Designtripper

Here’s a case of reuse gone right. When restaurant owner David Reiss took over a defunct IHOP location in Culver City, California, he decided to go with the architecture instead of fighting it. He enlisted Venice Beach-based Sean Knibb of Knibb Design to make its high-pitched roof a major selling point, and Reiss even named the small-plates eatery A-Frame. Knibb sand-blasted the original Douglas fir roof and then clad the walls in knotty pine to give the space a sense of retro-rustic, under-polished warmth. Add to that strong-lined furnishings, big pops of color in small places and some way out-there details (the exterior lights are made out of retrofitted hoop skirts!) and it creates a laid-back lodge vibe in the middle of L.A. Chef Roy Choi (of the city’s cult-followed Kogi trucks) has crafted a menu that he dubs “modern picnic” fare that includes a global mix of small plates: Peruvian-style crispy beer can chicken, Korean-style BBQ lamp chops, carne asada tortas. And for those who are jonesing for an IHOP-style glucose overdose, A-Frame’s fried apple pie a la mode is one of the tastiest sugar rushes in town.

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