RESTAURANT REVIEW: Nighthawk—Breakfast Bar

417 Washington Blvd.

Venice, CA 90292

323-507-2301

nighthawkrestaurants.com

Price: $$

By MICHAEL AUSHENKER | Contributing Writer

The name should have been a tip-off.

Perhaps borrowing its moniker from Edward Hopper’s most iconic (and most parodied) painting, “Nighthawks,” this new restaurant exhibits a playfulness before you even enter through its front doors.

Well, as the other part of this eatery’s name suggests, Nighthawk is a high-concept affair with the central motif of restaurateur Jeremy Fall’s creation being “breakfast.”

So what exactly does that entail? Plenty.

Tapping a bit into nostalgia, there are many layers at work here. Creativity reigns within the menu as former Spago employee Chef Greg Schroeppel goes for as broke as one of his duck eggs with entrees such as Bacon Sausage Scotch Egg ($12), a nice big brown bulb with a soft-boiled egg at its core, served with house-made bacon sausage, cilantro pesto, red pepper vinaigrette and a soft-boiled egg; and an excellent pair of duck-based dishes: Duck, Duck Goose ($22), a scramble of duck eggs, foie gras, mushrooms and duck-porcini jus with a house-made Whistle Pig blackberry jelly toast; and my favorite of the two, Purple Haze ($16), which—under the smile-inducing handle of a substantial 1967 Jimi Hendrix hit—delivers a duck confit with purple potato hash, duck egg, scallions and peppadew habanero relish that tastes about as wild and idiosyncratic as the late guitar-master’s electric fret-work.

Also interesting: “Benedict” Fries ($12), a pile of French fries covered in pit smoked ham, peppadew peppers and raclette cheese, made extra-spicy by a smoked paprika Hollandaise sauce and made extra colorful by a sunny side egg on top. Despite having a low tolerance for spicy stuff, I really enjoyed this meal-proportioned side order.

Nothing beats Chicken & Biscuits ($15), two bright, cheerful blobs of buttermilk fried chicken, sandwiched within chive biscuits, with white cheddar, Aleppo peppers and bacon sausage gravy poured all over it. I’m only a moderate consumer of chicken but I truly found this entrée irresistible: the fried chicken does not taste deep-fried but moist and flavorful and cooked just right.

Technically, no dessert is offered here; so many of the breakfast-esque menu items will inherently sate your sweet tooth. What’s interesting, though, is just how understated and not sickeningly sweet the Drunken French Toast ($14) meal is, despite its stack of Challah bread soaked in pear brandy and pear compote with a mascarpone mouse and adorned with the requisite powdered sugar and maple syrup.

But that bar though. Wow. If Hopper were alive and a drinking man, the painter would no doubt be at this bar counter every other night when mixologist Stefani Davis appears as cheerful and as attractive as her craft cocktail creations—such as the Slushy Mary ($14), her twist on the Bloody Mary with vodka, house-made tomato juice, a pepper and spice blend, and celery ice cubes—and Tang Mimosa ($11), a thin flume of a concoction of hand-crafted orange curacao and, you guessed it, astronaut juice.

Of the $14 sugary breakfast cereal-based drinks (categorized under Spiked Cereal Milk), which include Fruit Loops & Gin and Reese’s Puffs and Cognac, I opted for my personal nostalgic favorite, Honey Nut Cheerios, here paired with bourbon in a kind of dairy bottle. Of the sickeningly sweet beverages here, my favorite is one of the Boozy Floats ($12), made of Aperol Vanilla with orange soda. Basically, it’s the alcoholic version of an Orange Push-Up and visually, as thick, creamy and colorful as a Wayne Thiebaud painting.

These kitschy drinks aside, I would most definitely order the Irish Coffee ($12) again—a dark, smooth mix of Powers Irish whiskey, La Colombe dark roast, muscovado and whipped Irish cream.

At Nighthawk, you will also find vestiges of the Vietnamese restaurant that used to exist in this spot, Le Cellier MdR: a braised pork belly-based Bahn Mi Bowl with a sunny side up egg ($15) and my favorite drink here, Vietnamese Iced Coffee ($12), an edgy, spiced rum-soaked version of the popular coffee-and-coconut-milk concoction you’ll find at your favorite pho spot.

Visually, Nighthawk is nothing Angelenos haven’t seen before: ultra-sleek, black décor, with a counter table running down the middle. However, atmosphere-wise, this place is fun, with owner Fall curating the music selection via his personal playlist: a flurry of vintage 1980s Def Jam acts.

Within weeks, Fall will open two other postmodern eateries on the Eastside: a Highland Park deli called Tinfoil Liquor & Grocery and the Chinatown burger hole Easy’s. If Nighthawk: Breakfast Bar is any indication, those restaurants will be well worth the traffic-hassle east, if only to sample Fall’s creativity at work.