Eat.Drink.Americano, Downtown LA Gastropub

Another gastropub has popped up down the street from Wurstkuche. When you want more than sausages and truffle-y fries, head to Eat. Drink. Americano for some cheese, small bites, or flatbreads with your drink.

The craft beers and wines are all from California (as you can see from the wall decor, they're sticking with local). They also carry a couple of wines on tap. The 2009 Silver Tap Zinfandel from Sonoma County ($7) is a robust one to go with food.


The menu is divided into cured meats and cheeses, bites, and flatbreads. Since the place is new, the menu is still evolving. We focused on the "bites" portion and pretty much got the whole section, starting with the Duck and Pickles ($14)

Confit of duck, pickled vegetables, and baguettes. Simple and satisfying.

King Crab Canneloni and Cauliflower Foam ($15)

You can't really see the canneloni under the foam in this picture, but the tube-shaped pasta is filled with lumps of king crab. The cauliflower foam was a good complement and fun to boot (although there was a tad too much of it).

I was looking forward to trying their steak tartar with mustard ice cream that I read about, but they didn't have it the night I went. Oh, well, instead I found their Soft Shell Crab Sandwich ($13)!

This was my absolute favorite. The crispy soft shell crab is sandwiched between biscuits with a creamy mayo dressing. For me, it's the crunch of the seaweed is what really made it. Get this while they have it.

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DineLA 2011: Lunch at Napa Valley Grille

The first summer DineLA Restaurant Week started earlier this week, so I thought I'd do a quick post on one of my Dine LA visits from last year. I had lunch at Napa Valley Grille last Fall, and the $22 per person for three courses was a great deal! (The format this year unfortunately does not have dessert for lunch. It is $20 for two courses. Not sure why, I want my desserts!)


I used to go to Napa Valley Grille a lot when I worked in Westwood, but since then I haven't gone as much. The lunch was a pleasant reminder of Napa Valley Grille's good food and generous portions!

Chopped Kale Salad, toasted almonds, golden raisin, lemon parmesan vinaigrette

Very fresh and light! I don't like salads with too much dressing, but this one had a nice light dressing and a lot of the flavors came from the almonds and raisins.

Tahitian Squash Soup, pomegranate syrup, pistachio pesto

The entrees:
Marinated Ahi Tuna Salad, heirloom cherry tomatoes, dry cured olives, anchovy vinaigrette, country croutons

This lighter option still had plenty of tuna to fill you up for the rest of the day.

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July 22: Angeleno Magazine's Live and Dine LA (+ 2011 recap)

Live & Dine LA, the event celebrating Angeleno Magazine's Annual Restaurant Awards, is coming  back on July 22 to the Fairmont Miramar. It's not just an award show, which happens during the VIP reception, but the main event features tastings from various restaurants and liquor brands. Keep in mind that the many of the award winners will naturally be participating (plus other restaurants), and this is after all, the annual restaurant awards, so this will be a tasting of the best among the best.

The 2010 event was already great, but 2011 was probably twice the size, with the same kind of quality.

Last year's winner included Red Medicne, Sotto, Robata Jinya, mixologist Julian Cox, Roy Choi, and others.

FIG at the Fairmont Miramar is of course always participating. They brought out a whole roasted pig for some pork tacos. Hang around a bit and see if you can get some of the crispy skin!

The crab salad wrap from A-Frame (Best New Restaurant) was a crowd favorite, and I had to go back for seconds.

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