Emily Alben x Granada: A Pancake Breakfast

Granada, the backhouse coffee shop run out of Sydney and Isaac’s home, is opening its space on the weekend for a first time chef takeover. 

Hiding behind a row of historic Victorian homes, the space opens up around a sprawling pomegranate tree (the one it’s named after), with furniture designed and built by the two of them, and a kind of lived-in warmth and serendipity you can’t manufacture.

Part of what makes it special is that it exists at all. Operating under California’s MEHKO permit, Granada is part of a new wave of home-based dining, less formal than a restaurant, more personal than a pop-up. If supper clubs were the last era, this is what’s next.

While they operate as a mehko during the week, for one weekend morning, they're handing over the keys. 

The occasion: stacks on stacks of pancakes by Chef Emily Alben. Maiden Grains fluffy, lacy-edged pancakes made with whole grain + buckwheat flours, spiced with cinnamon, sweetened with maple sugar, and boosted with collagen, alongside a full breakfast spread that hits like a diner grand slam, reworked with actual seasonality and a lot of thought. 

THE PANCAKE SITUATION
Maiden Grains blueberry pancakes with chai-spiced maple syrup, piled high
Yogurt with seasonal fruit compote + fennel pistachio dukkah
Primavera frittata with spiced feta + greens
Bacon and sausages from Casitas Valley Pastures
Cold brew with fig leaf simple syrup + fixins

EMILY ALBEN
Emily Alben is an LA-based baker, recipe developer, and now founder of Maiden Grains, functional baking mixes for your home kitchen. From Tiramisu at Capri Club and LA Grocery + Cafe, chai and baked goods at Flowers Finest, pop ups around the city featuring seasonal baked goods, and recipe development for publications like the LA Times, she loves to bring people together through food. Now with Maiden Grains, Emily is endeavouring to take nourishment to the next level with functional baking mixes for intentional indulgence. 

GRANADA
Granada is a unique residential coffee shop in Echo Park’s Angelino Heights neighborhood, run by husband-and-wife musicians and designers Sydney Wayser and Isaac Watters. Sydney and Isaac designed and built their Angelino Heights home with the intention of it eventually serving as a community "third space." Partners in both life and business, they launched Granada in early 2026 to combat the post-pandemic isolation they felt as new parents. Their goal was to provide a cozy, "analog" environment where neighbors could connect in a space that feels like a friend's living room.

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