Sqirl - Los Angeles

[moonboy403]

It’s odd but I couldn’t find any topics on Sqirl? Anyway, we have one now!

To sum it up, I’m sold on Sqirl despite my fear of their items being too vegetarian and vegan friendly (reads healthy). The few things I tried seem to reflect an overall emphasis on fresh ingredients, variation in textures, and solid executions. I’ll definitely be back to try out other items as well as their pastries.

Long lines? Nope…not when I walked in around 3PM.

famed ricotta toast | brioche toast, house whipped ricotta, rainbow seasonal jam of strawberry-rhubarb, quince, and black and blueberry
Great balance between the nuttiness from the toast, mild saltiness from the pillow-y light ricotta, and sweetness from the various delicious house-made jam.

sorrel pesto rice | kokuho rose brown rice, sorrel pesto, preserved meyer lemon, lacto-fermented hot sauce, watermelon radish, french sheep feta, poached egg
After mixing in all ingredients, this dish strangely reminds me of a ceviche where bright acidity is tempered with aggressive seasoning and a touch of heat. I can potentially see that someone saying that there’s too much acid but it’s oddly satisfying and refreshing to my palate especially with the rice texture having just the right amount of chew.

crispy rice salad (disco upgrade) | kokuho rose brown rice, mint, cilantro, cucumber, scallion, lacto-fermented hot sauce, fried egg, avocado, mixed greens, sausage
This is another take on rice by Chef Koslow. The rice, again taking on piquant flavors, has a Rice Krispies-like texture with plenty of crunch while the assortment of mixed greens and cucumber echoing that crunch with their snappy textures. Finally the mildly savory sausage bits act as a crucial counterpoint to keep this dish from being too acidic.

Nicely done. Texture city.

buckwheat pancake | buckwheat & cactus flour, cocoa nibs pudding, toasted coconut, strawberry, cherry, blackberry
The pancake has a decently moist center with very nicely crisped up edges to go with the excellent chopped berries. On the other hand, buckwheat flour’s hint of nuttiness comes through but why use cactus flour? I have no idea…I don’t care for the mixed flour’s somewhat gritty texture though.

Sqirl
720 N Virgil Ave, Ste 4
Los Angeles, CA 90029

[JeetKuneBao]

I like the toast!!

The Sorrel Bowl…not so much, really unbalanced imo way to tart

I don’t know what else is good there besides the toast

[moonboy403]

@JeetKuneBao

way to tart

Hence my disclaimer! I kept thinking that it’s tart too while I was eating, but I kept going back for more since the heavy seasoning somewhat countered it.

@JeetKuneBao

what else is good

Have you tried the crispy rice?

I need more recs so I know what to get next time besides the chicken porridge.

[frommtron]

Soooo . . . I’m actually a huge fan of the food at Sqirl. And while I’ve dealt with some line waiting on some visits, it’s never been unbearable.

BUT . . . seeing this thread, I need to share the story of my last visit in April.

General manager and I have the day without the kiddo so we decide to do Sqirl for lunch. Get there, very short line and I got a close parking spot.
Get in line and the special reads as actually something special.
We get a nice shady table.
We get our drinks fairly quickly and the flat tot not too long after (flat tot was . . . okay as it was way too saturated with butter).

Aaaaaaaaaaand we wait. Aaaaaaaaaand wait. Aaaaaaaaaand wait. Too many tables that arrived after us are eating, so I check in. I’m assured all is well and they are on it.

5 minutes later, my wife’s dish is placed on the table while server literally pivots and starts walking away as she’s dropping the food off. Hmmmm.

Aaaaaaaand I wait. Aaaaaaaaand I wait.
So I check in again. We are approaching one hour after ordering. Manager/expediter assures me that everything is fine. Smiles and says, “Why don’t you have a seat and we’ll take care of everything.” Okayfine.

10 minutes later, I get up and approach the staff again. I’m getting . . . less serene. I ask them to tell me if the dish has even been fired yet? They claimed something happened with the dish, but assured me the dish was almost ready. I legitimately need to go soon at this point.

The manager comes to the table to ask if she can get me a dessert or something. Or another coffee. Which, fine, I get it. That’s a gesture. But I’ve had the coffee and offering a dessert before my dish is a little weird. Also, do they really have “desserts.” I wait and contemplate the zen koan: if a customer orders food but never gets the food is he really a customer.

I finally get up after another 10 minutes. I’m dying. I don’t eat breakfast so for me I’ve been fasting for about 17-18 hours at this point. I say, “Look. I just can’t do whatever this is anymore.” The cook comes out (this is no chef). He explains that he has been working hard on the special for me. He’s actually fired it two times and the results were not to his satisfaction so he’s cooking it a third time. He feels he’s got it this time.

I. Shit. You. Not.

My dude. Cannot cook. The special. Cannot do it. Can’t. This shit has NEVER happened to me.

I say I need to go and I need my money back. I’m told, the dish is ready! At this point, my shit has been irrevocably lost but I am calm. I tell the cook in as polite a way as possible that it’s profoundly uncool to 1) offer a dish you can’t cook and 2) make a customer wait while you figure it out. I let the manager know it was downright inhospitable to leave a customer twisting in the wind like that and that I felt deceived. Offer me the option to order another dish that the kitchen can execute. I told them there would be no way I could enjoy the dish after all this sturm und drang. They comped me the full meal, but offered nothing more. I left hangry.

Now I look back and find the whole failure so hilarious. I mean, amateur hour doesn’t begin to describe this!

I’ve had a half dozen or so solid to excellent experiences at Sqirl, so I know one day I’ll be back. But I’m not sure when.

[PorkyBelly]

@frommtron

if a customer orders food but never gets the food is he really a customer.

That makes you the waiter.

I need to know what this uncookable special was.

[moonboy403]

Dang. I’ll be piss too! Just like my Mott 32 experience where I paid extra for them to cook the peking duck carcass that I already paid for…but out came an inedible dish with meat that’s dry beyond belief. I told my server that it’s inedible but he told me he can’t do anything about it and didn’t take it off my bill so I stiffed him on tips…

What was this special that you ordered?

[frommtron]

Honestly, fuck if I can remember at this point.
I do know they had two specials with different names, but identical descriptions. I brought that up to the cashier and he found the correct descriptions. The last one sounded so good I changed what I was going to order to that.

I want to say it involved lamb kibbeh. Maybe. I feel like part of my astral being is still waiting there.

[moonboy403]

@frommtron

involved lamb kibbeh

@PorkyBelly time for you to do some research onsite for the love of FTC

[frommtron]

Hey! Tell me if and when you go! I feel like I need this dish now. It’s like I know all about the sunken cost fallacy . . . and I don’t care. Now I need this.

Also @JeetKuneBao, I like their savory porridge dish. My issue with the very famous sorrel rice bowl is actually the texture of the rice. Somehow, it has an Uncle Ben’s converted rice vibe to it. Like @moonboy403, I like the flavors despite them being unbalanced.

[robert]

You like porridge, go to Nightshade.

[frommtron]

That does look good!
The Sqirl porridge is also very good and the flavors are inspired by a totally different region of Asia.
Still need to do porridge + puffs.

[aaqjr]

Actually just went myself for the first time last week. I went during the week at about 1130 and the wait was 15 20 min. Really not too bad.

I feel like I didn’t order properly or should have gone in a group. Got the Crispy rice salad, disco style as well. Felt it was good, but not at the level of Night+Market’s version. In comparison it felt a bit greasy and I got bored of it half way through.

Had similar problems with grease with the flat tot’s very disappointing. Willing to admit maybe I chose poorly and give it another chance.

[tartlet]

I lived near Sqirl for two years so I went there a lot. My heavy rotation: their breakfast sandwich (always choose the optional halloumi!), the sorrel rice w/bacon side, which is very thick and crispy (I love fermented stuff so it’s not too sour for my taste), and the crispy rice. If you go with a non-experimental friend (or you yourself like to play it safe), you can’t go wrong with the breakfast sandwich. Yum! All the way.

[moonboy403]

Not sure if it’s legit or not:

Update on 7/13: Jessica Koslow admits that moldy jam’s real.

https://www.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/comments/hq21ni/sqirl_restaurant_had_mold_growing_on_jams_in_a/

Accusations.

Sqirl’s response.

@matthewkang @euno Is Eater going to do any investigative reporting on this moldy sitch or Jessica Koslow’s alleged mistreatment of her former employees?

[js76wisco]

The picture of the bucket of jam is disgusting

[attran99]

I guess I can say that I’m glad I’ve never been there.

[aaqjr]

What was sqrl’s response for those of us not on reddit anyone know? That picture is pretty disgusting.

That’s a real indictment on the leadership of that restaurant from ownership to the Chefs. Especially if it was going on for years

[Jase]

Here’s what they posted

SQIRL Response on Twitter

[hungryhungryhippos]

Wowww these allegations are pretty damning if true check out joe rosenthals insta

Lots of documenting and screen shots

https://instagram.com/joe_rosenthal?igshid=1hy2mjmhiemq9

[hppzz]

Also Not just about the mold either. Her treatment of her staff (hiding them in the secret jam room) and her former cdc…

Clipped his last choice quote by mistake: “koslow is the trump of the cooking world”