The hostess was this too-cool for school Australian model who wouldn't seat us until our whole party was here, which was a bit ridiculous because 4 out of the 5 of us were there. So then we had to lie and say there were 4 of us for dinner and then as we were getting seated we said it was actually 5 of us and luckily at that moment Kristen walked in. Despite the hostess' slightly snotty attitude our waitress was great. As we were ordering cocktails, she out right told me, "I was told that the cocktail you order sucked by my last customer." Uh ok. So she offered to let me order it and if I didn't like it she told me I could take it back and order something else, which was pretty cool of her. And you know what? She was right about the cocktail, the Topanga Canyon. I originally ordered it because it had Stoli and raspberry but it also had orange crush and that just ruined the whole drink. Instead I got a prosecco with elderflower and lemon which was nice and refreshing. In terms of food, we ordered a bunch of food for the whole table: scallop ceviche with chile, lime and avocado ($14), 2 orders of the shrimp balls ($12), tostada do esquitas ($8), ravioli with ricotta, walnuts, spinach and mushroom ($18), flat iron steak with pumpkin and grilled scallion ($26), the red and green snapper ($28) and a side of braised kale ($4).
The scallop ceviche came out on a plate, which I actually thought was a bit weird since they usually get served in a tall glass, but regardless, the scallop was nice and fresh but honestly it could have used a bit more salt and more lime/tartness. The shrimp balls were tasty and all shrimp (no filler) and served in this spicy red sauce. It totally reminded me of the shrimp balls you get at dim sum but at x3 of the price. The tostada do esquitas was basically the yummy Mexican corn shucked on to a small tortilla. It came with all the fixins of the corn on the cob, the mayo, lime, and cotija cheese. But while I usually love that type of corn, I just wasn't wow'd by this dish. What makes the corn on the cob work is that you get to drown yourself in mayo and cheese but it was hard to do that in this dish. It was totally fine but nothing amazing.
Next came the main entrees. I really enjoyed the flank steak, it was perfectly pink and raw in the middle and seared nicely on the outside. When they said that it was served with pumpkin, I was a bit unsure if it was in season, but it was actually a sweet potato and it was quite delicious and was a great combination with the meat. The snapper was served almost like a whole fish (there wasn't a head but the tail was still on) and half of it was covered in a red sauce and the other half in a green sauce (hence the name of the dish). They gave us tiny tortillas with this dish so I guess we were supposed to make our own mini fish tacos? I didn't and just ate the fish by itself. I thought the fish was cooked well (although it didn't taste like snapper and more like a more generic white fish) but Kristin had said that she found tons of bones in her bite, so that was a bit unsettling for her. The ravioli didn't look like ravioli at all, it all just seemed like all the ingredients mushed into a bowl but that could be because I was one of the last people to get to the dish and a bunch of the gals had cut the raviolis in half so none of them were intact by the time the dish arrived to my seat. Last but not least the kale was actually one of my favorite dishes of the night even though it was just a side dish. I haven't had kale in a long time but this was delicious and just the right texture. Not soggy or overly raw and tough. It totally has inspired me to make it myself at home.
By the time we were done eating, the place was packed and starting to get that more clubby vibe. But where it gets super chi-chi is when you walk downstairs. There is small almost secret room that was pumping super loud music and seemed more like a bar than an extension of the restaurant. It was a fun night out with the girls, but after getting the bill ($70/pp) I wasn't really sure how we spent that much money after splitting all the dishes that were mostly sides. I guess those cocktails really did add up!
Photo Credit: Eater
No comments:
Post a Comment