Cognoscenti Coffee

Los Angeles!

After a fairly inauspicious start involving me going mildly apeshit at a 7-Eleven worker and making a bunch of new friends in the process, my first day in the city had important business on the agenda aside from food, for a change.

I needed to buy a winter coat ahead of my journey to New York in a few days time and wanted to take advantage of the Black Friday deals. I headed to Macy’s and did the needful in no time at all. This ensured I would not be found frozen to death in Central Park wearing one of my now famous Hawaiian shirts and a pair of shorts.

With that business transacted it was on to coffee and breakfast as the next priority. I headed to Cognoscenti Coffee on South Olive which looked a likely spot.

I sampled an excellent espresso with good citrus brightness and a smooth finish. I also ordered something called egg in the hole, all-in.

The all-in part was the addition of avocado and bacon to the egg in the hole, which was a soft poached egg in the middle of a slice of toast. The dish was accompanied by simply dressed rocket leaves.

It proved a very satisfying eat. Two generous scoops of avocado were topped with a couple of rashers of nicely crisped bacon. The egg yolk was suitably runny and the door-stop toast was of good quality. It was an enjoyable way to start the day’s eating.

Overall, Cognoscenti looks a very good place for coffee and breakfast goodies. It’s pretty handy for where I’m staying in town so it’s not out of the realms of possibility that I might be back for another visit. I’d be more than delighted if this turns out to be the case.

Scores
Blythe scores Cognoscenti
4/5 for food
4/5 for presentation
4/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 16/20

I ate: eggs in the hole all-in

I drank: espresso

I wore: linens

Total bill: $16.55

Address: 868 South Olive Street, Downtown, Los Angeles