67090 Mon Feb 28 12:26:40 -0800 2005 11 2 Los Angeles Area 0 363370 Friday night, and another great meal at The Grill. Forgot how steep prices are here, given the paltry portions. Would be a serious problem if the food weren't so damned good...And Dad wasn't paying. The story on this visit was the waiter. Handsome, swarthy, diction tinted with a slight, indecipherable accent of some far-away variety. Lengthy, energetic menu descriptions: "the halibut---a firm, flaky filet, the flavor of the bacon-tarragon reduction slowly expands in the mouth" "The Mexican White Shrimp are large, luscious, meaty and delicious." A seafood "Sideways". Normally, this sort of exhibitionism is pretentious and annoying: tell me what's tasty and get on with it. But this guy is GOOD: graceful, mouth-watering portrayals, full of pathos, all delivered in that lilting foreign cadence. The slightest hand gesture here or there for emphasis. Imagine a hybrid of Esa-Pekka Salonen and Thi. (Amazingly, adamant raves are interlaced with the occasional frank appraisal ("diver scallops are a little small today, probably not worth the money")) Everything is great, standouts being the aforementioned shrimp, the best damned clam chowder I've ever had (thanks for the taste, Dad), and the SO's skin-on French sea bass. Dad's a light tipper, so I slip Esa-Thi a Jackson on the way out. One must pay up for their food porn. The Water Grill (213) 891-0900 544 South Grand Ave Los Angeles, CA 90071 ===== Eric Mon Feb 28 12:26:40 -0800 2005 0 rabo encendido 1 363385 Nice write-up Eric. Mon Feb 28 14:36:26 -0800 2005 363370 0 David Kahn 1 363401 "Imagine a hybrid of Esa-Pekka Salonen and Thi." Now that's a great line. Thanks for a wonderful read, Eric. (Also, I love the last paragraph. Having dined with lightly tipping Yankee parents many times, the old slip-of-the-Jackson is a great ploy.) Mon Feb 28 15:25:15 -0800 2005 363370 0 Barham Turner 1 363427 I wish our waiter had been so descriptive and forthcoming. I almost had to stick a fork down his throat for any information at all. Our one meal at WG was very disappointing. We felt it was very over-priced for tiny portions that weren't even that great. I forget what we had, other than oysters, which are just as good at sister places, Ocean Ave. Seafood or King's in LB. I feel this place is way over-hyped, and the atmosphere is too formal. Just my 2 cents. Mon Feb 28 16:45:53 -0800 2005 363370 0 Di4cats 2 363432 Agreed, this place is overrated by many on here. VERY much part of a corporate chain. Food not what it used to be. Atmosphere nice enough but generic. Mon Feb 28 17:07:45 -0800 2005 363427 0 jcwla 3 363554 hey, relax all, there are new chef's in the kitchen at the water grill. give the new guys a chance to win your love back. Tue Mar 01 12:11:37 -0800 2005 363432 0 freddyyo 2 363438 After two disappointing meals here, we've stopped trying. Maybe if we were more into the raw stuff it would be different. Mon Feb 28 17:40:10 -0800 2005 363427 0 SpongeBobSquarePegs 2 363500 Also agree on the overhype quotient. Service was such over the years that we decided the bar was the way to go (GREAT service). Now that that's no longer permitted we have stayed away. Mon Feb 28 23:11:23 -0800 2005 363427 0 Griller141 3 363746 they will not serve you at the bar any longer? Tue Mar 01 20:18:16 -0800 2005 363500 0 jaydee 4 363771 I ate at the bar this weekend..the place was very busy. Tue Mar 01 21:25:25 -0800 2005 363746 0 ginko 5 363785 Good to hear - I had been told in mid January that I would have to sit at one of the tiny cocktail tables or sit in the regular room to order form the menu. Hopefully they have come to their senses. Tue Mar 01 22:37:21 -0800 2005 363771 0 Griller141 1 363712 I have to agree with you..The service has always been the best thing about the Water Grill...I understand they have new chef, rumor is he is from Charlie Trotters in Chicago...Now we're talking great food..Looking forward to trying what he' got.. Tue Mar 01 19:13:16 -0800 2005 363370 0 waoop