City Kitchen Café Serves BLD in NoHo Arts District

The NoHo Arts District continues to diversify in terms of eateries, but there still aren’t too many where it’s possible to grab a meal at any time of day. City Kitchen Café—open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week—helps fill that void. The owners, who run Peperone Cafe in Hollywood and a pair of downtown restaurants, brought in a former chef from legendary Musso & Frank Grill to lead the kitchen.

Breakfast involves a variety of omelettes, pancakes and waffles, plus heartier plates like ribeye with eggs and hash browns, and huevos rancheros with black beans and sour cream.

In addition to standard lunch fare like salads and sandwiches, the menu includes a goat cheese and arugula salad with roasted beets, lemon vinaigrette and pumpkin seeds; a chorizo burger with avocado, chipotle mayo, egg, lettuce, tomato and pepper Jack cheese; and a towering “Super Club” sandwich with smoked turkey breast, ham, applewood bacon, Provolone cheese, avocado, mayo, lettuce and tomato served on a La Brea Bakery French roll and served with a choice of sides.

Dinner leans toward Italian, which makes sense given the chef’s recent background; he previously worked at Delancey in Hollywood. Seafood pasta teams spaghetti with clams, calamari and shrimp in spicy tomato, basil and garlic sauce. Other popular options include potato gnocchi with wild boar; spaghetti with tomato sauce and house-baked meatballs; and chicken Parmigiana served with penne marinara.

City Kitchen Cafe also features an assortment of coffee drinks, fresh-squeezed orange juice and three different milkshakes: chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. Anyone for pancakes and a shake for breakfast? Why not?

The glass-fronted restaurant on car-free NoHo Plaza features white and yellow walls lined with black-and-white photos of bygone L.A. moments, including the Santa Monica Pier (1925), Hollywood & Highland (1937) and people in line to watch the original Star Wars (1977). These images—and City Kitchen Cafe’s comfort food—are fun reminders that while change is part of the game, some things are timeless.

5225 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, 818-853-7065