Kozy Kitchen’s Brunch Offers a Decent Menu With Inconsistent Results

Many of us in East Dallas remember Dixie House, which filled that large restaurant space at the corner of Gaston Avenue near Abrams Road with the smell of delicious rolls that constantly came out of the kitchen.

Plenty of people were bummed when it closed, and the short-lived Sugarbacon Proper Kitchen that took its place didn’t fill their hearts quite as well.

Today, Kozy Kitchen sits here, serving a menu it hopes will finally satisfy the Lakewood area. While newer to East Dallas, Kozy is more than 10 years old, formerly sitting on the other side of U.S. Highway 75 near Knox Street.

For brunch, Kozy offers a decent menu that includes plenty of options without a huge offering of overzealous variety. Omelets dominate the front, with a vegetarian option ($14.98), one with crab and crawfish ($16.98) and others.

The ranch hand ($15.98) has sliced grass-fed beef tenderloin sauteed with bell peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheddar in a three-egg omelet. Neither omelet on a recent visit looked all that wonderful when it came out, but this one didn’t make up for looks with its flavor. If the meat is going to come out more like it was stewed for a while, it’s probably best not to serve it, especially if it’s folded among a lackluster egg mix.

The monster omelet ($16.98) is a better choice, with venison sausage, potatoes, onions, bell peppers and tomatoes in a four-egg omelet with aged cheddar. All the ingredients were cooked well; there was just a mass of the mixture in the omelet, which is not a disappointment, especially if you’re sharing it.

The sausage here is good, which makes The “B” ($15.98) a good option, too. You’ll get two eggs any style, maple-glazed venison sausage, one buttermilk pancake and one slice of Challah French toast.

The two eggs, ordered over-medium, looked OK. Somehow, one was cooked perfectly (a seemingly rare feat for restaurants), but the other was overcooked (closer to what’s expected in most restaurants). The large cup of venison sausage is welcome, though no one needs that much meat. (To-go cup, please!)

Really, a pancake and French toast might be a bit much. The pancake had an odd flavor to it, despite being listed as simply buttermilk. The French toast is the better move here. On one visit, it wasn’t griddled long enough, resulting in a wet, soggy center, but the other visit provided a perfect slice.

The space is very open; it’s a large dining room with a lot of light and cool colors with hard surfaces bouncing off all sounds. On two recent visits, the in-house playlist was exclusively Coldplay. Now, it’s a good band, one that can set a mood, but it feels a little odd for this bright room.

For those of us who were fans of Kozy before at its smaller, kitschy space, this feels different. Plates still don’t have all the aesthetic appeal they should have, but overall, breakfast or brunch here is not a waste of your dollars.

If it’s geographically convenient for you, there’s no reason not to try it once. Then again, it’s also not hard to just keep driving a little ways to something better.

Kozy Kitchen, 6400 Gaston Ave. (East Dallas)