Queuing Up for Authentic Food

At the Authentic Cafe on Beverly Boulevard there is always a line of people standing on the sidewalk waiting to eat. The line is there so often--too often to be real--that you think the people must be hired extras in one of those street-side movie sets that pop up so regularly in this town.

The Authentic has already expanded once--to no avail; the line remains the same. Now the cafe has spun itself off. A few doors down from the original is an Authentic annex of sorts called the Homemade Kitchen and Bakery. Amy Pressman from Pasadena’s Old Town Bakery has joined the Authentic Cafe partners, and for the moment, tables are easy to get.

So far the place serves breakfast and lunch only; at night you can walk in and buy a brownie or a scone. (Dinners are scheduled to begin in a couple of weeks.)

The cooks here try to be cute and homey--you can order Toad in the Hole in the morning, for instance. But don’t get the idea that this is a down-home cafe. Pizzas are served with pancetta and braised fennel. Reggiano and fontina cheese shows up in a lot of the dishes. And at breakfast you encounter the menuspeak of California cuisine--there are lots of boasts about Yukon Gold potatoes and Plugra butter.

Still, it’s only a matter of time before the people of the Authentic line discover the new place, and then they will face a dilemma: which line to stand in? Homemade Kitchen and Bakery, 7615 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 933-5001. Lunch entrees $5.95-$7.75.