Breakfast Pick Of The Week: Cult On The Corner

Vietnamese-born chef Kim Vu is putting her own spin on classic L.A. dishes at Peter Trinh’s new corner cafe, Cult, on the Santa Monica Promenade as an homage to the city’s chefs, trends and cult favorite dishes.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a full bar featuring the team behind neighboring Lanea, including Connor McRaith, Cult has a versatile breakfast menu that works for dine in or on the dash.

One of three breakfast sandwiches, Vu’s green eggs and spam is a manageable Eggslut inspiration, with seared spam, pesto dressed arugula, avocado and soft scrambled eggs, on a warm brioche bun.

Turmeric vanilla chia seed “yogurt” with Meyer lemon compote (Michele Stueven)

Three is also the magic number for the French toast selection, which includes a classic version as well as one with lemon compote, saigon cinnamon, driscoll blueberries, and fresh cream and another with tamarind butter, toasted sesame, five spice maple syrup, sweetened condensed milk topped with almonds.

And speaking of toast, Vu’s interpretation of the California classic avocado tartine comes with caramelized onion, blistered tomato, blue cheese crumble and chipotle aioli as well as a Greek version topped with cucumbers, tomatoes, olives and feta.

The sensible grab-and-go breakfast selections are delightful, especially the vegan turmeric vanilla chia seed “yogurt” made with Meyer lemon compote and topped with crushed almonds as well as the almond joy overnight oats, with shredded coconut, dark chocolate chips, honey and almonds. That latter will keep you full for most of the day.

Assorted homemade croissants, muffins, cookies, scones and weekly special bread puddings are available all day and Cult’s exciting coffee program is led by Lena Enriquez (try the lavender latte).