Ktchn 105

Whew, last week a busy one.  Lots of work to be done!  But after a short trip up to Santa Barbara on Saturday and an awesome Superbowl party at our friends' house on Sunday, I'm back to feeling like Ashley, human, rather than Ashley, litigation associate.

Anyway, we've got a lot to catch up on, at least in the food world!  Thanks to my friend, Stefanie, I discovered another great brunch place!  (This city is full of 'em, I swear.)  This one is Ktchn 105.  Have you heard of it?  Maybe you have, but have you been able to find it?  That is a totally different question.

{love the logo}

Ktchn 105 is both too cool for vowels and too cool for signs.  And I love that about it.  Say what you will, but I'm easily impressed by anything remotely secret, hidden, or underground.  Marketing ploy or not, it totally works on me.  So obvi, the yelp reviews had me at "unmarked."

So.  You arrive in a warehouse district just east of downtown.  It's not exactly shady, but it's not exactly un-shady.  You park on the street and start searching for address numbers.  Good luck.  I just hope you find the random apartment building with the gated parking lot and the Ktchn 105 sign stuck to it.  Maybe you should plan for a few extra minutes of searching time.  Ha.

Once you're in the parking lot, you'll see a random piece of furniture with assorted towels on it (so unclear).  Go toward it.  Where there are towels, there must be food (...or something).  Just around the corner is a darling patio (we all know that's my favorite dining accessory, right?).  Nothing beats brunch in the sun.

And the inside is pretty cool too.  It's got that industrial vibe that makes you think, man, I want a chalkboard wall in my kitchen.  (Just me?)  The kitchen is open to the entire space, and so is the bar.   There is something comforting about seeing someone prepare the food you're about to stuff in your mouth eat.  And they have cooking classes here (because it's so cool), so the open-kitchen thing makes sense.

 

OK.  The first thing you have to do is order a Bloody Mary.  I don't care if you're hungover and you don't like spicy things and tomatoes aggravate your acid reflux.  (Ew.)  Just do it.  If you don't absolutely love their Bloody Mary, I'm not sure we can be friends.  Maybe don't tell me.  This bloody gives the Bloody accessorized with scotch egg and crab claw at Ramos House a run for it's money.

I ordered the special that day -- a cornmeal waffle BLT with maple syrup.  It reminded me of the pancake lasagna I had that one time at Eric Greenspan's pop up at Tart, and I loved that it was both savory and sweet.  Solves the eternal brunch dilemma and all that.  Plus, food like this makes me smile :)  (They also had scrambles and french toast for the more traditional breakfast eaters.)

This is my new go-to spot downtown.  It's a keeper for sure.  Just don't forget to make a reservation (it's required)!  And don't forget they're only open on Saturdays and Sundays!  Because, you know, they're elusive like that.  (OMG I love it.)