If you have yet to go to Westside Tavern, what are you waiting for?  The comfortable and casual space and personable servers  are definitely a plus.  But it is the creative ‘chef-driven’ food that shines here.  It is consistently and amazingly good.  I’ve tried a number if items on the menu which are inventive and satisfying such as the ultra-comfort grilled cheese and tomato basil soup, the stellar portobello mushroom and mozzarella melt, or the addictive fried green beans with lemon aioli (eaten like french fries).  However, I always return to the two dishes that I can’t stop thinking about.  I know you may find it hard to believe when I tell you that the hummus pita is the best I have ever had, but I swear it!  It is creamy, rich as butter, garlic-y, and topped with house roasted bellaria tomatoes, kalamata olives, and feta.  Served with warm, soft pita, the flavors work together to dazzle the palate.  Likewise, the flatbreads (more like pizzas on crispy, corrugated cracker bases) are divine.  They change seasonally.  On a recent visit the selections included shiitake mushrooms and asparagus with fontina and truffle oil as well as a roasted tomato, grilled artichoke, smoked mozzarella, and arugula flatbread.  One taste and you’ll be on your blackberry trying to schedule your next visit.  For dessert, try the warm fudge brownie or warm sticky toffee cake.  Both are deep, gooey, rich.  Wine and cocktail lists are very manageable.  The meat dishes will make any carnivore drool.  As they don’t take rezzies, make sure you time your visit between when movies get out and when they start or you may have a considerable wait, but it’s well worth it. 

Westside Tavern

http://www.westsidetavernla.com

10850 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90064  310.470.1539

Ok, what’s with the food scene on Abbot Kinney?  It seems to hover somewhere between casual/creative and uptight/snobbish.  It certainly has a big attitude for such a small street.  You want a reservation when?  That’s laughable.  You don’t like the table you’re sitting at?  Tough.  You want to leave the speck out of the salad?  We don’t do substitutions, the chef is an artist.  Puhlease.  Why do we put up with this?  Because some of those atmosphere-less industrial spaces are actually great.  It was with this in mind that we tried the latest, The Tasting Kitchen.  We were sat in the packed front dining room, a large plain cube with what has to be the worst acoustics since Border Grill.  We found ourselves yelling over the din.  At one point, a screeching patron at the table behind ours drowned out our server.  She stopped talking, turned to look at her, then turned back to us shrugged her shoulders and shouted, “Happy Tuesday!”  The cacophonous crowd were a mixture of suits, flannel, tattoos, dreadlocks, and sundresses.  Once we adjusted, we went over the ‘bill of fare’.  You know those menus that must list every ingredient and its provenance?  This ain’t one of those.  Things like Cluck ‘n frites and halibut. blossoms. creme. abound, which left us confused.  The server soon sorted us out.  I was impressed to see stichelton.cow.uk. under cheeses, so we ordered that with some bread and butter.  The bread was wonderful; warm, crusty, delicious.  Off to a good start.  Then we tried the frittura di verdure.  well-executed tempura vegetables with a delightful aioli.  We moved on to a butter lettuce salad with blue cheese and tarragon.  Good, but I’m a firm believer that butter lettuce requires a delicate dressing or it gets lost.  Here the dressing was too heavy-handed.  Finally, we tried the spaghetti/tomatoes/basil, not exactly revolutionary cuisine.  But I can honestly say, it was one of the best I have ever had.  Tangy, fresh, perfectly cooked large spaghetti.  We were impressed that the chef could inspire us with such a plain dish.  At that point, the noise levels were beginning to grate on our nerves and we had to leave.  I’d definitely go again, only with earplugs.

The Tasting Kitchen

(310) 392-6644  www.thetastingkitchen.com/

I have a real problem with market (veggie) plates.  Throwing together on one plate all the side dishes that were specifically designed to go with meats is not what I call good restauranteering.  The practice treats vegetarians as afterthoughts.  I mean come on, a chef can’t come up with even one veggie main?  I almost never order a market plate.  But there are always exceptions to the rule.  There is one restaurant in LA that I always order the veggie plate.  It may seem odd to order vegetarian at Cut in Beverly Hills, however the choices are amazing.  Recently I created my own plate out of english and snap peas with morels and young garlic, creamed spinach with organic egg, decadent and luscious cavatappi mac and cheese with Quebec cheddar, and chanterelle mushrooms.  I love experimenting and playing with the various favors.  The food is always sublime, the service as near perfect as you can get, and the wonderful atmosphere created by the giant photos of famous people cooly staring down at the patrons as real flesh-and-blood stars stare back.  (Last time, I sat next to Andie MacDowell.)  It a magic formula for a perfect Saturday night out.  

A recent dinner with friends at Hatfield’s proved to be a lovely evening.  The owners, Quinn and Karen Hatfield have kept the configuration of the space the same as the Goodell’s Red Pearl Kitchen, the previous inhabitant, but have cleaned it up and made it airier, crowned by a large geometric honeycomb chandelier creating the illusion of a hive.  The open kitchen pulls one into the action as the chefs and kitchen staff scurry like bees, creating a delightful menu of some truly memorable dishes.  We selected the vegetarian prix fixe which consisted of a Roasted Sunchoke and Rocket Salad which was surprisingly delicious with the inclusion of unsuspected ‘falafel crumble’.  The impressive Fricassee of Chanterelle and Fave Beans with hand-rolled garaganelle and parsnip ‘bacon’ continued the ‘wow’ factor.  The dish was well-executed, creamy, satisfying and well-balanced.  Next came the Wild Mushroom “Cannelloni” which consisted of oat groats inside an oat crepe with marinated radish and pickled beets.  This was the only disappointment in an otherwise stellar meal. Although the texture was rich and meaty, the flavors were dull and flat and shortly lead to boredom.  Thankfully the delightful Beignets served with a small dish of melted chocolate and a mini-milkshake (did I taste a hint of cardamom?) came to the rescue.  I love a dessert that can be played with and although perhaps now a bit passé, I’m a big fan of deconstructed desserts.  I find something so sensual in dipping a lightly sweetened beignet into unctuous, oozing chocolate and cooling it with a sip of rich, creamy milkshake as it luxuriously slides down the back of the throat, .  It was fun, playful, and utterly delicious.  A perfect way to end a perfectly respectable dinner.  Service was spotty but attentive enough to ensure a decent enough timeline.  All in all, a memorable meal and well worth the visit.  Now about that curious apple sculpture near the entrance…