Mickey T.
Yelp
NOTE: Dined in on 7/7/24. Right at the boathouse in Echo Park. In fact, when you get off of your lil swan boat, you're in the cafe!
I love the concept of piknik - easy to order off of the tablets or online, all of the food can be enjoyed at some tables/outdoor bar-style seating. If you have any questions, the staff is super friendly, so you have the best of both worlds of choosing to interact with people or just... not haha. They even sell picnic blankets to match the theme/name of the cafe and they're working on obtaining an alcohol license to offer a more intimate dinner experience in the future. Makes sense, as they're currently open to 11pm and that is pretty late for a cozy little spot in Echo Park!
The menu contains mostly Scandinavian-influenced brunch items, which is a pleasant surprise as we don't have many places that offer that (destroyer being the most notable spot I can think of). I opted for the gouda bombs, lemon crinkle cookie, and strawberry madeline on a very toasty Sunday. Probably should've tried one of their drinks as well, but maybe next time!
Gouda bombs - their version of pao de queijo aka Brazilian cheese bread. If you're unfamiliar with what that is, it's basically a crunchy fried outer layer of crust, with tapioca and cheese mixed together inside to create this somewhat gooey, pleasantly chewy interior. It's one of my favorite snacks, so I had high hopes for this. Unfortunately, the outside wasn't particularly crunchy and the smoked gouda isn't the best fit for the filling here. Gouda is pretty strong in terms of flavor, and normally I love it, but I feel like it's almost a little too savory/salty for pao de queijo. Perhaps if the smokiness came out a bit more, but it was too subtle to balance things out. It comes with a (cheese?) dip, which is puzzling because I'd like to dip it in something that mellows the gouda a bit, not make the entire experience even MORE cheesy. Not sure if I'd get this again, but maybe I'll try the sandwich version of this that they have.
Lemon crinkle cookie - This is one of the best cookies I've had in a while. Beautiful slight crunch on the outside, soft with a satisfying bite/chew on the inside, powdered sugar doesn't make it too sweet because the lemon flavor balances it out. I wish I got more of these and I'll definitely grab at least one every time I'm here. This is a must try!
Strawberry madeline - Served cold, which is good. Definitely needs to be eaten right away. Nothing too special about this, though. It's a serviceable madeline, but it kinda tastes like a firmer angel's food cake with strawberry preserves/jam as filling. I would prefer more of the strawberry filling, as well. It's a very thin layer in there. Probably wouldn't get again.
I'd love to come back to try their other offerings, but for now, I highly recommend going there and getting the lemon crinkle cookies. I'd honestly give this experience a 3.5/5, but I'm rounding up because those darn cookies are just THAT good.