Los Angeles: Sqirl
When we do a SoCal trip, we rarely wander into Los Angeles itself, preferring instead to explore Orange County. But CK was very interested and Jiejie was visiting from Taiwan, so after our mandatory stop at Porto's to stock up on goodies before our drive back to the Bay, we made a little detour into LA to get brunch at Sqirl.
There was quite a line outside:
The interior was small, with a counter to place your order and limited seating:
We didn't really want to sit at a counter, so we headed outside to try our luck. Fortunately, we managed to find a table along the sidewalk.
Since we didn't figure that we would ever be back at Sqirl again, we went a bit overboard with the ordering. There were just so many things that we wanted to try!
We ultimately narrowed it down to the crispy rice salad:
The salad base included crispy brown rice with mint, cilantro, cucumber, scallion, and lacto-fermented hot sauce. From there you could choose which add ons you wanted. We went with the crispy disco ($16), which added avocado, mixed greens, an egg, and sausage. The final product was savory, yet bright and refreshing and altogether lovely.
Even though we'd already ordered a rice bowl, I still wanted to try the sorrel pesto rice ($9):
The brown rice was mixed with sorrel pesto, preserved meyer lemon, and lacto-fermented hot sauce, then topped with watermelon radish, sheep feta, and a poached egg. To make it even more extra, we added on their house bacon ($4.50). I loved how tangy the pesto was. I couldn't stop shoveling it into my mouth.
I saw avocado toast on the menu, but I didn't think too much of it. CK, on the other hand, knew what's what and ordered it. I'm so glad that she did because Sqirl has taken avocado toast ($10) to the infinite level:
This was definitely no avocado toast I'd ever seen. Besides the usual avocado, the toast was also loaded with hot pickled carrots, garlic creme fraiche, and house za'atar. The star of the dish wasn't actually the avocado, but the pickled carrots. I was completely blown away by the explosion of flavor in my mouth.
What Sqirl is perhaps most famous for is their famed ricotta toast ($9). It's made with brioche, house ricotta, and seasonal jam. If you want the full Instagram effect, ask to make it a rainbow (+$2):
The three jams of the day when we went were quince, plum and sumac, and raspberry and vanilla. I don't know how to describe this toast except to say it was heavenly. That thick layer of ricotta made it feel like biting into a cloud.
Because CK couldn't resist, she also added on a slice of pie ($7):
I don't remember exactly what kind of pie it was, but I think there was plum involved. It had a good crackly crust and a nice tang to the fruit filling.
Everything we had at Sqirl that day was pretty damn amazing. Every dish was an adventure in both flavor and texture. The flavors were bright and the ingredients healthy without compromising on deliciousness.
It was so good that I might actually be tempted to swing into LA on my next trip to SoCal to see what else they have to offer.
Sqirl
720 N Virgil Ave #4
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 284-8147
https://sqirlla.com/
There was quite a line outside:
The interior was small, with a counter to place your order and limited seating:
We didn't really want to sit at a counter, so we headed outside to try our luck. Fortunately, we managed to find a table along the sidewalk.
Since we didn't figure that we would ever be back at Sqirl again, we went a bit overboard with the ordering. There were just so many things that we wanted to try!
We ultimately narrowed it down to the crispy rice salad:
The salad base included crispy brown rice with mint, cilantro, cucumber, scallion, and lacto-fermented hot sauce. From there you could choose which add ons you wanted. We went with the crispy disco ($16), which added avocado, mixed greens, an egg, and sausage. The final product was savory, yet bright and refreshing and altogether lovely.
Even though we'd already ordered a rice bowl, I still wanted to try the sorrel pesto rice ($9):
The brown rice was mixed with sorrel pesto, preserved meyer lemon, and lacto-fermented hot sauce, then topped with watermelon radish, sheep feta, and a poached egg. To make it even more extra, we added on their house bacon ($4.50). I loved how tangy the pesto was. I couldn't stop shoveling it into my mouth.
I saw avocado toast on the menu, but I didn't think too much of it. CK, on the other hand, knew what's what and ordered it. I'm so glad that she did because Sqirl has taken avocado toast ($10) to the infinite level:
This was definitely no avocado toast I'd ever seen. Besides the usual avocado, the toast was also loaded with hot pickled carrots, garlic creme fraiche, and house za'atar. The star of the dish wasn't actually the avocado, but the pickled carrots. I was completely blown away by the explosion of flavor in my mouth.
What Sqirl is perhaps most famous for is their famed ricotta toast ($9). It's made with brioche, house ricotta, and seasonal jam. If you want the full Instagram effect, ask to make it a rainbow (+$2):
The three jams of the day when we went were quince, plum and sumac, and raspberry and vanilla. I don't know how to describe this toast except to say it was heavenly. That thick layer of ricotta made it feel like biting into a cloud.
Because CK couldn't resist, she also added on a slice of pie ($7):
I don't remember exactly what kind of pie it was, but I think there was plum involved. It had a good crackly crust and a nice tang to the fruit filling.
Everything we had at Sqirl that day was pretty damn amazing. Every dish was an adventure in both flavor and texture. The flavors were bright and the ingredients healthy without compromising on deliciousness.
It was so good that I might actually be tempted to swing into LA on my next trip to SoCal to see what else they have to offer.
Sqirl
720 N Virgil Ave #4
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 284-8147
https://sqirlla.com/
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