Oct 2009

Rush Street – Los Angeles (Culver City)

Brunch is a meal that I often claim to love, but when it comes to actually getting out to experience it, staying up late the night before and lazing the day away always seems to win out. Not to mention that the brunching options in my neighborhood are mediocre at best. Now, if I lived down the street from Ad Hoc or AMMO, that’d be a different story. An invitation to scope out the “Ultimate Hangover” brunch with brats, beers, and boisterous bloggers at Culver City’s Rush Street was just the incentive I needed to get me back to brunching. Oh, and promises of bottomless mimosas too!

Inspired by the famous Chicago strip, Rush Street combines California style with Midwestern sensibilities. The spacious restaurant boasts two floors, two bars, two patios, and one very inviting stripper pole. The vibe here is fun, unpretentious, and welcoming.

Rush Street is also the unofficial meet-up location for fans of Chicago’s professional and collegiate sports teams. On the Saturday morning that we visited, Northwestern alums dressed up in all sorts of purple regalia were cheering on their team in the second floor lounge. Seeing nerdy Northwestern kids getting hyped up about football kind of made me wish that Swarthmore hadn’t canceled it after my freshman year. Wah wah.

Every Saturday and Sunday Rush Street offers a crowd-pleasing brunch menu from 9 AM to 3 PM. Endless mimosas can be had for $20 ($7 for one), while bottomless build-your-own Bloody Marys go for $20 ($10 for one). The DIY Bloody Mary station included a selection of gourmet olives and pickled vegetables, ten kinds of hot sauces, three kinds of tomato juices, and traditional seasonings and garnishes. Both The Astronomer and I went with flutes of fizzy mimosa.

As we sipped our beverages on the front patio, we dug into some of the finest spuds in town—from left to right—sweet potato fries ($7), truffle asiago fries ($7), and barbecue dusted tater tots ($7). The truffle-infused shoestrings were moreish to the extreme.

For the next part of the Rush Street brunch experience, our group moved into the main dining room. The Astronomer and I teamed up with Anjali of Delicious Coma to share our entrees in order to experience as much of the menu as possible.

Anjali’s cinnamon pecan Belgian waffles ($12) arrived doused in maple syrup and whipped cream. By the time I got around to sampling it, the copious amounts of cream and syrup had taken their toll; the once crisped-edged and chewy waffle had transformed into a sponge. Syrup on the side, please.

The Astronomer’s caramelized onion, pancetta, fig, and goat cheese pizza ($12) sounded promising, but it ended up tasting too sweet. I loved the combination of flavors on the pie, but the ratios of each ingredient needed to be slightly tweaked with stronger savory notes.

Anjali and I agreed that the fried egg sandwich ($11) was the best item of the morning. Smothered between two slices of toasted Parmesan crusted sourdough, the fried eggs mingled harmoniously with three kinds of melted cheese, pancetta, and tomatoes. A simple dish done very well.

Psst! This post has a secret song.

Rush Street
9546 Washington Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
Phone: 310-837-9546

Rush Street on Urbanspoon

Rush Street in Los Angeles

After we finished brunching at Rush Street, The Astronomer and I walked over to the Museum of Jurassic Technology since it was only a few blocks away. We couldn’t quite figure out what the heck “Jurassic technology” meant, but we did enjoy some strange and creepy exhibits on cat’s cradle, old wives tales, and mice on toast. Here’s what we saw:

Chess pieces and letters.

Formations.

Gang signs.

Something scientific.

Mice on toast and mouse pie.

A man, an animal, a hologram.

Hairy human horn.

Museum of Jurassic Technology
9341 Venice Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
Phone: 310-836-6131

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10 thoughts on “Rush Street – Los Angeles (Culver City)

  1. When I was at UCLA, I used to live near the Museum of Jurassic Technology and always thought it was a creepy dinosaur museum. Now I know that it’s just plain creepy.

    Thanks for posting on Rush Street. I won a GC for their brunch at Blogger Prom from there and have yet to go–now I know what to order! 🙂

  2. Truffle and asiago sounds like a winning combo! I’ve had caramelized onion pizza and thought it was too sweet also! Museum of Jurassic Technology: I will skip when I come to LA!

  3. The problem with scrolling through quickly and not actually reading is that you end up thinking that Rush Street serves mice.

    Not that this happened to me or anything.

  4. I have yet to enjoy anything with carmelized onions. I think they’re almost always too sweet. But hope springs eternal: I keep ordering!

    Those potato baskets look amazing, though. and the atmosphere sounds really enjoyable for brunch. Might have to pencil this one into our January plans (if I’m not already in Rosemead gorging on dim sum…)

  5. wow, fancy tatertots and bottomless beverages… and outside patio dining too! Looks great, but gastronomer, I’m left mostly with the visual of mice on toast…

  6. What’s the secret song?? Tell me tell me

    The brunch look ok (though endless mimosa is tempting) but the museum definitely seems like it’s worth a visit. Though agreed, that mice on toast is disturbing.

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