Do your tastes lean sweet or savory for the day’s first meal? At home, the answer for me is simple: savory, mostly involving a soft scramble that incorporates whatever among the week’s copious leftovers pairs well with eggs. In restaurants, my leanings aren’t so binary. I’m in for a spectrum of tastes.
The return of Kismet’s beautifully L.A. brunch menu What I most want arrives in a form that has recently reappeared in Los Angeles: These days Sarah Hymanson and Sara Kramer call it “the big brunch plate,” marking the return to their weekend daytime service at Kismet.
A center pile of herbed, sharply dressed lettuces gives the platter its visual anchor. Ramekins in various shapes surround the greens. Smaller ones contain plump, crinkly dates and a mix of marinated black and green olives.
An egg is halved to reveal its jammy yolk. This being Kismet, vegetables ebb and flow with the seasons, but lately there have been spiced tomatoes with creamy beans and chopped cucumbers over a thick drift of labneh. Wedges of barbari-style bread are crucial as vehicles for honeyed feta with walnuts and a dip of kale pureed with tahini and finished with a tart drizzle of pomegranate molasses.
This very Hymanson-Kramer collage, a feast for sharing plainly inspired by the abundant breakfasts of Turkish and Persian traditions, was my lasting first impression of Kismet when the restaurant opened in Los Feliz in 2017. Early on, the place had “all-day” vibes. Lunch/brunch and dinner.
