Breakfast with a 'twist'!

[snarkymikey]

An old outta town friend is arriving to have brunch Sunday AM and I am strapped on where to take her. I know she'd like good food, but I'd also like to showcase why I live in the god-forsaken Hollywood area.

Can anyone recommend a place that would showcase what we love so much about our city without sacrificing quality eats? I was thinking The Abbey in W. H'wood, or something equally 'exotic'? Don't know how good the food is there tho. Suggestions?

Thanks for putting your collective heads together!

Mike H.

[Emme]

The Griddle Cafe for sheer decadence.
Los Balcones for Peruvian
Ethiopian on Fairfax
Hungry Cat would be a great option too
Little Next Door is great for brunch
Jar or Campanile for upscale

[doublegemini]

i've also heard square one in los feliz is great but have yet to get there

[doublegemini]

you could always brave the lines at Griddle Cafe or Cheebo on Sunset. or what about the circus scene at Marix?

[love2eat]

I received a phone call about a month ago from Pace in Laurel Canyon informing me that they now will be serving brunch on weekends. I haven't been for brunch yet but their dinners are usually fresh and seasonal. The setting is nice...deep in the canyon next to Canyon Country Mart and just down the road from where Joni Mitchell and Jim Morrison used to live. They have a lovely outdoor seating area and is pretty magical at night.

[David Kahn]

You might give Grub (http://www.grub-la.com/ ) a try. Very good brunch fare, in a cute, relatively peaceful setting. Plus, you have the whole Top Chef/Hollywood celebrity angle.

[Astrobratt]

How about dusty's?(Sunset Blvd Just before Parkman on the way to echo park) there dinner is no good at all, but I like the breakfast, cool atmosphere, bustling, funky and fun, I think it rocks.

[nibbles]

bld-excellent for brunch. high caliber, very l.a. in the best of ways and unbelievably great pancakes (and i'm not usually into pancakes.).

[hrhboo]

The food at The Abbey is neither exotic nor very good at all!

Simon LA now does a weekend brunch, it's fun and the food is great. It's very hip and very LA, lots of beautiful people!

[esculent]

i second the brunch at Simon LA

[snooze button]

I would have disagreed about a year ago because I really liked their pasta dishes. Unfortunately they changed their menu and the food has gone drastically downhill. Now the best thing to get is an order of french fries, dessert, and a martini (pricey though... $12.50 each).

[hrhboo]

Yeah, The Abbey is great fun for drinks and people watching but the food is truly awful.

Simon LA just started serving brunch a couple of weeks ago. I enjoy it.

From Eater LA:

"There's a new brunch at Simon LA at the Sofitel on Sundays, rock n' roll style, natch. DJ Kelly Cole spins old-school rock (if you consider the 90s 'old school'), there's a Bloody Mary bar (salami and parmesan for garnish?), and weekly changing specials like cheese steak sliders, PB&J French toast, and the Iron Chef burger. It's still kind of under the radar, so while everyone's lining up at Toast, you could be sitting on a couch on the patio drinking last night away. Starts at 11am, ends at 4pm."

There's also a mention of brunch at Lucky Devil's and Tea Party at The Standard, neither of which I have tried yet.

http://la.eater.com/archives/2007/05/...

[Piglet]

I went to a bridal shower and brunch a few weeks back at Off Vine, which is on an alley just south of Sunset and Vine. It's a cute little Craftsman house with a tree-shaded outdoor patio, which would be a great place to eat if the weather is nice. Very So Cal.

Their brunch menu is long, and everyone seemed happy with their food when I was there. (I had a lobster pot pie that I'd give a solid, uninflated B --some of there other stuff looked better). But the setting and service are great.