Author Archives: steve
The Ivy
Interior
Patio
Interior
Complimentary garlic toast
The Ivy Sundae
*** (3 stars)
This is a really charming restaurant, from its lovely outdoor patio to the beautifully decorated and intimate dining rooms. Each table is adorned with a vase bursting with fresh roses.
Your experience begins with complimentary glasses of Champagne, and your meal begins with complimentary garlic cheese toast. Both were wonderful, and were actually the two best things we had.
Ceasar salad and tuna tartare were very good starters. The entrees were less impressive. There was nothing noteworthy about the grilled swordfish, and my companion’s steak, ordered medium rare, was cooked far beyond well done, to medium cremated. We never send anything back to the kitchen, but we had to send this back. To their credit, it was swiftly whisked away and removed from the bill.
The sundae was a very nice dessert, served deconstructed, with two excellent sauces.
The service was pleasant and responsive, but not necessarily attentive.
There are some decent wines by the glass and a few lesser wines with reasonable prices, but the good wines on the list are steeply marked up, which is opposite the usual strategy. As a result we settled for one that was only adequate.
The Ivy
113 N Robertson Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 274-8303
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-ivy-los-angeles
Eggslut
Interior
Exterior
Bacon egg and cheese
Buttermilk biscuit
*** (3 stars)
This counter server spot occupies a downstairs outside facing corner in Beverly Center. The limited menu offers a hamburger bun with various fillings.
The bacon, egg and cheese sandwich uses nice ingredients to good effect, although a breakfast sandwich would be better on something other than a brioche hamburger bun.
The place is popular given that the sign on the door only allows five people in line inside at a time, although it wasn’t that busy when I was there for breakfast. Perhaps, despite the name, it isn’t a breakfast place, since it doesn’t even open until 8am.
You can skip the dried out, uninteresting buttermilk biscuit.
Eggslut
8500 Beverly Blvd
Ste 101
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 975-3822
https://www.yelp.com/biz/eggslut-los-angeles-10
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Interior
**** (4 stars)
This is a friendly alternative to the ubiquitous Starbucks. There isn’t a lot of difference between the two, although the lack of crowds makes this a more pleasant place to relax. The service here is friendly and fast.
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
300 S La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 360-9777
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-coffee-bean-and-tea-leaf-los-angeles-22
Rao’s – Los Angeles
Exterior
Interior
Seafood salad
Penne alla Vodka
Fiocchi
Lemon Chicken
Amazing cheesecake!
***** (5 stars)
Rao’s is tucked away on an unlikely side street in residential Hollywood. It has that magical and now rare ambiance of the red leather booth restaurants of the 1950s.
You’d be hard-pressed to find better Italian food in LA. The meatballs and the seafood salad were great starters, and the Penne alla Vodka was also very good.
But the standout was the Fiocchi, made of Beggar Purse Ravioli, with Ricotta and Bartlett Pear Filling, sauteed in Brown Butter, and dressed with Sage and Dried Cranberries. It was, simply put, the best pasta dish I’ve ever had.
Another number one ranking goes to the cheesecake, served New York style, but with an airy character, elevated by a hint of Amaretto. Amazing.
Our server, Jonathan, was a terrific host, and basically assembled this wonderful menu for us. A great new LA find!
Rao’s – Los Angeles
1006 Seward St
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 962-7267
https://www.yelp.com/biz/raos-los-angeles-los-angeles
El Pollo Loco
3 Pcs Chicken Combo
**** (4 stars)
El Pollo Loco has always been my favorite fast food place. It’s healthy (depending upon what you order), tasty, and generous. A three piece combo with chicken breasts, side salad, a heap of cole slaw, corn tortillas and a drink is ten bucks. You can’t beat that! And the salsa bar has fresh cilantro and lots of different salsas. Service was friendly and efficient.
El Pollo Loco
1545 S Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(213) 380-2772
https://www.yelp.com/biz/el-pollo-loco-los-angeles-56
Nonna’s Empanadas
Carne asada empanada
**** (4 stars)
These are particularly nicely made empanadas. They’re even branded with their contents! I particularly liked the carne asada. The breakfast empanada was less interesting.
The place is tiny, and it’s a carry out operation. Parking is essentially impossible.
Nonna’s Empanadas
8570 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 385-0445
https://www.yelp.com/biz/nonnas-empanadas-los-angeles-2
The Bazaar by José Andrés
Interior
Exterior
Scallop ceviche
Caviar and lox cones
$9 a bite x 4
Foie Sandwich
Smoked oysters
Pork Bahn Mi Bun (3 Each)*
Octopus Toast
Squash Tempura Squash Blossoms
Philly Cheesesteak (signature dish)
Dessert room
Mille-Feuille, Caramel Cream and Salted Caramel
Rose
***** (5 stars)
The is an enormous restaurant that feels surprisingly intimate due to clever use of draperies and display cases as partitions. It definitely has an upbeat vibe, but isn’t deafening, and doesn’t make you feel like you’re not cool enough to be there.
Let’s get this out of the way first: it’s not cheap. In particular I thinking of the “cones” that look like little ice cream cones but are filled with ingredients like caviar. The operative word is “little”. They are literally smaller than your thumb, and couldn’t possibly be considered more than one bite, and not a very big bite at that. At $9 each they simply aren’t worth it, even if they are good.
But moving on, there are some much more noteworthy items on the menu. It’s divided between traditional tapas and modern tapas. The modern items were so interesting we just kept exploring, and never got to the traditional side of the extensive menu.
Scallop ceviche was Peruvian style with an unusual creamy but very tart broth. There were only a few bites of fish in the large bowl, but the tart broth made that seem like plenty.
The most inventive item we tried was the foie sandwich, which looked just like a Wonder Bread sandwich, but the bread was made of a somehow soft apple meringue! A thin layer of foie gras and jam was just enough.
Four raw oysters were served under a smoke-filled glass dome. The released smoke makes everyone around you want them, too!
Pork Bahn Mi Buns were three mini sliders with traditional flavors.
The octopus toast was extremely tender, and a generous serving. Raw jalapeno slices added a kick.
Squash tempura blossoms were stuffed with a cheese and olive mixture. The pungent olives overwhelmed the delicate flavors of the squash.
Philly cheesesteak is their signature dish, and it’s easy to see why. Four thin slices of wagyu are served atop a football-shaped pastry filled with a sharp cheese sauce. Eat this over a plate!!! It was delicious.
The wine list is fairly extensive, although most prices are pretty high. However, the Spanish wines are priced quite fairly, and there are some real gems.
A large section of the restaurant has been devoted to a separate dessert room, so at the conclusion of your meal they can transfer your drinks over there for a second experience that is seamless. The only other place I’ve seen this done is Berns in Tampa.
The dessert room lets you survey an array of dozens of items to help decide what you want to order. The rose filled with chocolate mousse was good, but the mille-feuille with salted caramel filling was even better.
Service in both parts of the restaurant was professional, attentive and pleasant. This is definitely one of the more interesting dining experiences in LA.
The Bazaar by José Andrés
465 South La Cienega Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90048
(310) 246-5555
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-bazaar-by-jos%C3%A9-andr%C3%A9s-beverly-hills-3
The Little Door
Door
Exterior
Mussels
Sesame Seared Day Boat Scallops, Preserved Lemon Sauce
Chermoula Marinated Grilled Octopus, Preserved Lemon Sauce
Spicy Ahi Tuna Tartare and Shaved Fennel Salad
Patio at night
***** (5 stars)
The extraordinarily romantic ambiance of The Little Door makes it almost a magical dining experience. Divided into many intimate spaces, it feels like you’re dining in a patio, or a forest, or a cottage, depending upon where you sit.
Tuna tartare was a nice starter, but the grilled octopus was even better, extremely tender and flavorful.
The mussels appetizer which my companion had as an entree was huge; she could only eat half!
My grilled scallops were perfectly cooked and accompanied by carrots seasoned with interesting Morrocan spices.
The extensive wine list is extremely reasonably priced.
Service was professional, attentive, and friendly.
The Little Door
8164 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 951-1210
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-little-door-los-angeles
The 3rd Stop
Pretzel bites to go
*** (3 stars)
This is a nice little sidewalk cafe and wine bar. The menu is extensive and we only had time for a snack, so I don’t have a lot of data points to go on. But I will say we were there in mid-afternoon, were the only customers, ordered a diet coke and espresso and pretzel bites, and the service was so slow we ended up having to take the pretzel bites to go. So I can’t recommend it if you’re in a hurry.
The pretzel bites, by the way, aren’t what you’re expecting. It’s actually a bowl of fondue with the pretzels floating in it. It was okay, but I wouldn’t have it again.
The 3rd Stop
8636 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 273-3605
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-3rd-stop-los-angeles