Bland avocado toast, overhyped eggs benedict and $7 lattes. This basic brunch is now, unfortunately, a staple of the Los Angeles food scene.

Driving down any major street in LA means crossing into a breakfast twilight zone. These new brunch spots, neither cafes nor diners, have fused cold minimalism with Instagram-inspired foodie culture, creating an experience almost as bland as the food itself.

Once inside, brunch goers inevitably encounter bleakly colored walls, sterile furniture, hanging plants and maybe a sign that says something like “Live, Love, Brunch!” The menus are never spectacular and include the same pancakes, scrambles and benedicts, all with some “twist.”

Brunch is taking the LA restaurant scene by storm. But its sameness, blandness and grandiose self-importance have made it a symbol of everything critics hate about LA. Bruins within the larger LA community have said that in order to show the diversity and intellect of Angelenos, brunch restaurants must change.

Ryan Welker, a third-year political science student, said that, while he enjoys breakfast foods, he doesn’t like brunch in LA.

“Brunch in LA just seems to cater to influencers,” Welker said. “It’s not really what I’m into.”

The antithesis to brunch is the traditional breakfast diner, which has dominated pre-noon eating since the mid-20th century. Though undramatic, the food and coffee served in diners were hallmarks of big cities and small suburbs alike.

Brunch places lack the character and community of the traditional breakfast diners they’ve replaced – character and community that LA desperately needs to showcase.

But in some ways, this artificial brunch culture complements a city often bashed for its shallowness: a meal invented for social media in a restaurant designed for aesthetics. Lifeless brunch reaffirms LA stereotypes and gives a way for cynics to doubt the intellectual and artistic depth of Bruins.

Nonetheless, people attend brunch for more than just the ambiance.

Amanda Gomez-Viup, the general manager at the popular brunch restaurant “Poppy + Rose,” said she thinks brunch’s current popularity is due to a desire for cocktails at non-cocktail times.

“Right now, it’s really about food and being able to have the drink experience of a brunch,” Gomez-Viup said. “The traditional bar scene that wouldn’t necessarily be open for brunch is seeing a great boost in revenue because they have those regulars that really want that.”

The introduction of alcohol to breakfast reinvigorated the brunch craze by creating a meal that encapsulated more of an experience than a restaurant visit. Customers at diners of the past were never presented with Bloody Marys, bottomless mimosas or other morning cocktails.

We’ve lost something because of these boozy breakfasts. What used to be an opportunity to casually catch up with friends has become the morning version of a night out.

Gomez-Viup added that, even though traditional breakfast spots are embracing morning cocktails and bars are beginning to serve brunch, she doesn’t think customers are losing out on versatility or uniqueness.

“Because there are so many different chefs in the city, they can really put their own spin and their own influence on each dish,” Gomez-Viup said.

But as students who frequently go to brunch know, this is rarely the case. Most weekend brunch menus have the same coffees and food items, a culinary uniformity that makes no brunch better or worse than any other.

This isn’t to say that diners are the epitome of culinary creativity – a traditional breakfast menu is even less creative than modern brunches. But diners don’t advertise their uniqueness. The brunch craze reflects a culture obsessed with finding new ways to embellish simple things – ways to force an ordinary breakfast to be something extraordinary.

For Angelenos, brunch is a near-religious ritual. But for Bruins from across the country, brunch culture is less mainstream.

Andrew Luff, a fourth-year theater student, said he enjoys the brunch culture in LA, as it’s something that doesn’t exist in his hometown.

“I love the whole dressing up and going and eating, like, a little overpriced French toast and all that,” Luff said.

Perhaps we can find a middle ground between the American diner and LA brunch, creating an environment that disappears into the background and highlights the connection that a shared meal is supposed to create.

Brunch doesn’t need to be the star of the show. It needs to give others a way to come together.