All Day Baby
Cold Brew Coffee
Pistachio Milkshake – Whipped Cream
Strawberry Jam Concha
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie
Chocolate + Walnut + Halvah Cookie
Chewy Blackout Brownie
Buckwheat Waffle – Housemade Country Ham, Smoked Maple, Salted Butter
Fried Chicken Sandwich – Salt & Pepper Mayo, Pimento Cheese, Green Tomato, Potato Bun, House Pickles
Roasted Baby Carrots – Apple Butter, Walnut Dukkah, Vadouvan
Mama May’s Banana Bread – Ricotta, Whipped Honey, Buckwheat, Sea Salt
French Toast – Pineapple Jam, Rum Butter, Cinnamon Coconut Crunchies, Smoked Maple
Hotcake – Ricotta, Blueberries, Pistachio, Maple
White Corn Grits – Shrimp “Bolognese,” Fried Egg, Crispy Leeks
Buttermilk Biscuit
German Chocolate Marshmallow Pie – Coconut, Pecan
Banana Cream Pie – Dulce de Leche
In a city full of decades-old Diners it takes something special to make a splash in the genre, and at All Day Baby Chefs Jonathan Whitener and Thessa Diadem of Here’s Looking At You execute a melting pot menu with one-part precision and another whimsy.
Perhaps better described as “all American,” Los Angeles in particular drawing from broad cultural references across its ever-growing expanse, it was late-November 2019 that All Day Baby opened doors on Sunset, original hours from 8:00am until 3:00pm recently expanded to 10:00pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday plus an hour later Friday and Saturday.
Situated in Silver Lake, Managing Partner Lien Ta responsible for an all-female service team that works efficiently with perpetual smiles, it is immediately upon entry to the 2,000 square foot space that guests feel a sense of ease, close-set seating responsible for sometimes high volume but the style of booths nonetheless providing privacy.
Dividing Bar from dining area, with bakery cases up-front offering added temptation, it was as a party of six that diners cut a wide swath through All Day Baby’s diverse offerings, Cold Brew Coffee and a classic Soda Shop Shake flavored by Pistachio plus self-service Water accompanying two soft-centered Cookies, a rich Blackout Brownie and one of four daily Concha that justifies its $6 cost with a housemade Jam center.
Trotting the globe for ingredients such as Vadouvan and Halvah, the latter creating a crunchy exterior for one of the aforementioned Cookies while the other teams with Apple Butter and Dukkah to yield exemplary Carrots, fans of “Chicken + Waffles” will not find them on All Day Baby’s menu, but rather a Buckwheat Waffle intended to be dragged through Butter and topped with housemade Ham plus a ubiquitous Fried Chicken Sandwich made better by Salt & Pepper Mayo plus spicy Pimento Cheese.
Further challenging conformity with French Toast, the Pineapple Jam, Rum Butter and crunchy Cereal dancing harmoniously while Smoked Maple Syrup is best added in small portions, those seeking even better “Bread” will find it offered by way of Mama May, her Banana slice more cake-like and made all the more enthralling by Ricotta, Honey and toasted Buckwheat.
Skipping everyday stacks for a single Hotcake, toothsome and golden beneath Fruit, Nuts and creamy Cheese that makes Syrup largely unnecessary, Buttermilk Biscuits are well-crafted but not revelatory, leaving Shrimp and Grits more room to shine in the spotlight beneath a fried Egg and crispy Leeks that play well off the “Bolognese.”
Not about to skip Dessert, Pie picked over Sundaes or Sticky Buns, All Day Baby’s intention to “illicit glee and satisfaction” is completed by a Marshmallow Sandwich that spins childhood memories on their head thanks to gooey Praline filling while a Banana Cream wedge sweetened by Dulce de Leche threatens Emeril Lagasse for best in the business.
www.alldaybabyla.com
