Is Breakfast Having a Resurgence in LA?

I almost feel like breakfast is a young person's game. From college on you go out to breakfast, often to recover and soak up the memories from the night before. But once real adulthood sets in (for us Americans this is after 40) breakfast is a completely home-type thing. The days of the diner and the restaurant before 11AM are rare occasions for me. My breakfast, almost every morning, consists of one or two rice cakes with avocado on them, two Morningstar Breakfast patties, and if I'm really hungry, scrambled eggs with dill & pepper. Like clockwork. Wanna come over? And if I run out of eggs I have oatmeal. That's the long and short. The skinny. The home-cooked, home-ate, let's-get-on-with-the-day breakfast. Oh, and coffee but that's a no-brainer.

But I stabbed myself in the hand this morning.

Crazy home-made bandage contraption made by my husband

While trying to cut the pit out of an avocado I deeply punctured right into the middle of my palm. I mean this is the kind of wound that tougher sorts wouldn't have cried over and certainly wouldn't have suggested going to the ER for. My husband assured me it was not hospital-worthy. But he was nice enough to not make fun of the fact that tears were streaming down my face and even went so far as to cut special bandaids to deal with the awkward location of this deep, very painful injury. (I really should be in a hospital right now).

But so... breakfast. Breakfast still needed to be eaten. Most important meal of the day, some believe. AND I just finished a script and wanted to take it easy, celebrate. Or celebrate-adjacent. So I texted my friend Max.

"Can't keep on doing it" refers to the making of my breakfast. 

So Max met my husband and I over at Cindy's which I've been hearing about and driving by FOREVER. I totally thought nothing would ever go into this spot that remained empty for what seemed far too long. And then this diner rumored to have fantastic food just appeared from heaven.

Described by the new owners (who own Firefly in South Pas) as old school aesthetics mixed with new school flavors, Cindy's offers morning faire such as a Creamed Kale Omelet ($10), a Fried Egg Sandwich with Tabasco Mayo ($8.50), and a Potato Beet Pancake plate with stewed apple and dill cream ($9.50).

At first blush, I can certainly say, they got that old-school aesthetic down. The interior is out of Retro Diner Central. Orange seats. Imperfect and comf booths. Cool lighting:

But listen, I'm a New Yorker. I'm skeptical and I'm hard on breakfast places. I've been going to diners since I was a kid (The Hastings Diner which had a kick-ass Cherry Coke) and then for big hangover breakfasts in Boston during college and NYC during "The Lost Decade." In my expert opinion, I know this is what a diner's supposed to look like. But one question remained-- would the food be good? Worth it? Reliable? I mean I don't know how fancy I want this stuff to get. Usually fancy means heavy, gloppy, weird, and a stomach ache later. 

Cindy's Roasted Mushroom Omelet

It's rare I'll only go somewhere once and blog about it but I'm telling you, Cindy's ranks. Completely, utterly, one billion percent worth it. This New Yorker says GO. It's that yummy and you won't regret it.

I got the Roasted Mushroom Omelet (pictured above for $11) which had these carmelized onions inside, reminding me of wine-y, stew-y French onion soup onions, a nice smattering of bleu cheese that must have been somehow magically melted into the eggs themselves, and a non-overpowering parsley pesto dabbed on top. I never eat pesto in anything really except for pasta and every now and again, I'll partake if it's a part of some appetizer. But this was perfect: subtly prepared and not more than a tablespoon.

Restraint. I like it. Dang, Cindy's!

My husband got the Noah's Ark for 9 bucks.

2 eggs, 2 pancakes, 2 strips of bacon. In other words, "The Uuuuushe." Terry said the bacon was good. "Nicely cooked," her muttered, in his best Tom Colicchio. High praise from TD. Max said she really liked her Mediterranean Scramble ($8.50) with spinach and feta and oregano. While she wasn't raving, she looked happy and sated.

I don't know. Maybe breakfast is simply making a personal comeback with me. Between Blu-Jam, Eggslut, Elsa's & now Cindy's, I think I might be getting down with the early morning dining experience. It's cheaper than eating out pretty much any other time of the day and breakfast just isn't that easy to master so when someone does it right, you want to go back. You want to try everything.

In other words, call me. I'm in.

Cindy's is at 1500 Colorado Boulevard just a block up from Trader Joe's and across from Little Beast. Look for the vintage 60 year old Landmark sign if you're confused at all! 323.257.7353. They're open Tuesday thru Sunday. Breakfast is from 7 to 11, Lunch from 11 to 3, and Dinner from 5 to Close (whatever that means). They're open for Brunch, Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 3pm. And they do catering. You can park in their parking lot and there's plenty of street parking.

Enjoy! I'll be at Cedar's!