Morning Glory
Square One agrees the first meal of the day is also the best.
by Lesley Bargar
Breakfast has always been my favorite meal. As a kid, it was five bowls of cereal a day. As a teenager, waffles took the (pan)cake. And as an adult, I’ve found myself in a dirty, emotionally abusive love affair with the egg. So while I swoon over noodles, burgers, salads, soups, curries, sushis and sammies, my heart will, and always has belonged to those salty/sticky-sweet delicacies of the morning.
Which is why when I heard about Square One, a new breakfast-all-day place opening near my neighborhood in Los Feliz, my only option was to wake up, and go dine. It may be hard to find Square One’s rather minimal façade on Fountain Avenue, as it’s directly in the big blue shadow of the ‘World Trade Scientology Center.’ As we walked through the small wood door framed by grassy green walls and large windows, my dining companion wondered if we’d be able to order the Scientomelet. Turns out we weren’t.
In fact, as we sat down in the nearly-empty dining room at 8:45 a.m. on a Tuesday, the first treat of the morning (and also the most necessary) was delivered without even having to look at a menu: coffee. Served in satisfyingly large mugs (but not bicep-testing ones), this wasn’t afternoon coffee, heavy and jarring, meant to pry open your eyelids for another three hours of work. This was morning coffee, mellow and soothing, with just enough perk to start your brain, but which also has you cupping the mug in both hands, leaning in for a deep inhale every few sips.
As soon as the caffeine hit my system I took a look around. The breakfast menu is presented as a cream-colored sheet of paper strapped to a bright green, wooden plank. The tabletops are covered with brown paper, and the walls are a gorgeous Provencal gold. While the architecture itself is very ’40s diner-ish, the owners have done an excellent job of giving a rustic, natural, inviting feel. I later discovered a side patio with wooden tables and chairs that let breakfast (and lunch) lovers linger in the Los Feliz sun.
A chalkboard above me listed several specials of the day: specific muffins, a soup, some oatmeal cake with warm summer peaches, as well as a list of all the local produce sources used to procure the day’s ingredients. See, Square One’s mission statement is as follows:
“We believe the highest quality meals come from the freshest local ingredients. By taking care in sourcing our ingredients, we hope to connect our customers, purveyors and staff through the most basic of human needs: food. We utilize organic, local and small farm produce whenever possible.”
Following this, everything on the menu is incredibly fresh and made in-house, including the to-die-for baked goods like brioche, cookies, cakes and more.
I ultimately decided on one of the baked egg dishes ($9.50-$10), which the menu describes as, “Made with two farm fresh eggs and served in an individual cast iron skillet.” They weren’t kidding. Within about 15 minutes my breakfast came to the table in a mini skillet, handle wrapped in a napkin, equipped with a stern heat warning from the server. Inside is a base of fluffy brioche, topped with two eggs (yolks perfectly unbroken), swarming with thick, salty strips of Canadian bacon, and an irresistibly zesty frisee salad on top that was gently tossed with a mustard bacon vinaigrette. My server (who I also suspect is the owner due to the paperwork he was eyeing on my arrival) joked that they call it the “Baked Canadian.” I was neither baked, nor Canadian, but I devoured its salty, meaty satisfaction with gusto.
My partner in crime this morning (and every morning) had more of a sweet tooth, and settled on one of their many French toast options ($6.50 with butter and maple syrup, add $2 for any of the elaborate toppings). Among the topping choices at Square One are banana-citrus caramel, sautéed apples and honey with whipped cream, butter and warm maple syrup, and-what ultimately arrived on our table-bourbon-pecan topping and vanilla whipped cream. It was what could apparently only be described by my companion as “sextasy.” I raised a suspicious eyebrow at his choice of words until I took a bite. If sextasy is the feeling of still-firm, thick slices of bread all warm and eggy, soaking in some divinely sweet concoction, with crunchy pecans and the fluffiest, lightest, vanilla bean whipped cream dissolving on top of it all-then sextasy this was.
The rest of the menu is chock full of other breakfast goodies like stone ground grits with butter ($3.50), omelets with ingredients like shitake mushrooms, garlic/lemon thyme chicken sausage and a slew of gourmet cheeses, as well as more traditional egg dishes (including skirt steak and eggs). The lunch menu has tempting sandwiches, both cold and hot, plus daily soups, five gorgeous salads, and more.
I left, with a now infamous chocolate chip cookie under my arm for later, and the comfort of knowing that I’m not the only one who sees breakfast as more than a throwaway meal…it’s an art.  LAA
Location: 4854 Fountain Ave., Los Feliz.
Phone: (323) 661-1109.
Vibe: Country morning cool.
Service: Like only the owner can provide.
Price: Quick starters like oatmeal and granola, $3.50-$6.25; pancakes, etc. $5.50-$8.50; egg dishes of all sizes $8-$12, sandwiches $8.50-$10.50, salads $6.50-$10.50.
Recommended dishes: The “Baked Canadian;” French toast with pecans and whipped cream; chocolate chip cookie.
Etc: Open 8 a.m.-4 p.m., closed Mondays.
Overall: 4.5 out of 5 sporks