The 3rd annual
LA Weekly Pancake Breakfast will take place again on August 11th. This year chef, author and KCRW’s “Good Food” radio host,
Evan Kleiman is curating the best 30 or so breakfast tastes of Los Angeles. She definitely knows her way around food and L.A.
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| Village Bakery - donut muffins, blueberry poppyseed bundt cake |
I missed the first year because of taking the name too literally and thinking most offerings would be sweet. However, in last year's event the mix ranged from sweet to savory with a great selection of beverages.
The setting at the
Vibiana Cathedral is quite beautiful. It's just small enough where the lines are not exasperating.
This year I do not plan to attend, but that didn't stop me from taking a nostalgic look at last year's festivities and eats, highlights recapped below.
Drinks
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| chai horchata |
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| La Mill - Ethiopian Coffee |
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| detox juice |
They also had a couple of hosted bars with brunch type cocktails like Bloody Mary's, with a gourmet twist.
Sweets
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| BLD - blueberry ricotta pancakes with maple syrup |
In terms of pancakes, of all that I tried, BLD's blueberry ricotta pancakes with maple syrup took top honors. Impossibly light and fluffy and just the right amount of sweetness.
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| Nickel Diner - bacon maple and whiskey donut holes, house made pop tarts |
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| Nickel Diner display |
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| Nickel Diner plate |
Savories
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| Gottsui - okonomiyake pancake |
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| Auntie Em's - shrimp and grits |
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| Auntie Em's - shrimp and grits |
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| Market - chilaquiles |
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| Good Girl Dinette - steak crostini |
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| Good Girl Dinette - steak crostini |
The chilaquiles and crostinis really satisfied.
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| Euro Pane sausage biscuit and gravy |
Although I love Euro Pane, their sausage biscuit and gravy was lukewarm, which is not how I want to eat gravy.
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| Hungry Cat - display with baby corn and oyster shells |
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| Hungry Cat - salmon pancake |
Hungry Cat's salmon pancake, with mustard seeds and tangy dill sauce, took best in show for me. It's the only booth I went to twice. I could not contain my appetite for these one bite wonders.
Granted, my tastes lean toward the savory much more than sweet.
On such a hot day and packed event, it was a relief that besides the interior rest areas, they put up benches and umbrellas outside. That's my friend, Sunny, waving at me.
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| Handsome Coffee |
And finally we got a late visit from LA Times Food Writer/Restaurant Critic
Jonathan Gold, who had curated the 1st event.
Handsome Coffee stopped serving when they ran out of milk, even if you wanted black coffee.... I'm sure they managed to wrangle up a cup for Mr. Gold.
No event would be complete without
Starry Kitchen owner, Nguyen Tran in costume. His lederhosen did not disappoint.
These selections represent only a fraction of the offerings. I took a lot of breaks vs. a marathon eating approach. Also avoided the very long lines, of which there were not too many. And the sun slowed everyone down a bit.
Even then I surely left with a very full and satisfied tummy.
If you are wavering on whether or not to attend, this recap may help you decide. I'm sure this year will bring a whole slew of new good eats.
