Primo Italia | Torrance, CA

It's no secret that the breakfasting habits of Italians and Americans are wildly different. A traditional breakfast in Italy is little more than a croissant and a cappuccino, while in the States, we stereotypically tuck into enormous plates of fried eggs, hashbrowns, toast, and bacon. Yes, these may be exaggerated versions of the truth (I don't know about you, but you won't often catch me eating diner-style breakfast on an average weekday morning), but they are at least partially based in fact. To put it simply, food before noon is done differently in Italy, and brunch is not high on their priority list. There are a few things, however, that we can all agree on - for one, we all love Italian food. For another, we can all appreciate the time-honored concept of a grand Sunday meal. Whether it's the Americans' leisurely mid-morning mashup of breakfast and lunch with friends or the Italians' abundant multi-course family affair that stretches into the late afternoon, everyone can agree that Sundays are best spent eating delicious food and enjoying the company of loved ones. 

How best can we celebrate this overlap in the cultural Venn diagram of our two countries' eating habits? Why, by partaking in a long, leisurely Italian-inspired Sunday brunch, of course. Fortunately, the concept of Italian restaurants serving brunch is not foreign to Southern California, so finding that beautiful marriage between vibrant Italian flavors and comforting classic brunch is completely within your grasp. Especially if you live near Torrance - where you will find the delightful Primo Italia, nestled on the top of a little hill. 

What is most evident about Primo Italia upon entering is its unique blend of elegance and coziness; displays of tchotchkes and knick-knacks are paired with luxurious contemporary seating and a sleek marble bar. There's a baby grand piano and an old-fashioned microphone situated by the entrance, inviting you to come back in the evening for a live performance that will undoubtedly transport you to another place and time. Framed old photos tell the stories of charismatic owner Lou Giovannetti's Italian-American family, who worked hard to provide a comfortable life for their children back in New York, and who appreciated the importance of spending time with family and sharing good food. 

A sense of reverence for the past is tangible here, and it extends well beyond the decorating philosophy and into the kitchen. Chef Michelangelo Aliaga, who Giovannetti calls "a true heritage-based Italian cook," moved to the States at the age of 19, and worked his way up through some of the most loved Italian restaurants in the country. His strong culinary background and his passion for history shine through in his extensive dinner menu; each dish tells a story about a place and time in Italian history. The brunch menu is similarly substantial: its upper half is devoted to Italian takes on breakfast classics, and its lower half features some lunch-appropriate favorites from the dinner menu. 

As tempting as the lower half of the menu was, as brunch enthusiasts, we were naturally inclined toward the top half of Aliaga's menu - specifically toward dishes that combined some of our favorite things: eggs and tomatoes. First was the Uova in Purgatorio, or Eggs in Purgatory: two eggs baked in a cast iron skillet with a spicy tomato sauce, served with crusty bread and soft, creamy cheese. The dish was piping hot (even after we'd spent several minutes photographing it) thanks to the skillet, yet the egg yolks remained perfectly cooked and runny. The flavorful sauce highlighted the tangy tomatoes, and supported their bright flavor with a satisfying, subtle spiciness. Bread is a must in a dish like this, and this airy Italian loaf was the perfect vehicle for the saucy, yolky, creamy meal - next time, we'll ask for an extra slice. 

Next was the Omelette di Burrata Pomodoro e Basilico, a fluffy omelette stuffed with Italian staples like creamy burrata cheese, fresh heirloom tomatoes, and aromatic basil. This dish is a perfect example of the Italian tradition of combining just a few simple, high quality ingredients to create something delightfully uncomplicated. It's served alongside some well-cooked potatoes and crunchy bacon, with a few extra slices of those divine, in-season tomatoes as an extra treat. 

A dessert course is an important part of a leisurely brunch, so something sweet was in order to end our meal - the Ricotta Pancake. This dish, while not what you'd normally expect from a pancake, fits its description perfectly: it is a super-dense, creamy cake, baked and served in a cast-iron pan. So yeah, a literal pan-cake. Topped with baked apples, a generous dousing of house-made honey syrup, and a dollop of ricotta, this was a sweet and satisfying end to our meal. Make sure you get a top-up on your coffee before this dish, too - the combination is delightful. 

While the Italian tradition of a big, Sunday meal with family may not exist in most of modern America, it's clear that many of us still yearn for the warm, comforting, nostalgic feeling that such a meal inspires. Perhaps our new tradition of brunch is a response to this need, a way to establish human connection and bonding over an activity that everyone enjoys, on a day that is meant for rest and reflection. Primo Italia offers the perfect environment for embracing this practice - with heartwarming food, a kind and welcoming staff, and a relaxed, beautiful space, you'll feel like you've come home to your big, Italian family just in time for Sunday supper. Mangiamo!

Primo Italia
24590 Hawthorne Boulevard
Torrance, Ca 90505 

The Standing Room | Hermosa Beach, CA

It's summer. That wonderful time of year when time seems to slow down and a lazy day on the beach feels somehow productive. Maybe you follow up that long day in the sun with a refreshing beer at a bar that's just a few steps from the pier, and if you're lucky maybe there's a live show playing that night, too. The band's pretty good, so one would judge you if that beer turned into several with a side of some fries, and you made a proper evening of it. This is summer, after all, the season synonymous with all things fun, and you deserve some fun. But this isn't college anymore (or maybe it is - if so, lucky you), and a day full of that much fun is bound to leave you feeling like a brandy-soaked raisin. The best cure for such an affliction, of course, is a big, greasy brunch - so the obvious choice is to swallow your pride, return to the scene of the crime, and order some Loco Moco and a Bloody Mary. That's right - there's a place in this world where you can wander off the beach, enjoy all the debauchery involved in creating a hangover in the evening, then cure it with brunch the next morning while sitting at the very same table. It's called The Standing Room, and we think you're gonna love it. 

The Standing Room began, oddly enough, in the back of a liquor store in Redondo Beach. When self-trained chef Lowell Bakke started working at the store to help his cousin out, he realized that its fledgling deli counter could be put to better use - and within a few years, he'd transformed the space into a cult-favorite burger stand that still has people lining up around the corner. If a chef's food can convey his personality, then Bakke's "sammies" paint him as a rebel and a dreamer with a great deal of pride for his roots. They're over-the-top, lighthearted, quirky combinations of Korean and American flavors, all presented with aloha (Bakke was born in Oahu, after all). At first, the joint was actually standing room only, leaving patrons to devour their mile-high, sauce laden burgers crouched atop milk crates in the parking lot, silently praying that they could walk away with their work shirts unstained. As The Standing Room gained popularity, the parking lot was tricked out with tables and chairs, and the line grew longer. A sit-down restaurant and bar seemed like the logical next step. 

Enter the Hermosa Beach location, a surprisingly spacious bar/restaurant/music venue just a stone's throw from the picturesque Hermosa Beach Pier, complete with a sizable stage for live shows, a patio perfect for summer day-drinking, and a healthy amount of L.A. Kings paraphernalia. The place is comfortable and full of personality; even in the early morning (ahem, 10 am) when it's nearly empty, it's easy to imagine how lively the atmosphere must be when it's packed on a warm summer night. The menu boasts many of Bakke's most popular sandwiches from the liquor store location, including the sky-high Napoleon Burger, which comes topped with a fried egg and an entire braised short rib, among other things. Brunch is a recent addition to the restaurant's repertoire, and with dishes like Loco Moco, Hawaiian Bread French Toast, and Kimchee Fried Rice, its menu feels like a natural extension of the restaurant's popular lunch and dinner offerings. Sure, there's an Egg White Frittata thrown in for health-minded brunchers, but for the most part this is that incredibly satisfying, almost sinful kind of brunch that is exactly what you need during a summer beach weekend. 

On a recent Saturday morning, we went all-in and sampled some of The Standing Room's most popular brunch fare - and of course, wound up with a spread of heartwarming, stick-to-your-ribs, undeniably delicious food. It was probably enough to feed an army - or at the very least, enough to feed a couple of hungry Brunchographers with enough leftover for their hungry boys at home. These portions are no joke. 

First up was the Chicken & Biscuits, with passion fruit tea brined fried chicken, fluffy buttermilk biscuits, and a generous heap of thick country gravy. One bite of these biscuits will transport you to the south - they taste just like the ones mom used to make: buttery, salty, with just the right amount of crumb. The chicken is sliced thin, which allows for the maximum fried-chicken-batter-to-actual-chicken ratio, and provides plenty of surface area for all that gravy you're going to want to soak up. To balance out all this salty, delicious richness is a sprinkling of sweet pickle slices (just like the ones grandpa used to eat before supper) and some bright pink pickled onions (which we've determined to be some of the most underrated brunch ingredients - bring on the pickled onions!). 

Next, the dish that made Johnna's Hawaiian boyfriend so envious - the Loaded Loco Moco. It begins with a bed of comforting, super-flavorful fried rice that's packed with onions, edamame, kimchee, and pork. Next, a layer of short rib gravy, followed by a perfectly seasoned half-pound beef patty draped with a layer of melted cheddar cheese. To top it all off, a runny fried egg coated in hot sauce and dusted with shredded nori and sesame seeds. Loaded, indeed. This is the kind of meal that you just can't stop eating once you start - it's so comforting that it feels like receiving a really nice hug that you don't want to let go of. So yeah, good luck putting down your fork. 

Those buttermilk biscuits made an appearance once again in the Pork Belly Benedict, this time cloaked in a thick, velvety hollandaise sauce, and paired with crispy pork belly and poached eggs. They were just as satisfying as before, and took on a completely different flavor experience when paired with smoky paprika, rich and salty pork belly, and the bright and slightly tangy hollandaise. This is not a dish for the faint of heart, however - "rich" doesn't even begin to describe it - but for a pork lover, this is the ultimate indulgence. 

No matter where you're from, the food at The Standing Room will make you feel comforted, like you're getting a little taste of home. Maybe it's all that love that Bakke puts into his recipes, with nods to his family and his hometown, or maybe it's that laid-back, summertime vibe that this place always seems to have. Either way, there's something special about a morning spent at The Standing Room, sipping coffee just steps from the beach, and sharing laughs over brunch with friends. 

The Standing Room
1320 Hermosa Ave.
Hermosa Beach, CA 90254

Baran's 2239 | Hermosa Beach, CA

One of the many unexpected quirks of Los Angeles is its penchant for strip malls. They're everywhere here; small ones and large ones, sometimes double-decker, usually U- or L-shaped, and always equipped with an inadequate amount of parking spaces. Sometimes, they hold the types of businesses you'd expect - dry cleaners, small bank branches, coffee shops - and then other times, they're home to some of the finest restaurants in the city. It remains a surprise to find out that the restaurant you've heard so much about is actually tucked in between a foot spa and a smoke shop, but this is not unheard of in Los Angeles, so you roll with it. And when you roll into Baran's 2239, you'll be glad you did. 

Its space is tiny - surprisingly so; it's a narrow room lined with tufted banquettes, with a long community table down the center. There’s a short bar at the back, where the regulars gather to nosh and chat with the staff. Its style is part gastropub, part industrial-chic, with a mirrored wall to reflect the light coming in from the large windows at the front. During the day, the vibe here is calm and mellow, and at night (when reservations are required, no matter the day of the week), it is warm and alive with conversation. The food that comes out of the kitchen in back is unexpected, creative, brave. This is a neighborhood joint at heart, but there is a strong point of view and a sense of élan that you might not expect. 

If you were to peek behind the swinging door to the kitchen, you'd find that Baran's 2239 is in many ways a family affair. Brothers Jonathan and Jason Baran named their first restaurant venture in honor of their family's historic restaurant, The Brotherton Farmhouse, which operated for fifty years at 2239 E. Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena. Meanwhile, Chef Tyler Gugliotta, an old friend of the Baran brothers and a South Bay native, sources much of his produce from Weiser Family Farms, owned by his aunt and uncle. It all adds up to a comfortable, familiar feeling when you walk in the door, and it's probably part of what makes Baran's 2239 so popular with the locals. 

Brunch is a new venture for the Baran's team, and when we visited on a recent Saturday morning, it seemed that word had not yet gotten out - though with such a tempting menu, it's bound to catch on fast. There are options for both a healthy, vegetable-centered brunch or a more sinful, decadent one, and of course, plenty of beers and cocktails if it's a boozy brunch you're after. We aimed for balance when we ordered - a straight shot through the middle with a mix of sweet and salty, heavy and light. It was just right. 

We started with a Daily Donut - a house-made donut with seasonally rotating flavor options. Ours was a chocolate coconut donut, filled with a luscious coconut mousse and topped with crunchy toasted coconut shavings. We loved the texture of the donut - it was denser than most, and able to stand up to the substantial toppings and filling. This was such a perfect way to start the meal - fun, flavorful, and surprisingly not too sweet. 

Next, we opted to try the granola with honey pepper yogurt, faro, and market fruit. The faro granola was super crunchy and had a satisfying hint of saltiness, which played nicely off the fresh fruit. Our favorite part of this dish was the honey pepper yogurt - it was creamy, savory, and sweet all at once, and not at all what you'd expect yogurt to taste like.  

With summer in full swing, California produce is at its peak, which means we're craving big, fresh salads all the time - so we couldn't resist ordering the Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad, which featured dates, pistachios, and a preserved lemon vinaigrette. The dressing was reminiscent of a Japanese Yuzu dressing, and it provided a nice tanginess to compliment the sweet dates. This is a simple, satisfying, refreshing dish that makes a great contrast to any heartier brunch dishes you might be indulging in. 

Finally, we ordered the Smoked Belly Hash, with potatoes, pepper relish, and sunny side up eggs - a standout dish. The potatoes were melt-in-your-mouth delicious, and paired perfectly with the smoky pork belly and the delicious runny eggs. We loved the slightly spicy sauce, which felt like a lively, uplifting way to round out such a rich and hearty dish. 

Baran's 2239 feels like a hidden gem, a burst of vitality in a sleepy little strip mall in a part of town you wouldn't expect. It's delicious, creative, and yet somehow comfortable - we can't wait to come back and see what they come up with next! 

Baran's 2239
502 Pacific Coast Hwy.
Hermosa Beach, CA 90254

Two Guns Espresso | Manhattan Beach, CA

There's something about the South Bay that's a little off-beat. It's quirky, charming, and provides a nice little respite from the daily grind of the city. In some ways, it doesn't feel like L.A. (the tight-knit friendly neighborhoods, the ease of parking), and in others, it fits in perfectly (fancy Grove-like outdoor mall, upscale beachy restaurants). So somehow, finding something as odd as a Western-themed strip mall doesn't seem all that surprising in Manhattan Beach. And finding an excellent, Instagram-worthy coffee shop inside? It's almost expected.

As you pull into the parking lot of Two Guns Espresso (yeah, like I said - parking is easy in the South Bay), you're greeted with a big sign reading, "how about a cup of Joe?" The answer is obviously yes, because the café has some serious appeal: there's a warm and welcoming feel with locals chatting outside, a handwritten menu detailing tempting breakfast options ranging from healthy to decadent, and cozy indoor or outdoor seating. The only thing that some might find off-putting is the cheeky little sign in the window reading "ain't no wifi." But these days, I think most of us find that kind of thing charming. 

It's interesting how "local" this has become - it's deeply rooted in the community through the owners' support of Manhattan Beach schools and organizations, and it's clearly a favorite haunt for the city's residents - given that its owners hail from faraway New Zealand. Founders Andrew "Stan" Stanisich and Craig Olson aimed to bring a taste of the New Zealand coffee scene to the South Bay when they opened in 2011, and by offering up their then-exotic (and ever-delicious) flat white, they succeeded with flying colors.

These days, the café serves up espresso drinks using their own blend of beans that was developed with Dillanos Coffee Roasters. Their huge, beautiful La Marzocco machine is in plain sight; you can watch the friendly baristas work their magic while you lean against the bar and bask in the glory of the enormous Dirty Harry portrait hanging in the corner. And good luck walking away without one of the mouthwatering treats piled high in the glass case - it took all the strength I had to keep from ordering all the donuts.

As tempting as the flat white and the donuts were, I stuck to the plan and ordered up my cappuccino. The house two-bean blend was described as having "dark chocolate sweetness with candied pecan and hints of dried fruit." While some of these flavors were present for me (particularly the candied pecans), the most prominent flavor in my cup was a roasted one - like a light char or burnt sugar. This is not to say it tasted burned - it had a very pleasant, toasty bitterness with a warm aftertaste. The flavor was complimented by a luxurious creaminess, likely a result of the top-notch Straus organic whole milk. This cup of joe was a delightful balance of flavor and texture, and featured some lovely latte art to boot. 

When it first opened, Two Guns Espresso was a beacon of hope for South Bay coffee enthusiasts, finally making it possible to find a great cup of joe in a town without a coffee scene. Today, even as the Los Angeles coffee culture explodes and great coffee becomes readily available, they remain the gold standard. And lucky for us all, Two Guns is rocking out at three locations - in addition to their original location in the quirky Western strip mall, you can also enjoy their brews at the end of the Manhattan Beach pier and at a cute little stand in Downtown L.A. And as Dirty Harry behind the cash register promises, it'll make your day. 

Two Guns Espresso - 350 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 7 in Manhattan Beach