Konbi
Iced Coffee
Eggplant Katsu Sandwich – Burnt Onion Dashi, Cabbage, Bulldog Sauce
Canelé
Chocolate Croissant
If one doesn’t follow any “influencers” it is easy to know nothing about Konbi and the Egg Salad Sandwich that set social media ablaze in 2018, but when trusted friends suggested the tiny daytime Restaurant in Echo Park served a world-class Chocolate Croissant interest was piqued, and true to their word Akira Akuto’s Viennoiserie straight from the oven is an undeniable masterpiece.
Low-key and narrow with simple signage, the kind of place that hundreds walk by daily without a second thought, Konbi can now be noticed thanks to crowds gathered around its takeout window where a collection of patio furniture doubles the inside seating capacity.
Skinny without feeling crowded, a counter abutting the line offering space for ten, it was thirty minutes after opening on Saturday that one stool remained empty, the menu-listed Red Walnut Tart reportedly “unavailable” but Iced Coffee and a fair-to-middling Canelé at $4 each helping to bridge the 20-minute span before another round of sold-out Croissants would be ready.
Nicely lit and friendly as relates to service, one Chef taking time to touch tables after placing Laminated Dough in a small oven, the diligence with which everything from Sandwiches to Salads is made can be witnessed at short range, and in less than the time it took to describe Konbi’s concept an Eggplant Katsu Sandwich was in hand with Veggies fried crisp amidst soft Bread, Cabbage and Condiments with some kick.
Not rushed despite the crowd, a number coated in plastic assuring the next Croissant available, assume it safe to say that instructions to let it “cool down” were loosely followed, a shattering shell giving way to honeycombed crumb surrounding still-molten core of Dark Chocolate with subtle Fruit notes carried across the palate by plenty of Butter.
www.konbila.com
