When Hobag invited me to brunch and a hike, I said, "Meh, I don't really like brunch." Those words are like blasphemy to the majority of people. People just LOVE breakfast foods. I'm not sure why I don't go gaga for omelettes and breakfast burritos. I guess I didn't grow up eating those kinds of things for breakfast. Heck, I didn't even grow up eating breakfast. But there are so many things I didn't grow up eating that I love now, so I guess that argument doesn't really work here. I guess my real issue with brunch is that the waits are just so frickin' long and I'm not a huge fan of egg stuff. Well I guess if I get to eat other fantastic non egg based brunch foods with a reservation then I am a damn happy camper. This was my experience at Canele. Lucky for us, we met their minimum party size of 6 or more for reservations. The restaurant is small, and your almost elbow to elbow with every unemployed artist/actor/hipster that calls Atwater Village home.
Baked Pancake meyer lemon custard
Holy smokes was this FRICKIN' delicious. The pancake was fluffy and light, while that Meyer lemon custard brought the decadence. Hobag being the pig that she is ordered this to share on top of the individual dishes we each ordered. Deceptively Hapa just ate this by herself. It's safe to say she was starvin' after our hike. This is a MUST order.
Apple Waffle fried chicken, honey apple butter foie
Everyone was a fan of this, but I'm somewhat undecided. I guess it was a play on chicken 'n waffles, with the chicken being more like Japanese karage. The honey apple butter foie (whose description I'm sort of making up because I failed to snap a shot of the daily specials board). But it was essentially their take on the butter and maple syrup that enriches and sweetens your waffles. It obviously had a more savory and slightly offal note to it which Hobag was simply salivating over. She LOVES anything foie, pate, charcuterie. We are definitely soul sisters in that regard. So while I liked all the elements going on here, I couldn't help but feel that something was off. I kept eating and eating and kept lingering on some familiar taste...hoisin! This tasted like hoisin flavored whatever. Overall, it was a favorite dish for many including Foot In Mouth.
