Friday, October 9, 2009

DineLA 2009: Spago. One of DineLA's Best Deals.

Just last week LAist released tips on how to get the most out of dineLA and one of their points is to not go for restaurant week menu offering dishes not originally on their regular menu.
At Spago, none of the dishes (minus desserts) offered are on the regular menu - you can get on-the-menu New York Steak for a hefty supplement of $35 though.

Does this mean Spago dineLA is not a deal?

Spago, one of the longest-standing LA's star eateries, the flagship of the Wolfgang Puck empire. Overhyped, you say? Let's not forget the Michelin stars this place got (before Michelin decided to abandon our city) and the fact that Nancy Silverton of La Brea Bakery and Mozza and Mozza hailed as a pastry chef from this place. Fact is, Spago got famous for a reason, and it managed to maintain that reason.
Not to mention they have one of the best patios in town.

Now, the deal. Let me see here. Burrata fig salad with jamon serrano and either poussin or kurobuta pork chop+dessert seems worthy of a $45 Spago meal to me.
If you actually look at their regular menu, you'd notice that their cheapest entree offered is $38. A $45 3-course Spago meal? That would be impossible without restaurant week!

Yeah, but they might give you crappy dishes, smaller portions, etc, so let's see what you actually ate.

Fig salad with burrata and jamon serrano.
Great figs, great burrata, great jamon. I am not sure about the combination of it all though. I certainly loved the burrata with the jamon and the greens, but not with the figs. I ended up eating the figs separately.

Kurobuta Pork Chop.
Smaller portion? I think not. This pork chop was so big I managed to take leftovers home. It was a very good pork chop, quite tender and moist, well seasoned. Great flavor and very complementary sauce and garnish.

Getting the supplements make dineLA much less of a deal.
A sweet corn agnolotti which runs for $19 on the regular menu is available for a $14 supplement.

Amazing agnolotti, though. I stole a couple of bites from PepsiMonster's plate and it was sooo good. It's definitely worth trying, although I'd rather get it as an extra order for $5 more :)

An order of New York Steak is $61 on the menu and available for a $35 supplement for DineLA.
A great steak, no doubt, but I was happy with my Kurobuta pork chop for much less money.

The desserts offered actually do come from the regular menu. I got the Apple Cider Upside Down Cake.

The cake had a great flavor but it was a bit too dry for my taste. I should've remembered these types of cakes are generally too dry for my palate. A lot of people seemed to like this though.

PepsiMonster got the Dobos, 12 layer chocolate and praline cake with nutella gelato.

I like his dessert much better, the chocolate buttercream layer was very smooth but you get just a teeny crunchiness. Great taste and texture.

We had a great meal overall. $45 for this 3-course meal (plus leftover for lunch, mind you)? I'll take it any day.

Spago
176 N Canon Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 385-0880
http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/restaurants/fine-dining/3635
Spago Beverly Hills on Urbanspoon

8 comments:

weezermonkey

Very good deal indeed! I've still not been.

Right Way to Eat

Damn, you're fast!

The Dobos are my favorite of the evening. I probably should have stick with the pork rather than go all out on the NY steak. Not necessary to spent the extra $36. Good times at this dinner! Thanks again GP!

Food, she thought.

That looks gorgeous! I have eaten at Spago a few times, so probably won't go during DineLA, however it would appear that you have avoided pitfall #3 despite the warning.

MyLastBite

A seriously GREAT deal!

pleasurepalate

I'm actually going there this Wednesday for a friend's birthday dinner. It's great to see that Spago is doing something special for DineLA as opposed to just working off their menu. :)

Exile Kiss

Hi Burumun,

Nice review. :) Sounds like you had a good time!

I also like that Spago had *different* DineLA menu items than when we went. It keeps the kitchen creative and actually makes it worth it to dine more than 1 time at Spago during DineLA. ;) The Lamb Chops we had were superb, and the Corn Agnolotti was as delicious as I remembered them last year.

samk

I never said it wasn't a deal, it just might not be the best bang for your buck.

"It keeps the kitchen creative and actually makes it worth it to dine more than 1 time at Spago during DineLA. ;"
It's them being creative...in finding different ways to cut costs. Pork chops and short ribs are extremely cheap and easy to make. The sweet corn agnolotti is pretty darn good though, and cheap compared to Per Se's 29 dollar agnolotti. Spago does have a few of their old menu hits available for dineLA like their tasty pommes aligot.

If you're looking for a cheap deal at Spago, many dishes can be had for 14-25 dollars and you can get a 3 course meal for 50 bucks at lunch. dineLA is basically giving you a free dessert, and that's about it.

gourmetpigs

samk: True about lunch, but dineLA lunch is only $28 :P
And I agree that dineLA only gives you a free dessert, but the desserts at Spago is normally $14, so $14 saving is much better than the $4 savings I got at RH for dineLA :P

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