Gold Dig #19

Gjusta is by the owners of the ever-popular Gjelina. Both regularly make appearances on Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list, but Gjusta is an affordable spot to stop off for lunch, whereas Gjelina is a place I plan to one day go to when I have a special occasion. In oh-so-LA fashion, Gjusta doesn’t have a sign. You just notice lots of people going in and out of an unmarked wooden door. Once you venture in to find out what’s going on in there, you discover that there’s pretty much no seating inside. There’s a small standup counter area near the back, but if you go out the rather wide wooden back door there is a very cute patio seating area that’s serviceable most of the year in sunny southern California.

The Dish

When you enter Gjusta, you are confronted with a seemingly neverending series of glass cases filled with baked goods, cheeses, cured meats and smoked fish, salads, and pizzas. Everything looks incredible, and you have plenty of time to peruse your options as you grab a ticket and then wait for your number to be called. The sandwiches and some of the baked goods are listed on their menu, but many more items are on display that don’t appear to be listed anywhere. There is also a coffee counter, though be warned that they don’t serve decaf!

Burrata Peach Prosciutto Toast

At breakfast time, they have a section of the glass case dedicated to toasts that seem designed to tempt you. We were going to order from the menu, when this stunning Burrata, peach, and prosciutto toast drew us in. The peach was wonderfully sweet on the creamy Burrata, and contrasted nicely with the salty prosciutto.

Bialy Egg

At $8, the Bialy Egg is one of Gjusta’s cheapest breakfast items, though frankly I’m not sure why because the merguez sausage with egg, Gruyere, arugula, and harissa on a fantastic poppy and onion bialy certainly aren’t any lesser ingredients than their other offerings. I keep thinking it’s a misprint that they’ve yet to discover, and I hope they never will. They fry the egg so the yolk mixes nicely with the harissa and runs all through the wonderfully spiced lamb sausage. Best deal on the menu.

Heirloom Tomato Madame

Egg, tomato, cheese, and mornay sauce on sourdough sounds pretty simple, but the high quality ingredients make this great. I can’t say enough about their bread, and it goes so well with the cheesy sauce and pop of fresh tomato acidity.

Baklava Croissant

It is almost impossible to choose from the multitude of noshes that await you. Decision paralysis starts to set in! Luckily there are a couple items that everyone seems to talk about. The Baklava Croissant is one of those. A croissant layered with baklava filling. Genius. Because this is just a good idea. It tastes as good as it sounds.

Porchetta Melt

Gjusta is also known for its great bread. Especially when used to make the Porchetta Melt. The toasted bread has a nice crunch on the outside and is beautifully soft inside. The porchetta and fontina are rich, but cut nicely with rapini and onions. It’s a solid sandwich.

Sunchoke Salad and Roasted Carrot Salad

Salads are nowhere to be found on the menu, but there are quite a few offerings in the display case. I was glad to have salad to accompany the Porchetta Melt. They have Small or Medium plates for salad. Even with the Small plate you can get two salads, so that’s what we opted for. We went with the Sunchokes (also known as Jerusalem Artichokes) and the Roasted Carrots. The Sunchokes are a winner! I could have happily eaten a whole plate of those. The Roasted Carrots had a dressing of yogurt and Middle Eastern spices. It was tasty, though uneven with some spots almost too overpowering.

Chicken Pot Pie

Because there is an abundance of dishes and we wanted to try more, we also got the Chicken Pot Pie. I love pot pie. Actually I love all pie, but pot pie is no exception. You can’t go wrong with filling in a flaky buttery crust, and I can go for both savory and sweet. The crust on this Chicken Pot Pie looked super flaky when we cut into it, but tasted only moderately as flaky as appearances indicated. And sadly, it was pretty skimpy on the filling. I was a bit bummed to have to hunt around for chicken chunks. The filling did however have a nice robust wine flavor.

Miso Date Cookie

I have to finish off with something sweet, so went back in to scope out the cookies. The Miso Date Cookie didn’t sound like something I could get elsewhere, so I went for it. I was mildly disappointed that the flavor wasn’t particularly unique. I wouldn’t have known it was miso date without the label.

Want to see us fall in love with the baklava croissant? Check out the video here!