Crab and Eggs, LAMILL
For dineLA.com
Eggs aren’t just for breakfast – though there are some great spots on this list for just that – they can also be an integral ingredient in great sandwiches, they can add a little something special to everything from pizza to pasta, and are commonly used in many interesting cross cultural comfort foods from around the globe. The classic cocktail revival has even brought egg whites back into luxe libations.
Campanile’s (624 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, 323.938.1447) Mark Peel, inspired by his memories of Julia Child, was asked by Julie & Julia director Nora Ephron to cook a tribute dish for the DVD. His choice: “Eggs for Daphne” – essentially a very soft scramble. Sounds simple, but the ingredients – including Julia’s favorite, butter, and lots of it – make it a decadent delight. It’s only available at brunch – and only if you know to ask for it. Note that the prep takes time due to the precise butter temperature and the slow cooking over only very low heat required to produce the dish.
Speaking of indulgence, Benedicts can be very effective in that department. At Morels (6301 W Third St, Los Angeles, 323-965-9595), the Norwegian is a nice twist on typical ham, using smoked salmon in its place. The hollandaise is surprisingly light, but still holds together nicely and seeps beautifully into its brioche base.
Similarly, downtown’s Stray Cat Café (500 S Spring St, Downtown, 213.891.1144) deconstructs its “feline Casanova,” serving the salmon off to the side, rolled up and topped with sturgeon caviar.
Eggs Sardou, a New Orleans specialty and signature dish at Pacific Dining Car (310 W 6th St, Los Angeles, 213.483.6000) is another variation, this one involving artichoke bottoms resting over rich, creamy spinach. It’s available for breakfast – and around the clock, as well as discounted on the special late-night menu – at this 24-hour staple since 1921.
Neighborhood favorite Square One Dining (4854 Fountain Ave, Los Angeles, 323.661.1109) draws everyone from bohemian artist types, hipster families and celebrities, basically anyone who can appreciate good food and friendly service. Here, the delicacy of the ovoid is paramount, so one can count on consistency, from the decadent pressed egg sandwiches to the Southern-inspired baked eggs with braised greens, mushrooms and Gruyere with grits.
Toluca Lake’s Ca Del Sole (4100 Cahuenga Blvd., Toluca Lake, 818.985.4669) does a nice baked egg dish as well. Along with the rest of the menu, the interpretation is Italian-style, resulting in a bubbling presentation of bell peppers, anchovies, capers and hearty tomato sauce.
LAMILL (1636 Silver Lake Blvd, Los Angeles, 323.663.4441) may be known primarily for its coffee, but the kitchen staff is also well adept at eggs. The most interesting is the cocotte-cooked option with Dungeness crab, tomato and scallions.
Chilaquiles are a staple of Mexican cooking, and the spicy salsa a classic “cure” for hangovers. FIG (101 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, 310.319.3111) Chef Ray Garcia grew up with the dish and likens it to a “Mexican casserole,” though this is certainly a fancier version, given the Jidori chicken, organic eggs and multi-colored tortillas as ingredients. For $25, it comes with free-flowing beer at the weekly “kegs and eggs” brunch. That’s two hangover cures in one!
Torta de juevos at La Casita Mexicana (4030 Gage Ave, Bell, 323.773.1898) are traditional omelet-like concoctions. Several are on offer, but the “La Jaliscience” is an homage to their popularity in Jalisco, with chorizo, queso fresco and both green and red sauce.
The breakfast burrito at Burbank’s Corner Cottage (310 S Victory Blvd, Burbank, 818.843.2567) is morning ritual for the masses, with daily crowds willing to overlook long waits, the cash-only policy and limited seating all for a taste of eggs, potato, bacon, cheese and salsa tucked into a flour tortilla.
Even the foodies sometimes get inexplicable cravings. For some, it’s BK burgers, but for those who secretly crave McMuffins, Beacon (3280 Helms Ave, Culver City, 310.838.7500) offers a much homier – and much cuter – alternative: breakfast sliders with quail eggs, Fontina and Spam, which are, ironically, only available at dinner, and only as a special. Co-owner Vicky Fan Matsusaka says the dish was inspired by a trip to the islands, “We had just got back from Hawaii and wanted to do Spam and eggs … then we had slider month in the summer, so we combined them.”Also doing sliders – and in the morning, instead – The Six (10668 Pico Blvd, West L.A., 310.837.6662). This hip woodsy eatery near Westwood serves them on twin waffles with fried eggs, bacon, sausage and cheddar.
Ammo’s (1155 N Highland Ave, Los Angeles, 323.871.2666) brunch is a good one. Chef Daniel Mattern knows his way around eggs, and incorporates the Mediterranean elements of chickpeas, harissa and yogurt nicely into his olive oil-fried eggs. It’s beautifully presented and unique in flavor.
The playfully named Hash (1697 Pacific Ave, Venice, 310.452.1111) at Hotel Erwin in Venice offers various renditions of its namesake dish. The best is the corned beef, which is atypically tender and flavorful, yet thankfully restrained in the salt department. Egg toppings are open to individual preference, but a runnier choice is suggested.
Post-college, one doesn’t normally think of pizza as a breakfast dish, but Silver Lake’s Tomato Pie (2457 Hyperion Ave, Silver Lake, 323.661.6474) begs to differ. What’s come to be known as the “breakfast pizza” isn’t really any one dish. It has a crust and then an egg base – like an omelet – but can be topped with anything the customer wants; bacon is popular, as are peppers, spinach, sausages and onions.
For a lighter option – and spectacular people watching – The Blvd (9500 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, 310.275.5200) at the Beverly Wilshire serves a nice healthy egg white frittata with fresh vegetables and creamy ricotta.
Longtime Pasadena favorite bakery favorite Euro Pane (950 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, 626.577.1828) has become practically synonymous with its open-face egg salad sandwich. Consensus favors it with rosemary currant bread.
At Santa Monica’s Shangri-La Hotel (1301 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, 310.394.2791), Dakota Weiss brings a touch of her time in Philly to the beach. Bucantini pasta is served with meaty Bolognese sauce and topped with a fried egg. She says, “It’s my ode to soulful Philadelphia Italian food.”
Egg is also central to the bucatini at longtime celebrity and family favorite Toscana (11633 San Vicente Blvd, Brentwood, 310.820.2448) in Brentwood. Here, the yolk is mixed in with whipping cream and black pepper to help create the carbonara. But you have to be in the know to order it, as it’s not on the regular menu but was featured in the restaurant’s namesake cookbook.
Cube (615 N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, 323.939.1148) features a popular black truffle pizza with mozzarella and topped with a fried egg. It’s always on the menu, but for an individual, value-sized portion, it’s also on the “apertivo” menu Tuesday to Thursday evenings.
Traditional Caesar salad prep often involves raw eggs, but that simply won’t fly these days. West Hollywood’s XIV (8117 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, 323.656.1414) has found a creative work-around involving a sous vide 63-degree eggs, which then rest atop Romaine with nicely acidic dressing and garlicky croutons. Cleo (1717 Vine St, Hollywood, 323.962.1711), the stylish new eatery in the Redbury Hotel serves upscale Middle Eastern-style cuisine. A highlight is the simple-sounding but wonderfully complex meatball tagine, which is highlighted by robust, smoky flavor and dense, spiced-just-right tomato and pepper sauce.
Matambre de pollo, a cold dish consisting of chicken stuffed with ham, hard-boiled eggs, cheese and bell peppers, is described by Carlitos Gardel (7963 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, 323.655.0891) co-owner Gerard Bozoghlian as “a national dish” of Argentina, which can be found from the countryside to big cities like Buenos Aires. Because the nation is so renowned for beef, the dish is often made with chicken or pork to provide variety.
The story of how the Comme Ca (8479 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood, 323.782.1104) quiche came to be is a testament to the friendship that can blossom between chefs. While on holiday in Europe, David Myers fell in love with a particular quiche and became a regular at the Swiss bakery in which it was served. Eventually, he was able to get the recipe and now bakes “Bruno’s quiche” himself. When L’Orangerie closed in 2007, many particularly lamented the loss of the beloved starter of in-shell cups of what chef Jean Francois Meteigner calls savory “custard-like” eggs with caviar. Fortunately for fans of the French institution, the legacy lives on at La Cachette Bistro (1733 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica), where he offers them as a special treat for regulars. Having spent a decade in the kitchen of the La Cienega landmark, he knows his stuff – just be sure to reserve it in advance, so he has the caviar on-hand (by Thursday for weekends).
Another French dish, Perigourdine poached egg with mushrooms, foie gras and black truffle originates from RH (8401 W Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, 323.785.6090) chef Sebastian Archambault’s childhood in the southwest of France. By the time he hit double digits, he was expertly cooking eggs at his parents’ restaurant. The gourmet version here comes with truffle-buttered toast and pairs perfectly with a Pineau des Charentes apertif – ideal for sharing between two people as a small but filling starter.
Neighboring Katana (8439 W Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, 323.650.8585) is known for being one of the first to make robata-style cooking hip. Along with more straightforward skewers of aged rib eye and jumbo shrimp, there are also quail eggs, which have been hard-boiled, peeled and dipped in tangy soy/Tabasco. Susan Feniger’s STREET (742 N Highland Ave, Los Angeles, 323.203.0500) offers a mish mash of upscale global street food, but the signature dish may be her Kaya toast, a sweet-savory specialty from Singapore. Feniger waxes poetic on her inspiration, “[Perfectly cooked eggs] add an element of richness … the yellow yolk, the perfect white … top that with the Korean dark soy and white pepper … I don’t think there is anything more delicious than the combo of soy, salty, rich yolk and the sweet coconut Kaya.”
“Railroad” fried rice at trendy Thai eatery Soi 56 (1556 N Cahuenga Blvd, Hollywood, 323.962.5656) is another upscale version of a street-food staple. Commonly eaten on trains in Thailand, it’s a savory treat even for normally non-lovers of grains, topped with a yolky fried egg.
The hot and sour egg drop soup at Zengo (395 Santa Monica Pl, Santa Monica, 310.899.1000) is the first indication this isn’t a typical Chinese joint. In fact, it’s actually Richard Sandoval’s upscale Asian-Latin fusion restaurant at Santa Monica Place. Enoki mushrooms, green onion and delicious foie gras and pork dumplings swim in an earthy, spicy broth that is surprisingly thin but supple. White prawns are an unexpectedly rich standout dish at WeHo’s Philippe Chow (8284 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood, 323.951.1100). Fried in a wok with egg white sauce, scallions, salt and pepper, the dish appears breakfast-like and deceptively simple, but is actually layered in flavor and addictive.
At K-town’s YongSuSan (950 S Vermont Ave, Koreatown, 213.388.3042) eggs act provide the crucial bonding element to truly spectacular seafood and scallion “pancakes.” It’s indeed a common dish in the neighborhood, but here they are uncommonly good.
A mix of Tunisian and Jewish food, frittata-like slices of traditional “brains and eggs,” are substituted with chicken breast at Got Kosher? (8914 Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, 310.858.1920), since approved butchers don’t carry the organ meat. Squeezing fresh lemon over the dish is recommended, as is the kick from the homemade harissa sauce. The taste is texturally interesting and unusual but pleasant.
Perhaps one of the most interesting egg dishes of all is the soufflé. When done perfectly, it’s a dream dessert. But it takes time to prepare and can easily – and literally – fall apart with one false move. At Hollywood’s quaint little eatery Off Vine (6263 Leland Way, Hollywood, 323.962.1900), they’ve been perfecting it for more than 20 years. There are three choices: chocolate, raspberry, and Grand Marnier, plus seasonal pumpkin in fall. By the far the most popular, the chocolate is served with a crème anglaise-filled chocolate cup to place in the quicksand-like center, as well as homemade whipped cream.
Meringue is another dessert for which eggs are crucial, and at Karina’s Cake House (515 S Glendale Ave, Glendale, 818.240.6718), the moist layered cake is filled with coffee cream, and has a small legion of destination-bakery devotees.
Downtown’s MOCA-adjacent CASA (350 S Grand Ave, Downtown, 213.621.2249) has revamped its food and beverage menus. One addition to the latter is the “desayuno” cocktail – Spanish for “breakfast.” Its well-balanced flavor is based on Milagro blanc tequila, Lillet, orange – and egg whites.
Page 71 (11916 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, 818.980.4811), Studio City’s entry into the mixology market, offers a take on of the famous Pisco sour called the “Gio’s sin,” with Pisco, simple syrup, lemon juice, egg whites and bitters.
