollop of house-made almond butter turns it into a nutty, fruity, buttery wonder that verges on dessert and goes oh so well with a bright cup of La Esperanza coffee from Guatemala.

Charles Babinski ponders a pourover

Many have already written about the toast topped with egg, greens and lacto-fermented hot sauce. But there's also porridge made with Kukuho brown rice, with either sweet or savory (sorrel pesto!) toppings, and Proof Bakery granola. Kyle Granville and Charles Babinski, ex-Intelligentsia coffee experts, hold up the G&B Coffee part of the equation. If you're more of a milk in your coffee person, order a carefully-pulled latte, but if you've never tried one of the light and citrusy pour-overs without milk, it's quite a revelation. I wouldn't have it every morning instead of my perennial sturdy dark roast with half and half, but La Esperanza's almost tea-like quality cut the richness of the brioche and jam perfectly.
Of course, jars of Jessica Koslow's Sqirl jam are available to take home, and at lunch dishes range from a chicken salad with pickled ramps and crispy rice or geoduck crudo with dandelion.
Sqirl may be tiny (kudos to the mom who managed to nurse her baby on a high stool while waiting for her pourover), but the dishes are packed with big flavor thanks to techniques like pickling, fermenting and dry farming.
Sqirl (open for breakfast and lunch every day except Wednesday)
720 N. Virgil Ave.
(213) 394-6526

Maxmiliano does brunch, for your next Highland Park bacchanal

smoked salmon eggs Benedict

In retrospect, we should have walked both to Maxmiliano and back for brunch, although that would have come to four miles. But we had certainly worked up an appetite after walking the two miles there, so I didn't hesitate to immediately order a breakfast pizza, with potatoes, two baked eggs, bacon, pancetta, and sausage. It's not as overwhelming as it sounds -- the crust is thin and the toppings are judicious.

breakfast pizza

The pizza could maybe use a few herbs or chiles to give it some pop, but the combination of breakfasty toppings was just right.

Ordering our other dish was harder, because unlike many breakfast spots, there were several things I wanted to try. Matt voted for baked cinnamon raisin French toast or pastrami hash, and I would have been happy with the ricotta pancake with lemon curd and blueberries, the quinoa with kale and eggs, or pretty much everything else. But I can never pass up eggs Benedict, so we went with the smoked salmon version since we already had three kinds of pork on the pizza.

applewood-smoked bacon

 Oh, and a side of thick-cut applewood-smoked bacon, just because. Maxmiliano makes all its baked goods on the premises (a freestanding bakery is coming next door later on) and we sampled the lemon-rosemary bread. More like a dense, rich bundt cake than a bread, I was scraping every lemony crumb off my plate.Pastry-lovers can order a basket of assorted baked goods for $8, and after tasting the lemon bread, I think it would be worth a try.

Lemon-rosemary bread

 Eggs Benedict came with country potatoes, and the high point was the homemade English muffins. Charred a bit on the grill, they elevated the familiar dish which went well with the house-smoked salmon for a slightly lighter touch.
I'm kind of embarrassed to say that Maxmiliano hosted us once again. But I really do think the restaurant is a big asset to the neighborhood, and I'm glad to have such interesting brunch selections right down the street. Once the patio is opened, it will be the perfect summer boozy brunch spot.
Here's most of the brunch menu; there's also bottomless Intelligentsia, natch, and the possibility of Mimosas or craft beer, yay!
Maxmiliano is at 5930 York Blvd. in Highland Park and brunch is from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Maxmiliano brunch
Vanilla-Fig Yogurt with granola and berries  Small 5 Large 8
Baker's Bread Box 8 -  selection of breakfast pastries
Breakfast pizza: Fingerling potatoes, applewood bacon confit, fennel sausage, mozzarella,
Baked Eggs, pancetta, fingerling potatoes, spinach, breadcrumbs 12
Crab Cakes with spinach, poached eggs, sauce Chicoron 16
Ricotta Pancake with lemon curd, blueberries 8
Baked Cinnamon Raisin French Toast with maple syrup 8
Florentine (choice of eggs or tofu scramble) with country potatoes & sautéed spinach 10
Eggs Benedict with country potatoes - choice of applewood bacon confit 12 or house smoked salmon 14
Pulled Pork, Asiago biscuit, poached eggs, country gravy 11
Quinoa with Tuscan kale, butternut squash, eggs 9
Carbonara Pasta, bacon confit, poached egg 12
Fennel Sausage Crumble with sautéed peppers, onion, fingerling potatoes & eggs 12
House Smoked Salmon with a toasted bagel, cream cheese, red onion, capers 14

Mary's Market: lunch with ladies, men and dogs of the canyon

Mary's first opened in 1922 -- it's now owned by Carolyn.

 It's not easy to find a place close to L.A. where you really feel like you're not in the middle of the city anymore. Froggy's in Topanga Canyon, maybe, or the Rock Store way out on Mulholland. Too far to drive? Just a few minutes north of Sierra Madre is Mary's Market, a 90 year-old institution in Santa Anita Canyon near the trail for Sturtevant Falls.
"Is there really a restaurant up here? This feels like Big Sur," my kids said. The menu's simple -- a few egg dishes at breakfast, burgers, tuna fish and turkey sandwiches at lunch. Sometimes there are chicken and rib dinners and music and night. Sunflower seeds on the tuna sandwich added to the hippie vibe, and Swiss cheese perked up Sam's burger.

The simple menu (pasted on a brown lunch sack) is perfectly fine, but Mary's is more about the setting and homey atmosphere. Sitting among thrift shop finds and cans of corned beef, diners are invited to paint rocks and paper table coverings while the food's being prepared.

An old-timer with a long white beard settles in at the counter. Several dogs wait outside. A plate of terrific chocolate chip cookies just baked by owner Carolyn (Mary is apparently no more) arrives unbidden after the meal. At Mary's, it's a different pace with a ladies of the canyon feel and a history told in historic photos lining the walls, and a great way to escape the city.
Mary's Market

561 Woodland Dr
Sierra Madre

(626) 355-4534

Food + Lab: More of what Silver Lake wanted

It took years for Silver Lake to get a taste of the kind of fresh, casual modern food that was found in other neighborhoods. Venice got Lemonade, Downtown got Mendocino Farms, Third St. got Joan's on Third, West Hollywood got Food + Lab...and until Forage arrived, Silver Lake mostly got bupkus. Now the scruffy, spacy vegan place a few doors down from Dusty's has become the third outpost of Food + Lab, and it's a sleekly designed breakfast and lunch spot -- as well as a great chance to check out the stores that flank it, Sumi's and Gogosha Optique.
 
Soon, Food + Lab will be open for dinner until 10, and like Forage it's useful for takeout as well. There's no particular theme to the menu -- just quality organic products with European touches -- everything from organic eggs with Austrian speck for brunch to a proscuitto, fig and ricotta sandwich on raisin walnut bread and some attractive salads in the deli case. Meinl coffee from Austria comes cafe au lait style in big ceramic bowls or Austrian style with whipped cream.

Sandwiches are mostly in the $10 range, but I didn't need any dinner after my huge tuna sandwich on olive bread. Tapenade, apples and red onions brought lots of flavor to the sandwich, which comes with a pickle cup.
 
Chicken arugula salad with apples, grapes and candied pecans in a creamy dressing wasn't too mayonaisey for Kathy, although the very green servers didn't know what was in the dressing or where the nice-looking pastries come from. But so far Food + Lab is striking the right chord for Silver Lake -- now how about some good cafes near Rowena on the other side of the lake?
Food + Lab
3206 W. Sunset
323-661-2666

Malo es bueno: Silver Lake's booziest brunch

Mango banana French toast with piloncillo syrup

Technically I guess it's possible to have a boozy, leisurely brunch at several places in Silver Lake: Cliff's Edge, Edendale Grill and Dusty's come to mind. But it would be hard to find a better combination of potent yet refreshing cocktails and zippy Mexican brunch dishes than Malo, where several bloggers/writers were invited to try brunch and some new cocktails this weekend.

 A salsa flight and guacamole are de rigueur at Malo

Malo makes an excellent margarita of course, but the Medicina Latina adds a strong jolt of ginger to the lime and tequila with a mist of Mezcal. Matt enjoyed the extra-spicy Bloody Maria made with tequila, while a new drink made with gin, mint, and smashed peaches was also a hit. I wouldn't have thought to order

scrambled egg tostadas ($8), but they were terrific; I actually liked them better than the chilaquiles. Either decadent Mango and banana french toast with warm piloncillo syrup ($8) or spinach enchiladas with a touch of the fiery creamy salsa and cool avocado slices would make the perfect morning-after dish.

Scrambled egg tostadas

In addition to lots of other brunch salads, vegan choices and egg dishes, there were two pancake creations we didn't try: bacon cheddar pancakes and buttermilk and queso fresco pancakes, so a return trip is in order. And don't be afraid that the desserts will be too sweet -- both the flan and tres leches cake are nicely calibrated not to be cloying. I've always been partial to Malo and their organic margaritas and ground beef pickle tacos, but their brunch is a super-pleasant way to soak up some morning sun on the patio before hitting the Silver Lake Farmer's Market, Spice Station and Cheese Shop of Silver Lake to stock up for dinner.

Village Bakery & Cafe: Atwater loves its daily bread

Biscotti and fresh bread daily at Atwater's Village Bakery & Cafe

I kept hearing good things about the Village Bakery on Los Feliz Blvd. in Atwater, but I have to confess that I have a fear of bakeries: First, that they will let me down and I won't find the rhubarb tart or pretzel cheese bun of my dreams, or second, that they'll be so great that I'll be forced to work weekly pain de campagne binges into my exercise plan.
Village Bakery falls somewhere in-between on the bread and pastry scale -- it's solid stuff if you often have a hankering for fresh bread and bacon scones, but not really a drive-across-town kind of place like Huckleberry Bakery. What it is good for is a non-sceney place for breakfast or lunch, with some nice egg dishes and pancakes that pleased even my super-particular daughter. Here's an excerpt from my review for the Los Feliz Ledger:

The saddest part of L.A.’s five-year long cupcake craze is that it’s taken diverted attention from fresh, basic bread. Village Bakery and Café is working to solve that dilemma, revamping and expanding the former LA Bread space with a spiffed up menu and homemade pastries. The homey café was launched last fall by Barbara Monderine, a former partner in Auntie Em’s. There are few bakeries on the near-Eastside, so Village Bakery is a good place to stock up on baguettes and specialty loaves. Sourdough boules—the large round loaves—are probably the most popular, but 12 grain and Asiago cheese are also worth a try. A French friend recommends the boule and the brioche, wishing, “If only they would make a great croissant.”Cooked-to-order breakfasts can take a while to make, but the wait is worth it for creations like Brian’s Special (above), combining a potato leek cake, tomato, spinach, parmesan cheese, eggs and bacon crumbles ($9).

 It's a muffin...it's a donut...it's a donut muffin!

A cup of good coffee with a prudently-sized cinnamon roll or even better, a bacon-maple scone makes the perfect quick breakfast. Village Bakery is a nice surprise in a neighborhood that can always use more neighborly places for regular folks.
Village Bakery and Cafe
3119 Los Feliz Blvd.
323-662-8600

Nickel Diner: What L.A. needed was bacon donuts

It's entirely possibly that Downtown's Nickel Diner is the first place in L.A. to serve one of this year's iconic foods, the bacon donut, already much beloved in more progressive cities like Portland. This coup should merit a visit to the retro-styled diner, but woman cannot live by donuts alone, so it's a good thing that the rest of their breakfast dishes are equally delicious. It's easy to warm up to a place where the server plunks down a free amuse of three donut holes, including a bacon one, before you order.My test of a first visit to a restaurant is whether I have trouble choosing between two or even three things on the menu. At the Nickel, I vacillated between Cameron's Puppy Pile, with pancakes, an egg and chicken apple sausage, or a salmon/leek scramble, or polenta with maple syrup and bacon. I ended up with the bacon/spinach/garlic/goat cheese scramble which is served with a side of creamy polenta (or potatoes). Beth enjoyed the Puppy Pile; the coffee was sturdy and they offered Beth a refill to go, which seemed very kind. On a busy Christmas shopping Sunday, parking near Main St. is nearly impossible due to the adjacent wholesale toy district; next time I'll have to ride my bike and work off the hearty donuts, polenta and bacon.
It's also a refreshing change from breakfast in Silver Lake -- although one of the diners is a dead ringer for Jake Gyllenhaal, The Nickel has just a sprinkling of hipsters and little attitude -- a very promising sign indeed.
Right now, it's open Wednesday through Sunday for breakfast and lunch, but starting in January, it will be interesting to see what the Nickel cooks up for dinner as well.

My Taco might be Highland Park's best breakfast...

There's eggs hiding under that cheese...

... or not. You're welcome to differ, and please do, in the comments below, but I'm willing to bet it's right up there. Someone on Chowhound was looking for breakfast in Highland Park recently, and it seemed like Antigua Bread or possibly Juanita's were pretty much the only choices. I'm sure there's plenty of other Mexican spots in the area that serve breakfast, but it would be hard to do better than the chilequiles or huevos rancheros at My Taco. Breakfast is served all day, and you can top the breakfast plates with a nice array of salsas. The price is right, at around $5.50 per plate, incuding rice and beans. The chilequiles were like nachos that went to heaven and for their reward, were covered in eggs and cheese. The beans aren't that great, and I never eat Mexican rice, so it might be nice if you could get fruit instead, but that's a minor quibble. I don't know if the coffee's decent, because I usually pre-caffeinate before going out, but the jamaica drink goes really well with the chilequiles. My friend was so happy with his huevos that I never got a taste, but they looked good. There's also eggs with chorizo and I think eggs with nopales -- got to try that next! If you've only been for the barbacoa or the potato or goat tacos, next time, try breakfast.
My Taco
6300 York Blvd.
Highland Park
323-256-2698

Nickel Diner makes L.A. Times Column One

photo via L.A. Times slideshow

The L.A. Times front page devotes its left hand column today to 5th St.'s Nickel Diner, which opened last week "on the corner of crack and smack," as the owners bluntly put it. I haven't gotten there yet but I'm looking forward to seeing the original menus painted on the walls and sampling some non-vegan breakfast for a change. Looks like owners Monica May and Kristen Trattner are trying hard to make Downtown welcoming even on its grungiest streets. So, how's the food?
Nickel Diner
524 Main St.
Downtown L.A.
213-623-8301
(currently open for breakfast and lunch, Weds.-Sun.)

Anisette: still getting its feet wet

There's no denying that the new Anisette in Santa Monica is a lovely room, just like being in Paris, with red banquettes, tall ceilings and tiled floors. I like the small upstairs dining area which overlooks the main restaurant and is open to the kitchen, with jars of spices lined up on open shelves looking like you've walked into Alain Giraud's home kitchen. This is probably uncharitable of me, but I'm pretty sure if it was my home kitchen, I could whip up a better plate of Eggs Benedict. The best part was the smoky, thinly sliced ham, a worthy riff on Canadian bacon. Too bad the Hollandaise was bland, with none of the anticipated lemony tang, the homemade looking English muffin didn't taste as good as Thomas's and the potato cake it sat on was dried out. My breakfast guest, used to bargain basement prices in Las Vegas, thought $13 was high for our breakfast dishes. My complaint wasn't the price, since the Benedicts at Square One are the same price -- it's simply that there was nothing particularly satisfying about the dish or the $3 cup of average coffee. Nor was I impressed by the heavy, meaty English breakfasts flying out of the kitchen, complete with black pudding -- not very appealing on a sunny morning at the beach. And our waiter managed the difficult feat of being obsequious, yet vanishing when you actually needed him. I really don't mean to complain, because they obviously put a lot of work into the place, but I hope dinner will be a much more delicious experience. Just don't try to take a picture from the stairway, because Alain was busting a girl for taking pictures just as I climbed the stairs.

Pure Luck adds brunch, patio

The number of brunch options in the area is increasing almost as fast as the price of gas. If a tofu scramble with a stiff ale is your thing, Pure Luck on Heliotrope is adding brunch on weekends and building out the tiny outdoor area on the side of the restaurant into an outdoor eating (and beer-drinking!) area that should be ready by next week. We stopped by so I could introduce Kathy to the joys of jackfruit carnitas tacos, and ran into Paloma from The Sharp Ease working there, whom I've known since she was a baby in a basket under the table at El Coyote. We ended up with a delicious order of plantains too and tasted the Telegraph ale, Craftsman Orange Grove, Craftsman lager, and staggered out after sharing a pint of Arrogant Bastard.
Pure Luck, 707 Heliotrope at Melrose.
Other new brunches of note are at Canele, Malo, Lot 1 and Little Dom's.

The Waffle: tailor-made for hangovers and veg shopping

hash browns with smoked salmon, cream cheese and capers

The Waffle's chef Scooter Kanfer has long been devoted to comfort food, and her latest establishment is a worthy addition to the resume, with entire menu sections devoted to baroque variations on waffles and hash browns. I waited a month or so for the hubbub to die down before chancing a visit; although the service was apparently befuddled when it first opened, we had no problems during a Monday lunch. I was lunching with another writer whose paper reaches oh, a million or so more readers than this blog, so it's probably just as well they didn't screw up. The interior has an odd layout; while the counter looked pleasant in a dinery way, the two-tops seemed a little tight, so we chose a space on the patio. Next to us a large party of young Hollywoodites lounged with their puppy and a giant slice of coconut cake; an even younger trio were seated on the other side with their Amoeba bags. 20somethings and patios equal smoking, so be forewarned. We didn't think to ask the pup whether he had tried the Woofles, waffle shaped doggy biscuits, but it's certainly a cute touch.
My hash browns with smoked salmon resembled a waffle-shaped latke and made a nice lunch, although it's probably a better plan to split an order and then split an omelet too. Toppings for hash browns range from semi-decadent to insane, including bacon, mushrooms, cheese, chili and corned beef.
This is basically sobering-up food, and the lunch and dinner dishes (burgers, chili, meatloaf, cobb salad, etc.) don't sound quite as tempting as the rich brunch fare. Maybe too rich, in fact -- does French toast really need to be soaked in vanilla bean custard? My friend had the "dinner" waffle (right), also known as "Roscoe's for white people." The cornmeal waffle is studded with jalapeno bits and topped with a fried boneless chicken breast, a vast quantity of gravy and lily-gilding greens with bacon chunks. It's a formidable amount of food, perfect for one hungover guy or three normal-sized gals. Lighter items are fortunately available, including gluten-free waffles, whole grain waffles with yogurt and egg white omelets.
It's going to be hard to hit the Hollywood farmer's market without hearing those waffles calling my name, although I fear weekends might be a zoo. But this rapidly exploding area of Hollywood can use all the restaurant help it can get, especially at decent prices. Except the parking. Five dollars seems a little harsh to park for a diner, but that's Hollywood, kids.
The Waffle is open until 4:30 am on weekends and 2:30 am on weekdays, has a full bar (maple martinis!), a kids menu and lots of vegetarian options too, if mock meats are your thing.
The Waffle
6255 Sunset Blvd.
(323) 465-6901

Taste test: Doughboys Hollywood, pros and cons

With the original Third Street Doughboys finally re-opened after some remodeling, I finally got around to trying the newer Hollywood outlet. The first thing I noticed is that the lunch crowd in Hollywood is a lot different than the staid workers on Wilshire or even the actress/slackers on Third. Girls in hotpants and towering red platforms! Guys with mohawks and expensively ripped "punk" pants! Mare Winningham! LA Weekly staffers! Russian models! I used to like Doughboys quite a bit, but recent reports haven't been too good, so I wanted to see if there was still a reason to go.
First the Pros:
The menu is maybe even bigger than the Third St. branch, breakfast is served all day, and unlike a lot of places in town, it's easy to find something that sounds good.
When the food arrives, it comes in enormous portions with no surprise, lots of extra bread, even on the salads. My pan bagnat (tuna sandwich) didn't come on round bread as promised, but it was a nice change from mayonaisey tuna salad, with plenty of capers and olives. Amy was happy with her Doughboys salad (pictured above) which seemed to have nearly everything in it. And there was enough to take home for dinner.
I was happy to see items like whole grain pancakes and malted cornmeal cakes on the breakfast menu which are nearly impossible to find elsewhere.
And prices are pretty reasonable, especially as compared to the rather precious Ammo across the street.
Now the Cons:
If you go to the Hollywood location, you simply must wait for a table inside. Highland Ave. is as deafening as Manhattan. And don't be fooled by the seemingly quieter side street tables; they face a semi truck customizing operation or motorcyle noise testing ground or something.
The service, at least outside, is pretty slow and most of the parking meters in the area are one hour, so you're going to have a hard time getting in and out in a timely way.
And there's the griminess factor: this place is nearly brand new, so why do the menus and the tables seem as sticky as the old place? Maybe it's time to rethink some of the surfaces.
If you're looking to eat very light or low carb, it's probably going to be hard to find something here, as the emphasis is on comfort food, bread, and the wonderful red velvet cake.
Verdict: I would definitely return, especially for breakfast -- but sit inside this time.

Breakfast at Cora's and strolling Santa Monica

My wonderful yoga teacher Erin held yoga classes on the beach this summer... I finally made it for the last class, and it was beautiful doing yoga next to the Casa del Mar as the mist burned off over the ocean.
After all that yoga I needed a hearty breakfast at Cora's. There's lots of people waiting for patio tables on weekends, but it's not hard to score a stool at the counter. Not that I needed more burrata after Mozza the night before, but the burrata caprese omelette looked awfully good.
Heirloom tomatoes were roughly chopped on top of the omelette, which came with brioche toast and one of their grilled hunks 'o potato. On the way to the Promenade, I was happy to see that Chez Jay still looks the same as ever, since nearly everything else in Santa Monica has changed drastically since I went to high school there.
Maybe I shouldn't have had quite such a hearty brunch, because when I got to the Promenade, the Sri Lankan festival was already in full swing, and I was too full to try anything. But the rotis, short eats and stringers all looked unusual and good...there used to be a Sri Lankan restaurant in Hollywood but now I think there's just one in the Valley.
On my way back, I saw that Joe's Pizza from New York looks to be opening fairly soon on Broadway, next to a Kiwiberri, of course, which will make four or five yogurt places within a two block area. I guess I should get to Santa Monica more often...or at least for next year's Sri Lankan festival!
Updated: I forgot to mention that a branch of Farmer's Market's Monsieur Marcel is moving to the Promenade, in one of the middle stalls, replacing one of the generic snack bars there.

Taste test: brunch at Lucky Devils

beer pancakes!

It was time for a belated Mother's Day brunch, and since I have not one but two little devils, Lucky Devils seemed like the perfect place. I had hoped to combine it with a trip to the Hollywood Farmer's Market or a hike in the hills, but due to the fire and the general laziness of teenagers, we combined it with browsing the wierdness of Hollywood Costumes instead. The brunch menu, served until 3:00, is pretty nice -- beer pancakes, which I wanted to try as soon as I heard about them, brioche french toast, lots of omelette combos and a spicy breakfast sandwich with eggs, sausage, peppers and potatoes (pictured below). The pancakes were crispy and rich, with a subtle yeasty flavor which couldn't really be identified as beer. But if you're up for it, you can have one of their great craft beers or a Devilish bloody mary with your pancakes or perhaps more fittingly with the spicy breakfast sandwich. It was already lunch time, so Sam had one of their excellent Angus burgers and fries.

The fries are extra crispy, which we all loved; Sophie said her bacon was "perfect": basically everyone loved their food. The only problem? Severe delays getting the food, and everything came out piecemeal, leaving some of us waiting far longer than others. Since it's not crowded at all for brunch, I'm not really sure what the problem was, but it's too bad since the food is all delicious in that decadent bacony syrupy sort of way. But without me saying anything at all, our server took 20% off the bill, which was a much-appreciated gesture. If they can just smooth out the kitchen glitches, this is a hell of a place for brunch. Delirium Tremens and eggs, anyone?
Lucky Devils
6613 Hollywood Blvd.
(323) 465-8259

Taste test: Breakfast at Blair's

A few weeks ago, Blair's in Silver Lake started opening for breakfast, and none too soon as the Coffee Table will probably be closing in just a few weeks. Fortunately it's not too crowded at the moment, but go soon, because when the Coffee Table closes it's gonna be mobbed, I tell you! The menu? You've got your blueberry pancakes with mascarpone, your oatmeal with barley (yay, something healthy); your eggs with morels and shittakes; and various Benedicts. How did chorizo get so fashionable all of a sudden? I remember when you had chorizo if you were slumming it at the Rodeo Grill, but now at Square One and Blair's and BLD it's chorizo this, chorizo that. My egg dish, pictured, isn't the most attractive, but the combo of kale and crumbled sausage is tasty and I feel virtuous when I get my first serving of greens at breakfast ($10). In fact, I'm doubly virtuous, because Blair's serves a slightly odd side of sauteed arugula with the egg dishes. I'm not really used to cooked arugula, but it actually tastes pretty good. Matt's lox and bagel platter ($12) is nicely accompanied by pickled onions instead of nasty raw ones, and lots of capers and arugula. There's some really nice looking pastries in the case and they reputedly do a decent cappucino, so perhaps I'll go back and try the pecan sticky bun that was crying my name. I've a few minor quibbles -- the fruit cup doesn't have the lush, seasonal selection of the fruit at Square One; the toast arrives with nary a scrap of butter and none is offered; and a refill of coffee might have been nice. But really, it's hard to complain when there's breakfast with wild mushrooms and sticky buns and such just down the street from my house. The lunch menu has paninis, burgers, chicken caesar salad and beet and goat cheese salad...I was more excited by the breakfast menu, but you can go either way if you're there at a brunchish time.

Du-par's opens grandly

After two years of remodeling, Du-par's Restaurant at the Farmer's Market had its grand re-opening this morning. They've already been open a week or so, but today councilman Tom LaBonge showed up with some news cameras and his famous loaves of pumpkin bread to properly break the place in. In the interest of science, I had to try the French toast, the pancakes and the bacon. I liked the crispy old-fashioned diner style French toast and the medium-thick bacon (I don't really like the super thick variety). My pancake was a little soggy, but maybe I got one of the ones Tom LaBonge took a turn at flipping. There's no more counter with stools -- instead people can gather at a large communal table, the first I've seen in a diner. Otherwise, it barely looks like it's been changed at all, which is how it should be. It's a little disconcerting to see things like oatmeal brulee and sorbet on the menu, but although executive chef Jennifer Naylor is an alum of Granita, the menu sticks mostly to basic coffee shop fare, which is what it should do. The Naylor family seems to realize that you don't mess with tradition, and the late-night crowd is definitely going to welcome another 24/7 option. Later in the year, Du-par's is going to start making its own ice cream, which should go down just right with a slice of rhubarb pie. Du-par's, it's good to have you back.

Quick taste: Bloom Cafe

We tried Bloom Cafe on Pico for lunch last week. The perky, modern spot has been getting good notice for its breakfast dishes, but I wasn't too impressed after my first visit. I ordered the seared salmon salad, but I guess I didn't realize that "seared" was code for "covered in incredibly salty spices." And that nice pile of potatoes on top in the photo? They were practically raw -- isn't that poisonous or something? How hard is it to boil a potato, anyway? I did like how the salmon was cut into manageable little filets -- I could eat this all the time if it was prepared properly. On a blustery winter day, we were hoping for some really stellar soup selections, but the only choice was a wan basil-vegetable, which could have used some of the salt from the salmon. Since it was my birthday, we shared a nice chocolate mousse pastry with a crispy cookie bottom that was substantially better than the main dishes. I might give Bloom another try since it's close to my office, but at this point, I'm still missing Posh on Pico and the Latino burger.

Auntie Em's, again

I once went on a date with a guy who was new to town, and when I told him I lived in Silver Lake, he said, "Oh yeah, I went there once, and I was trying to drive on Sunset on a Saturday morning, and I got caught in some kind of hipster melee. I'll never go back." Well, even though it's my hood, sometimes I know what he means, especially if I want breakfast on a weekend. I like the spinach and pine-nut scrambled eggs at Millie's, but I'm not really interested in standing on the sidewalk in the blazing sun waiting for them. So when we need something super tasty for breakfast, these days it's often off to Auntie Em's in Eagle Rock. It seems silly to drive for 10 minutes when I could walk to Say Cheese, the Coffee Table or several other places, but there's something very satisfying about pulling up and parking right in front of Auntie Em's and then ordering at the counter right way. It's also very satisfying to eat a plate of eggs, Cajun sausage and french bread, or the decadent crispy French toast which is probably deep-fried, but who cares. I was trying to find something slightly less damaging to the arteries this time, so I had the scrambled eggs with portobello mushrooms and grilled red peppers.

The wheat toast with poppy seeds was really nice, too. I still haven't had lunch here, but I'll get to it. And bravo to the young woman who ordered coffee and two cupcakes, then sat at an outside table and powered through both cupcakes in 15 minutes flat. Can you say sugar headrush?
More on Auntie Em's Marketplace here.
More on Auntie Em's cupcakes here and here and here.
Auntie Em's Kitchen
4616 Eagle Rock Blvd.
Eagle Rock
(323) 255-0800