Don’t believe Jordan Kahn when he describes his new L.A. restaurant, Destroyer, as “just a breakfast and lunch, community-centered cafe.” The Hayden Tract place — named for the comet that is thought to have ended the earth’s Cretaceous period — is disrupting a golden rule, offering ambitious food that wouldn’t look out of place at the French Laundry (where Kahn trained as a pastry chef) at prices that top out at $15. The approach might be humble — counter service and biodegradable plastic utensils — but the reviews have been grand, with Los Angeles Times critic Jonathan Gold proclaiming the food “the best plant-centered cooking in Los Angeles right now.” Influenced by Copenhagen’s beloved Atelier September and the Japanese attitude that there is no such thing as casual dining, Kahn and his staff apply the same seriousness to toast and jam as they do to a dish of sunchoke, walnut and egg yolk. “It’s hard for me to make a sloppy sandwich,” Kahn says.
From “Fine Dining is Toast” by Mary Kaye Schilling for New York Times T Magazine; Photo by Curtis Pickrell
