Acclaimed LA Chef Brandon Kida Opened Lost Property in Palm Springs | Eater LA
"Opening just ahead of high season, this new restaurant and bar sits on the ground floor of the Skylark Hotel, a midcentury property built in 1956 by architect Howard Lapham and purchased by hotelier Amitesh Damudar in October 2016 (Damudar also owns the retro-chic Tangerine hotel in Burbank). It has been quietly open since September as the second outpost of the brand Williams launched in Hollywood in 2014; Williams recently flipped the original location into a vinyl bar. Brandon Kida and barman Rhino Williams are the duo behind the operation; Kida and Williams previously worked together at Hinoki & the Bird and Gunsmoke. "Rhino and I have worked on projects over the years and are great friends," Kida tells Eater. "When the opportunity to collaborate with him on a new space at the Skylark came up, I jumped at the chance." Kida is not cooking on-site daily but will travel to Palm Springs frequently to "fine-tune the menu," he says. The compact 700-square-foot space seats 55 across indoor and outdoor areas, offering a pure vacation vibe — from velvet high-back stools along a butcher-block bar to outdoor seating overlooking sky-high palm trees. The dining room is open daily for breakfast and lunch and serves dinner on Fridays and Saturdays beginning at 5 p.m.; general hours are daily 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Morning highlights include breakfast sandwiches layered with fennel sausage, egg, and cheddar on a Martin's potato bun and Parmesan baked eggs with Gruyere, bacon, and chives, plus pulled espresso drinks. Lunch and dinner overlap with plush bao slicked with lemon aioli and stuffed with crispy maitake mushrooms and cabbage slaw; a selection of tinned seafood served with housemade accouterments like onion dip, chimichurri, pickled red onions, and crostini; and a Maine lobster roll. Williams's cocktail program swings between classic and inventive: find a Singapore Sling made with gin, benedictine, Grand Marnier, cherry Heering, bitters, and pineapple and lemon juices under the Coolers section, while the Colorado Bulldog — vodka, Kahlua, Coke, and half and half — is one of nine Arousers on an extensive menu." - Cathy Chaplin
