I first heard about The Sycamore Kitchen when I read Jonathan Gold’s tweet…two of them
Wherein I fall head over heels for . . . buttercups? Tomorrow's review today: lat.ms/NLsrPd—
jonathan gold (@thejgold) August 24, 2012
In case you would rather read about lunch than eat it, may I present Sycamore Kitchen? lat.ms/NLsrPd—
jonathan gold (@thejgold) August 25, 2012
And so, with kids in tow…off we went to the hip artsy-cool area of La Brea in the Mid-Wilshire district.
love the very low-key facade
There are three options on seating. There isn’t a lot of chairs indoors but there’s lots of shaded tables out on the patio.
there are three tables like these right next to the windows overlooking the patio and they seat about 4 comfortably
on the other side of the cafe there are community tables for larger groups or smaller groups sharing one table…the exposed brick? lovely texture adding some cozy, home-y feel
the patio is dotted with lots of tables with their own umbrella so there’s always a shade (we need one in this indian summer days)
Ordering is easy as they do have menu boards up and specials are also displayed. Baked goods are not easy to pass up as they’re right there to feast with your eyes. Everything is nicely labeled with name and price. There is not questioning the freshness of the baked good as they pretty much go from oven to display area (of course with the mandatory cooling in between). They also offer a nice variety of drinks from coffee, specialty coffee to non-coffee choices.
Let’s check out what we ordered for our brunch…
Iced Hibiscus Tea and Ginger Limeade
My DD had the Iced Hibiscus Tea while my DS and I had our own Ginger Limeade. Both were very refreshing especially coming from the scorching heat outside.
Double B-LTA, crispy and braised pork belly, butter lettuce, balsamic tomatoes, avocado, mayo, country bread #thesycamorekitchen #BLT #sandwich #food #foodporn
The DD had the Double B-LTA (described above) and I have to say it was delicious (I had to take a bite so I can give you my first hand experience). The butter lettuce was crisp, avocado was creamy and the pork belly was succulent and tender all balanced out by the balsamic tomatoes. To round up the whole experience were two slices of crispy, sweet, tart pickles. A must.
Toast – house made ricotta, stewed citrus, fennel, mint, hazelnut
The DS had the toast with ricotta (described above). I chose this for him because we are still training him to eat his veggies and he’s doing really good (as long as the veggies are not green and crispy). He’s doing good vegetable wise, we just have to work on his aversion to anything green and crispy. This dish, served on a thin, crispy bread (hence named Toast) is both sweet and tart and very refreshing. The addition of hazelnut is a wonderful contrast in taste and texture. While the sprinkling of mint just provides an additional “freshness” factor to the while dish. Very good these scorching hot days.
Toast with chicken salad, grapes, walnut, tarragon, Greek yogurt aioli
I had the toast above and I absolutely love it. I can have it for breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner and midnight snack. Fresh, light yet substantial. Love.
(left) Salted Caramel Pecan Bobka Roll; (right) Brown Butter Date Mini-Bundt
I have to try the Salted Caramel Pecan Bobka Roll as it is apparently crack (of baked goods, that is). So I ordered one and a Brown Butter Date Mini-Bundt as recommended by one of the staff. Both were good, like crack-kind-of-good. I am now in love with this place. Thank goodness I don’t live anywhere near otherwise I would be sweating sugar crystals. LOL.
Bottom line: A great, relaxed place to grab a meal from. Food is as fresh as it can get. Pastry snobs would be very happy here 
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xo, Emilie
Both the hubs and I love granola and this one is not so bad, I would say a 6 out of 10.
