My wife typically celebrates ethnic holidays eating food that represents that culture. For example, on Lunar New Year, she enjoys Chinese food and on Bastille Day, she brings out the French Press and makes our morning coffee with it. In continuing her spirit, I decided to eat latkes during Chanukah.
Canters and Langer’s Delis were the obvious choices because they are known for serving latkes in the traditional way with applesauce and sour cream. Since I was looking for a different experience, I decided to visit Larchmont Bungalow in Larchmont Village.
If you haven’t been to Larchmont Village before, it’s a quaint and historic oasis within our bustling city. Seeing the sidewalk clock and the historic buildings, you could easily imagine that you are in a small town in central California. In 2014, Salt & Straw moved in and Larchmont Village received a huge influx of ice cream lovers.
The bakery is the first thing you see as you enter the cafe. A huge coffee roaster occupies part of the room. A display of colorful cakes, pastries and cookies is along the other side. A host takes your order just prior to being seated so if you are the indecisive type, be prepared to act quickly.
Artisan Teas – wow “Gunpowder” Tea from China
Larchmont Bungalow acquires their beans from organic and sustainable coffee farmers and roast their coffee beans in-house. They offer an impressive assortment of teas: white, green, black, fusion and botanical.
In addition to a cup of coffee, I ordered latkes. I’m sure purists would laugh at my attempt to celebrate, but I couldn’t resist the combination of latkes, lox and poached eggs.
Latkes with Lox and Poached Eggs
Two latkes were served on a long plate with a small cup of fresh fruit. I was really amazed with the presentation of this dish. The potato was processed using a spiral cut machine. After that, they took the potato and weaved into what resembled a bird’s nest. A generous amount of lox was layered on each latke and they were topped with a poached egg. A small cup of crème fraîche mixed with wasabi was served on the side.
Eating the latkes was visually interesting to me. As I sliced into the poached egg, the yolk drizzled down to the nooks and crannies of the latke. The lox was delicious and worked well with the latke and the poached egg. I ate each bite slowly just to savor the flavors.
Larchmont Bungalow has a rather large and eclectic breakfast menu. In addition to their specialities like the Lox and Latkes, they also have quite a few eggs benedict offerings, pancakes, french toast, omelettes and breakfast burritos.
I enjoyed the Saturday morning outing and I look forward to returning with my family.
Larchmont Bungalow, 107 N Larchmont Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90004
http://www.larchmontbungalow.com/