Dine LA Week - Where you going?

[WildSwede]

I have reservations for both Water Grill (never been) and Spago (had a fantastic experience last year during Dine LA). What are your plans?

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Water Grill
544 South Grand, Los Angeles, CA 90071

Spago
176 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[Ernie]

Water Grill
Craft
Gordon Ramsay
The Tar Pit

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Water Grill
544 South Grand, Los Angeles, CA 90071

The Tar Pit
609 N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036

[wilafur]

bazaar, xiv, the raymond, craft, jiraffe (maybe), fogo de chao.

[jaykayen]

Reporting back after dinner Sunday night at Spago.

The menu was slightly different, notably, the pork tenderloin was replaced with a half rack of Sonoma lamb. The tarte tatin was replaced with an apple vol au vent.

The crab raviolini was to die for. I preferred it over the famous corn agnolotti. My date said his tomato soup was excellent.

Rack of Sonoma lamb was very good. The beans it was served with was undercooked for my taste. My date did not like the braised short rib, and ate only half. Over-braised, over-salted, and just not worth the money. Order off of the regular menu if the cod or lamb does not appeal to you.

Apple vol au vent, very good. Served with a quenelle of vanilla ice cream, which was excellent. This was paired with a dry Vouvray, which I felt was a complete failure. While the wine was nice on its own, combined with the sweet dessert, it steered it too sour. The sommelier asked me to try the pairing, and he would replace it if I didn't like it, but of course, he never checked back. While I agreed with him that pairing a sweet wine with a dessert is usually unsuccessful and too sweet, I think an off-dry wine would have been much improved.

Fromage blanc cheesecake with apricot had some problems. The apricot was too sour. The chesecake was more like panna cotta, lacking density, richness, and sweetness. The tang and funk of the cheese, combined with the lack of sweetness, unfortunately reminded me of vomit. I ate 1/3, and my date ate the rest (either he disagreed on the vomit or was still hungry.) Honestly, I expected more from Ms Yard. The vol au vent was Spago-lite for dineLA, but the cheesecake doesn't even seem her style.

Service, of course, was generally wonderful. Out of 6 dishes, we liked 4. I liked 2/3 wine pairings. They will probably get the kinks worked out as the promotion goes on, but the food tonight got a C grade.

[WildSwede]

Thank you for the update. I am planning on doing the raviolini, but have not decided on the other two courses. Will definitely take your comments into consideration. I love your comment about your date either disagreeing on the vomit or was still hungry - great! Thanks again!

[cdub]

i'll be at spago next sunday. hopefully, no vomit during my dinner.

i went to water grill. i thought hte restaurant was nice. the dishes ere good but nothing was spectacular in any way. had the oysters to start. good and fresh. you get 3 of them. i got the red fish. good dish. the fennel broth was very good. i had the red velvet pudding cake. good too. just nothing was special. they give a amuse of spicy salmon wrapped in cucumber and a chocolate/peanut butter truffle and a fruit jelly with the check too.

[Dommy]

As of now, Craft. They had me at Octopus Carpacio and Beef Cheeks...

We also have our sights on Comme Ca's lunch, Del Rae for Mom's Birthday and Tam o Shanner since we have GCs to use! :)

--Dommy!

[goodhealthgourmet]

"They had me at Octopus Carpacio and Beef Cheeks... "
~~~~~~~
ha! i had the exact same reaction :)

[Harry Niletti]

In case you didn't know, OpenTable has a nice feature the next couple of weeks. They've assembled the dineLA restaurants on one page so that you can simultaneously check all of them for availability. See: http://www.opentable.com/promo.aspx?m...

Two points to keep in mind: (1) Not all dineLA restaurants participate in OT (and, obviously, not all OT restaurants are part of dineLA). (2) Even those that do participate can have an opening when OT thinks they're fully booked -- so call the restaurant if you can't get the reservation you want on-line.

-Harry

P.S. Each of the next two weeks, I'll likely choose a couple of places from the following list of old favorites and new interests: Celestino, Drago Centro, Eva, Noir, Petrossian, the Bazaar, Valentino, Water Grill, and XIV.

[WildSwede]

Good point. I made both my reservations on OT. Thanks!

[jadekarrde]

Jiraffe was one I sadly did not get to in the last two Dine LAs and I think their menu this time is better, so that's high on my list, unfortunately they're not open sundays. :(

I've made reservations for Josie and we'll probably hit up a beach location in malibu for lunch one sunday.

I'd love to do spago, but we'll be in SF the second weekend, hopefully it will be extended again.

Last time I had really unexpected great experiences with Enterprise Fish Company (lobster makes it worth it) and Chart House redondo. of all places to have really excellent food, I was very surprised at how terrific it was. It was effectively one of the more romantic dinners I've had, being right over the ocean.

Locanda del Lago and KZo (lunch) were misfires last time, though the crab avocado appetizer at KZo was possibly the best thing I ate during all of Dine LA last time.

other ones on my consideration list, so hard to narrow it down...
Michaels
Hals (lunch)
Lillys (lunch)
Ocean & Vine
Upper West
Bistro LQ
Upstairs 2
The Six
Waterloo and City
Akasha
Fraiche (culver)
Locanda positano
Warehouse
Eva
Craft
Cafe Pinot (lunch)
Jar
lasher's american
ninethirty at the w
napa valley grill

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Cafe Pinot
700 West Fifth St., Los Angeles, CA 90071

Jiraffe Restaurant
502 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401

Akasha
9543 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

Upstairs 2
2311 Cotner Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90064

Bistro LQ
8009 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048

Chart House
2801 W Coast Hwy Ste 100, Newport Beach, CA 92663

Upper West
3321 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90404

Waterloo and City
12517 W Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90066

[Porthos]

Bistro LQ. Easy. I just had dinner there last night. the cuisine is one of the most cutting edge in town. I'm embarassed so say I found out about this place so late in the game.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7375...

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Bistro LQ
8009 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048

[WildSwede]

My mom loves the ocean, so we dine down there fairly often when we get together. I was also surprised how much I liked the food at the Chart House (Malibu). It is really good, service is great and you cannot beat the view! Ask for one of the booths so you can face the water (if you sit the tables next to the window you have to turn your head to see it).
Good luck with choosing! That is some wish list! ;-)

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Chart House
2801 W Coast Hwy Ste 100, Newport Beach, CA 92663

[yogachik]

If your mom loves the ocean, the go to Catch at Casa del Mar. I always love it there. In addition, the new chef is really shining (I've been twice in the three weeks he's been there), and the Dine LA menu looks fantastic, which is his first menu there.

[mlgb]

Cafe Pinot for lunch.

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Cafe Pinot
700 West Fifth St., Los Angeles, CA 90071

[maudies5]

The Grill on the Alley has a terrific menu. I know the food is going to be good and it's a great deal.

[manku]

Probably Spago and perhaps Chinois....WP does a wonderful job during Dine LA...he embraces it, and doesn't make you feel like a second class citizen.

In fact, at Spago last year the Dine LA menu was featured prominently...our waiter said nearly 90% of the tables were ordering it.

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Spago
176 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[WildSwede]

Yeah, we went there last year (after they extended Dine LA) and had the most wonderful time. Treated fabulously. Food was out of this world. Wine pairings were spot on. Perfect. October is my mom and my birthday month, so we use it as a birthday celebration (and save some money while celebrating!). This year when I asked her where she wanted to go she had mentioned several times "we can go to Spago again" and when I told her the places I had selected, she breathed a sigh of relief and confided that she had kept her fingers crossed and was hoping that we would be going to Spago again this year.

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Spago
176 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[wienermobile]

Another for Spago.

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Spago
176 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[mollyomormon]

Agreed on Spago. I went for last DineLA and everything from food to service to Sherry Yard stopping by the table and telling us that the reason she looks so young is due to regular consumption of the sweet corn agnolotti was really fantastic.

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Spago
176 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[jaykayen]

I've made reservations for Spago, on the 3rd, and can't wait for the menu to come out!

Water Grill looks really good, but the bf isn't into seafood.

[cdub]

i have the exact same reservations and for the exact same reasons.

[WildSwede]

I can't wait for Spago to release their menu.

I forgot to ask in my original post - please be sure to post about your experience once you have been there. I noticed that some of the places that were on the list at the first Dine LA of 2010 are not on the list this time (Grace, for example).

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Spago
176 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[Jack Flash]

Well, Grace is now closed (opening downtown sometime next year), so I can see why they're not on the list...

[WildSwede]

Aha! That would be a good reason! Thanks!

[cdub]

I've been waiting for Spago and Noir to release their menu.

It looks like there are a lot of places not doing dine la this time around. The one that sticks out to me most prominently is Wolfgang's Steakhouse. I had been waiting for a dine la to try it but I guess I'll have to find another reason.

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Spago
176 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Wolfgang's Steakhouse
445 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[avivale]

We went to Wolfgang's during a prior dineLA week. But when we got there, we decided that we'd be missing the full experience if we did not order the signature porterhouse (which was understandably not a dineLA option). Yes it completely defeated the point of going during dineLA, but we did not regret our choice. It was a memorably delicious evening.

So my advice, cdub, is just go. And save room for the old-school ice cream sundae for dessert. :)

[cdub]

point taken. since i've already tried peter lugers, i'd like to see how wolfgang's stacks up.

[avivale]

My husband, who visited Peter Lugers several times while living in NYC, thought Wolfgang's measured up extremely well in the food and its style of presentation. It was quite nostalgic for him. Though he tells me decor of the restaurant in Bevely Hills is way classier!

[wienermobile]

The Spago Menu was just posted: Dinner $44
Choice of
Summer Harvest Farm’s Heirloom Tomato Soup
with Fresh Ricotta Crouton
Hand Sliced Arctic Char Gravlax
with Lemon Cream and Buckwheat Blinis
Dungeness Crab Raviolini
with Chervil-Tarragon Scented Shellfish Emulsion

Entrees:
Pan Roasted Casco Bay Cod
with Ratatouille, Basil-Potato Puree and Saffron Beurre Blanc
Slow Braised Beef Short Ribs
Garlic Croquettes and Natural Braising Juice
Bacon Wrapped Kurobuta Pork Tenderloin
with Roasted Apples, Spiced Marcona Almonds and Yukon Potato Purée

Choice of Desserts
Chocolate Bon Bon
Creamy Manjari Chocolate Shell, Cherry Cordial Center
Tahitian Vanilla Bean Cheesecake
Preserved Royal Blenheim Apricot, Orange Scented Fair Floss
Braeburn Apple Tart Tatin
Caramelized Apples, Inverse Puff Pastry, Roquefort Glace

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Spago
176 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[hyacinthgirl]

Thanks for posting! I made my reservation based on everyone's glowing reviews. Can't wait!

[Servorg]

Spago's Dine LA lunch doesn't look too shabby either:

Lunch $28*

*Price excludes alcohol, tax and gratuity.
Choice of Appetizers

Summer Harvest Farm’s Heirloom Tomato Soup
with Fresh Ricotta Crouton

Roasted Bartlett Pear and Prosciutto Salad
with Burrata Mozzarella

Crispy Monterey Bay Calamari
with Marinated Cucumbers and Black Bean Vinaigrette

Choice of Entrees

Tagliatelle Pasta with Maryland Softshell Crab and wild Arugula

Pan Roasted Casco Bay Cod with Ratatouille, Basil-Potato Puree and Saffron Beurre Blanc

Grilled Kurobuta Pork Loin with Walnut-Parsley Pesto and Marinated Heirloom Tomatoes

Choice of Desserts

Chocolate Bon Bon Creamy Manjari Chocolate Shell, Cherry Cordial Center

Tahitian Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Preserved Royal Blenheim Apricot, Orange Scented Fair Floss

Braeburn Apple Tart Tatin Caramelized Apples, Inverse Puff Pastry, Roquefort Glace

[WildSwede]

YAY! Thank you! Looks FANTASTIC! Now I cannot wait til the 13th!! ;-)

[Servorg]

http://discoverlosangeles.com/restaur...

[westsidegal]

dinner at Lilly's french cafe for sure.
k-zo
da pasquale

[Jack Flash]

I'll probably do a lunch at the Palm downtown (soup or salad, 11 oz NY steak with truffled french fries plus another side for the table, key lime pie, all for $22). Might also go to Craft, currently my favorite restaurant in town. I'll be curious to see the Spago menu, though. Or maybe I'll finally try Bazaar by Jose Andres.

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Spago
176 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210