RESTAURANT REVIEW: Plan Check Kitchen + Bar Downtown

1111 Wilshire Blvd. | Los Angeles, CA 90017 | 213-403-1616 | downtown@plancheck.com | Prices: $$

Four blocks from the Union Station metro stop, tucked under lofty apartments just off of the 110, Plan Check Kitchen + Bar opened its third neighborhood restaurant in Los Angeles, where I stopped for a late lunch last week.

Named for their flagship location, adjacent to the Building and Safety Department on Sawtelle Blvd, where architects, developers, designers and engineers come to have their plans reviewed for permitting, the downtown location keeps with the restaurant’s tradition of mixing vintage architectural office elements and industrial pieces, creating a warm, modern space.

Seated in a plush booth near the bar, with floor to ceiling windows open to the street, I snacked on an order of sweet and salty wasabi beer nuts and the pickled jalapeño escabeche, carrot and cauliflower appetizer while I perused the menu, noticing a lot of familiar favorites from previous visits to their other locations.

Though tempted by the bar’s extensive craft beer list, I was ultimately enticed by the Last Tango, a carefully mixed blend of gin, the French elderflower liqueur St. Germaine, freshly muddled strawberries and for an added kick – aged balsamic vinegar. It swirled together like a Thai iced coffee and the balsamic vinegar gave a little kick in the frothy top. I appreciated the unique combination, which I sipped slowly over the course of my meal.

The downtown location, which opened in late 2014, boasts a few exclusive items, like the neighborhood-inspired K-BBQ Burger with grilled porky belly, “kimcheese” and gochujang BBQ sauce. I went ahead with the Blueprint Burger; piled with smoked blue cheese, pig candy (their signature super-sweet bacon cooked in brown sugar), fried onions, roasted garlic steak sauce and peppercress.

It arrived plated on a small cast iron skillet and the first bite told me I had made the right choice. The saltiness of the blue cheese crumbles coupled with the aptly named pig candy had a knee-buckling rich flavor as satisfying as chocolate covered pretzels. Piled high with fixings and flavors, be prepared to commit to this burger – I was afraid to put it down for fear it would topple over (plus, it was so tasty)!

I ordered my burger with a side of skin-on russet French fries that were smoky and extra salty, and had me reaching for my water. I had fun with the four house-made dipping sauces – thick tomato ketchup, salt-and-pepper mayo, peach ketchup (would be great atop a scoop of vanilla ice cream) and sriracha-inspired hot sauce. Wanting to add a little heat to my burger, I added a bit of my leftover pickled jalapeño escabeche. Perfect!

Not wanting to miss out on another downtown-only menu item, I ordered the Spicy Tuna Salad, served room temperature. Puffed rice, crispy yellow frisee and avocado are tossed in sriracha vinaigrette, giving it a Korean-style fermented flavor. A generous portion of seared ahi tuna is garnished with black radish, nori and garlic flowers. There salad had a lot of heat from the dressing – which I normally love – but between the overtly vinegar flavor, crunchy rice and greens, paired with tuna I found much too soft, this salad was a texture medley I won’t order again. Plan Check is a burger haven – and I’ll be back for that.

While having my leftovers packaged into earth-friendly paper to-go boxes, I talked myself into ordering the Cruller Donuts for a sweet finish to a savory lunch. When a restaurant offers one and only one option for dessert (aside from their soda float) it is usually for a really delicious reason. And it was! Cooked to order, the hot, flaky donuts were reminiscent of a county fair funnel cake. Served with decadent pastry cream, diced bananas  (I passed on the vanilla ice cream) and dusted with cinnamon sugar – there is plenty here to share, but only if you want to.

Open daily at 11 a.m., Plan Check Downtown offers a worthwhile happy hour weekdays from 3-6 p.m.