The Best Thing We Ate This Weekend: Thick French Toast at LA's Canele

Thick French toast 

By James Mulcahy

Big news! Tonight, our first 30 Under 30 list of 2013 will launch in Los Angeles, and we flew to town to prep for the celebration. But before we honor some of city's hottest up-and-comers, there was one key item on the agenda: brunch. When we got to Canele in Atwater Village, there was already a line out the door, but it moved quickly, and soon we were sat at the communal table with other happy campers.

Considering that we heard people talking about the French toast, we ordered one serving for the table, and once our waitress placed it in front of us, we saw what all the chatter was about. This is not your grandma's breakfast bread - each of the three pieces on the plate was essentially a half-loaf of bread smothered in egg. You can add poached prunes and marscapone for an additional $3, and you'd be crazy not to.

Just be warned: get here on the early side if you want the must-try dish - by the time we were finishing, disappointed diners were being told that the fluffy item was '86ed. They'd have to settle for the pancakes, an equally unique take on the breakfast classic that was served in a small cake pan. Thankfully, there were not many complaints (323-666-7133).