LA WEEKEND

[Brett_Johnson]

@johngonzales

Last night’s visit to Animal was pretty much as expected. Really good and a fun vibe. There was no one else there when we walked in for an early 6pm. By the 7:30 seating every table was full. The only nit about the place is that once it picks up, they kind of hurry you along, not to the point of being out of line, but you can feel it. Certainly to be expected for one of LA’s most popular places, that isn’t very large.
There were four of us. We brought an 07 KB RRV, and an 06 Petrolo Galatrona. Someone there must know how mediocre the 02 vintage was in CdP. My tactic of bringing the staff a quaffer bottle and having some/all corkage waived, did not work with the 02 Pegau. Corkage was $20 each for the two bottles, stems are decent if a bit small. In actually big reds (which that Galatrona was) are tough here as the food is all over the map with flavors including spice, acid, & sweet. Probably should have had a bottle or at least glass of white, or a beer early in the meal.
For food we had:
Kale Salad: Worth having, good not great, but one has to get some veggies somewhere and it isn’t easy there. Acidic
Hamachi Tostada: Very good, as usual. Considering the meat dominance of the menu this is a must get. Very subtle peanut dressing works
Sea Bass: this was a special and worth getting. It was pan seared/sauteed with a lightly creamy sauce over some kind of “slaw”
Octopus: a tad off on this night in plating , but tasty. The octopus was great, but not plentiful enough amongst the sausage, hard to splt 4-ways
Bone marrow toast: I always have this, good as usual, personally I remove a little of the chimchurri so as to let the marrow come out more
Quail; really good, tender and moist, it’s a small portion and for four isn’t much
Pig ear: another must have, it really isn’t odd and it’s diced so could be any meat, good combo of rich, tangy and slight heatfor $12 it is one of the best items
Pork Belly Slider: the $12 (vs $23 for foie) make this and the above my favorites. Too good to not want more than the two small sliders, but doable for four.
This is and the Hamachi are the things I will get two of from now on with four people.
Foie Gras biscuit. This is a must get. The combo of the seared foie and maple/sausage gravy is unique. $23 and not big does make this less of a value item.

Tres leches cake and the sticky toffee pudding: only $7 ea, but small and really not stand-outs. I’ve also had the bacon choco thing, which is at least unique. dessert is just not their strongpoint, and I’ll probably skip it from now on. As an aside, the English Pudding Company’s premade S.T.Pudding (avail at whole Foods & Surfas) rocks and is better.

Thanks for posting John!

I’m going next month when a friend of mine does a pop-up there, but it will be more of his food than Animal’s.

Does their corkage policy limit the number of bottles?

Brett

[Tom_Moore]

Back from a great weekend in the city of Angels. Quick recap -

lunch at The Ivy - nice setting, great service, pretty good food, insane prices, no celebrities. Nice bottle of Fevre Chablis for $38 from list though

Sofitel @ Beverly - great hotel, great deal from Jetsetters, <$200 a night, modern, comfy rooms, view of the Hollywood hills, quiet, great service, great bed

dinner @ AOL - love this place, great wine service, great small plates, a winner. $40 for a half of aged Barolo (cant remember year or maker) but it was great

breakfast at Joans on Third - Love this concept, why cant there be a place like this on every corner in every city? Coffee, bread, pastries, full country breakfasts, sandwiches, pre cooked dinners (gourmet), cheeses, few wines, staples. Awesome

lunch at Canters - Girls were afraid to get out of car at Langers! Great pastrami sandwich, handcut. Original decor and packed to the gills

dinner at The Bazaar - All I can say is this place is a blast. Inventive food, small plates, top quality. Fun cocktails and pricey, but good, wine list. Our Somm was the most energetic ever!! 27 years old and he knew his wine. Had a great pinot from germany that was almost clear it was so light but full of flavor. Special treat kind of place but a dont miss if in LA. Happening bar scene full of celebs and Laker players that night (I promised not to name names). Mens bathroom was 100% mirrors, you could see every square inch of space from any point, pretty cool. Plus there was a guy to help dispense soap and hand you a towel!

back to Joans on Third - i repeat why dont we have one of these on every corner in America?

The Getty - no parking reservations anymore, not enough demand. second time there and it is as awesome as ever. fun way to spend half a day.

Silverlake Cheese - loaded up on goodies, great little store wit all of the essentials for my pantry/cheese drawers. Beatnicky little area that is full of energy these days

Dinner at Tasting Table on Abbot Kinney in Venice on way home. this is the new trend in restaurants and I love it. very informal, dressy or not dressy, it is up to you. great food, eclectic wine/beer list. nice setting.

okay its back to work before the CC bill shows up.

I LOVE LA

[CFu]

@Tom Moore

lunch at Canters - Girls were afraid to get out of car at Langers! Great pastrami sandwich, handcut. Original decor and packed to the gills

LOL. OC’ers ;p. You should check out the area on weekends, it’s a hotbed of activity with lots and lots of families roaming the streets. Macarthur park (across the street) is filled with soccer players and with a large audience with tons of food everywhere