dinner near the Troubadour

[bunbun]

A few of us are heading from the east side over to the Troubadour for show and want to eat dinner beforehand, not on the east side. Nothing too fancy, nothing too "cheap". hole in the wall is always good or something new and interesting. Some places we like: Palate, Auntie Em's, anything izakaya, Lazy Ox & Baco Mercat, Oinkster, Genwa. Thanks for any suggestions!

[bunbun]

Thanks for your input everybody! We ended up going to Dominick's which is quite close by. Our friends chose it. I've been to Little Dom's a bunch, which i love (though a little expensive for what you get. still great food and i LOVE the decor in the bar... seriously reminds me of my grandparents house!) The food and atmosphere at Dominick's was great. We all enjoyed what we got. I got the fava bean bruschetta -- very simple and showed off the favas. And then i had the linguine limone w/some oyster mushrooms, which was also delicious -- nice chewy pasta, crispy mushrooms and a grilled lemon full of juice to make it extra lemony. Totally happy with my meal and would recommend it and go eat there again. Yeah! success! And I'm excited to have some new places to try next time i head out there. Thanks again!

[foodiemahoodie]

I was close to there this evening (Satuday) and of all the places that were available - and there are plenty, I decided to give Red O a try. My date was a former chef and said it was good. We went - had the triple ceviche, the duck taquitos, lobster and lamb tacos which were "grilled, seared and braised". I thought that was a weird idea - braising lamb in a chili based liquid, but this is a name chef who should know what he's doing. Except I was right; braising lamb takes the sweetness and game out of it, and you end up with something vaguely lamb-y, but really not all that interesting. With black beans. Really, it made me crave El Cholo - and El Cholo kinda sucks. Lobster was cooked right - perfectly in fact - in some kind of a mild red sauce - it was good, but I don't really crave to return to that? But if I have to go - I might get it again.(too many misses here to try anything else). No. Ceviches were good, but much prefer Mo-Chica (sweet, more complex, more astringent too - just popped). Room was fun, young and happening, but the food (we both agreed) just wasn't all that special. Duck taquitos - hm - my imagination went to Rebeccas of the '80's where they had duck rellenos - delicious. Oh I'm going to have to into the kitchen to cook up a snack....

[foodiemahoodie]

Amici - caddy corner from The Trob - and very good Italian. Otherwise, Dan Tana's - but stick to steak or lambchops. The Italian food there generally sucks.

[latindancer]

<Amici - caddy corner from The Trob - and very good Italian>

This is honestly the first time I've heard anyone refer to this little restaurant as 'very good Italian'....perhaps a tourist or two but never a local. What do you like there?

[latindancer]

One more thought...

I love Il Piccolino on Robertson....it's a little further than those I've mentioned (actually a few doors down from Cecconi's).
Fabulous Italian. I highly recommend and still within walking distance.

[bunbun]

Thanks so much everybody!

[nosh]

If you want to settle for good chilidogs and burgers, Carney's is nearby and has easy, free parking.

[latindancer]

If you like Auntie Em's then you'll like La Conversation....one block north on Doheny, right around the corner from Troubadour.
It's a local hang out and the food is similar to Auntie Em's.

[bunbun]

Thanks for the suggestion. They close at 7pm, unfortunately. But I'll check it out next time i'm over there! Any other ideas?

[Servorg]

Check out Cecconi and see what you think. Not cheap but not over the top expensive either. Dan Tana's is walkable to and from the Troub.

http://www.cecconiswesthollywood.com/

http://www.dantanasrestaurant.com/

[bunbun]

Thanks! Cecconi looks really good, but no reservations! we're a party of 5 and it's saturday night. I'm going to see what my party thinks of Dan Tana's. Cool!

[Servorg]

Did you actually call them or were you trying via Open Table? If you didn't phone them I would call and ask them directly.

[yogachik]

Keep it simple and go to Dan Tanas

[latindancer]

I agree with Servong...Dan Tana's is a few doors down from Troubadour and it's one of my neighborhood favorites. An old, famous neighborhood Italian joint with plenty of old Hollywood style...waiters in uniform and lots of good service. Don't know how much you're planning on spending but it's a good choice and a pretty casual atmosphere with good food and drinks. East of Troubadour is WeHo and there are lots of places to eat along Santa Monica Blvd. For the most part they're open-air restaurants where people join just to have food/fun and drinks. A pretty large party scene all the way around on any given night.
Thursday nights around here are crazy busy so if you could give an idea of how far you want to travel, price, etc....your choices might be broadened a little more.
Bossa Nova and The Abbey on Robertson (although I've never eaten there) seems to have a pretty large crowd in the evenings.
These are all within a short walking distance.