Restaurant: Atwater Crossing Kitchen
Location: 3245 Casitas Ave. (Atwater Village)
Type of restaurant: New American/ Pizza
We stipulated: We were looking for a new spot to ride our bikes to, and Maria had recently visited Atwater Crossing. We wanted something casual and kid-friendly for a Saturday night, and Atwater Crossing Kitchen delivered.
They stipulated: Breakfast is served from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., while flatbreads are served all day. Wi-fi is available as well.
What we ordered: Funghi wood-fired flatbread (wood oven roasted mushrooms, Fontina cheese,on site herbs; $10.50); Rustica flatbread (crispy pepperoni, fresh mozzarella, San Marzano tomato sauce, $11); sesame ginger kale salad (currant, pumpkin seeds, apple vinaigrette served on a bed of leafy greens, with salmon; $8.50)
High point: The entire experience, from the friendly waiter to the excellent flatbread, was fantastic. But most importantly, it was a great place to bring the kids. Plenty of room for them to run around next to, but separate from, the dining area. The adjacent train tracks didn't hurt, although no train passed by when we were there. It'salso a big enough space that Glendale High Class of 2002 was holding a reunion event in the bar area, but we had room to spread out in the mostly empty dining area. Also, the salad was great, but the expertly cooked salmon made it even better.
Low point: I do wish the menu was a bit more diverse; the restaurant promises an "ever-evolving backboard menu," but if there was one, we didn't see it.
Overall impression: Located next to the tracks in an industrial portion of Atwater Village. It gives it an added hole-in-the-wall (but really BIG hole-in-the-wall), "special-find" feeling
Chance we'll go back: Hopefully we'll be back, although I'm now concerned about rumors that Atwater Village Crossing has new owners. Could it be that we hit the restaurant right before it flipped into something different? Stay tuned.
