Here's Looking at You - Los Angeles

We had an iffy start. For starters, they're out of both things I wanted to try, the biscuit & gravy AND the coconut waffle. 

What do you do when you're denied the most promising things on the menu? Leave? Try all the other stuff? 

We stayed. With no regrets. I would have liked to have my gravy and eat it, but there's plenty of other pleasures to be had. The Zucchini Bread, for one, is a starter that doesn't need to end. The bread is moist, and just lightly sweetened, a nice veggie backdrop to highlight a creamy ricotta but a sweet swirl of honey honey and nutty pumpkin seed. 

The Smoked White Fish is a fishy-fresh and refreshing, a beautifully balanced spread complemented by crisp lettuce, a green tomato fresh and delicious enough to make a tomato-hater eat multiple slice, and slivers of red onion and paper-thin radish really ramp up the sweetness of the fish.

The Shakshuka Verde probably isn't for everyone, but it's a personal preference, like green salsa or red. No matter what you prefer, the eggs are just perfect, and the cotija softens the sharper edges of the verde.

A side of Hash Browns is an excuse to slather on their hot sauce, which may or may not have addictive properties. 

The Ham Steak is serious. It's a full 20 ounces, bone and all, a cross-section of a juicy leg. The maple glaze sweetens the deal, and the burnt mustard is a genius flavor-adder to cut through the fat. The char adds something extra. 

I like it! I really like it! Here's Looking at You makes a unique genre of food that I can only describe as "Los Angeles". The menu pulls from several cuisines, from the middle eastern shakshuka with a Latin verde spin to an all-American ham-and-hash-brown breakfast, to a white fish spread akin to deli lox on a bagel. Here's looking at the best part of Los Angeles, diversity on a plate, for a brunch both beautiful and delicious.