Littlefork - New in Hollywood

[lil mikey]

On their third night open, we visited for dinner. They've remodeled from the old Shin design, lightening-up the space considerably. Gone are the dark woods, replaced by light woods and a wood theme in general... but more like pine, not mahogany.

Since it's so new, I'm only going to focus on the hits and allow that the misses will work themselves out.

First, the oysters are deliciously fresh tasting, served nice and cold to great effect. There are three types to choose from.

The next great dish was the poutine. The curds were creamy, and the meat was thankfully not the "smoked meat" you would get in Montreal, for example. Rather, the meat had a smokey flavor, but tasted braised. I wasn't a big fan of Quebecios smoked meat, but I really liked this. Gravy is thoughtfully on the bottom, so the fries don't immediately get soggy.

Clam chowder was thick, chunky and flavorful as I like it.

And for sure save room for the Whoopee Pie dessert. The cake is a decadent devil's food, and the cream is fresh and not overdone.

Littlefork
1600 Wilcox (corner of Selma)
Hollywood

[ns1]

Off their brunch menu, has anyone tried any of these?

PASTRAMI SANDWICH rye bread, housemade sauerkraut & 1000 island 13
NUTELLA STUFFED FRENCH TOAST hazelnut, banana, maple syrup 11
BREAKFAST BURRITO, smoked meats, pork rinds, onion rings, cheddar, maple syrup 12

[mrsjoujou]

We had brunch at LF yesterday and they serve a good French press coffee from the Verve. My lobster roll at $24 was good, but my husbands smoked meat hash was a miss. The hash at $13 was so tiny and it was 80% potatoes and hardly any meat and one egg on the top. Superba has the best hash and at $15 it is almost double the portion and it is tastiest hash we have tasted so far.

[ns1]

Went for round 2 last night, sat at the bar.

Gin & Tonic (cocktail) remains my favorite of the cocktail menu.

Had:

- dozen and a half oysters - WOW these oysters were so freaking good. Some of the best I've ever had.
- oyster sliders - so good I had to have them again, and they completely delivered. Whatever spread they're using is perfect, bun is super soft and pairs well against the ridiculously crunchy sliders; batter is similar to a tempura batter
- clam cakes - traditional NE clam cakes, but not really my thing. Too much batter (evidently that's how it's made), but good texture/tartar
- clams casino - good enough but not mind blowing
- lobster roll - FAT FAT FAT lobster roll, price is now $24. Comes with some pickled veggies that are also mind blowingly good. A much better value than LobstaTruck IMO and the best I've had in the city so far.

4 drinks, 18 oysters, 4 other items = 150 after tax/tip.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Oh yum, ns1 I am so jealous and can't wait to go.....thanks for the review.

[mrsjoujou]

I tried the lobster roll yesterday because of your recommendation and it was tasty, but at that price I can have two lobster rolls from the Lobsta truck.

[ns1]

lobstatruck is $14 + $5 for extra meat.

i found the littlefork roll ($24) to have more meat than the $19 lobstatruck variant, and an extra $5 for the environment + pickled sides + chips is more than worth it to me.

did you not find this to be the case?

[mrsjoujou]

Lobster rolls at the LT are only $12 last time I had it two weeks ago and since I am their regular customer I have a feeling they might give me a little more lobster than other people. So in my case I can have two lobster rolls for what LF charges. I enjoyed the chips, but the pickled veggies yesterday were only a few pieces of sweet pickled cucumber slices.

[ns1]

interesting; regardless, I didn't find the quantity of Lobsta received @ LobstaTruck "generous", even with the add meat option.

clearly, YMMV. Glad it tasted good though :)

based on your + yelp reviews, seems like brunch @ LF is a bit weak.

[Dirtywextraolives]

You might want to consider giving them a benefit of the doubt re: brunch, as yesterday, being Mothers Day, cannot be considered a good day to judge any restaurant, especially in quantity of food and service.

[ns1]

nah, reports of less-than-stellar brunch @ LF has been a common theme on yelp pre-Mother's Day.

[ns1]

Also chiming in, went here last night for dinner and had a great meal.

- Oyster sliders definitely the highlight, so freaking good
- beet salad w/ housemade ricotta, holy shit that ricotta
- brussel sprouts - good but could have used more chicken skin
- portuguese mussels: wanted to love these only liked them. a bit saltier than i would have liked
- poutine was good and fries maintained their texture
- the donuts were also so freaking good

6 small plates, 2 desserts, 2 glasses wine, 3 cocktails = $150 pretip.

fairly empty when we arrived at 7, completely packed around 830, had some empty tables when we left at 930.

very nice space, very good service - i made a note on our reservation that there was a peanut allergy and it was my fiance's birthday. When they brought out the salad, they politely informed my fiance that they noted the peanut allergies and the salad contained walnuts. When the donuts came out, it also had a birthday candle. Multiple employees also wished her a happy birthday.

oh yeah, excellent sound track. black keys, strokes, etc. - loved it.

[missy85]

Just had dinner here tonight. Everything we had was delicious. As a transplanted East Coaster, it was the first spot out here that really reminded me of home.

- Oysters fresh and tasty
- Clam cakes were the perfect combo of airy and clammy. SO's first time trying them and he liked them so much we skipped dessert to have a second order.
- Oyster sliders had a great crunch on the outside that was light enough to allow the meatiness of the oysters to shine through. Great bread, too.
- Duck breast was our semi-random selection given we had seafood on the brain. It was some of the better duck I've had and the mostarda that came with it was a great complement.

Prices were pretty reasonable for the quality and amount.

Another thing to mention, the service was very friendly and attentive - and not in that faux Hollywood way you often encounter around town. They genuinely seemed excited to be there and proud of the food being served (something I observed with the surrounding tables, as well).

We made reservations last minute through their website and were seated immediately. Could not have been more pleased with the entire experience. We definitely plan to come back to try the chowder, monkfish and more clam cakes.

[revets2]

Great meal at Littlefork:
-Fresh and perfect oysters, wish we'd had more
-Terrific maple egg
-Smoked sturgeon & brisket (loved the johnny cakes, wish they'd serve more with them, we shoulda asked)
-Kale Salad & Mushroom salad made loving veggies effortless
-Cauliflower (great)
- Brussel Sprouts, good, but I'm just so over the BS
- Duck Confit - amazing, dreaming about this
- Unlike the OP, wasn't knocked out by the Whoopie Pie, but perhaps it was overshadowed by the Maple Pie & Apple Cider Donuts - boom!

Cocktails great. Wine list needs a little work.

Can't wait to return.

[proovit]

I too just had a great meal at Littlefork. We were wandering around the area looking for an interesting restaurant and just walked in. Weird from the outside. Pretty nifty inside. The standouts were:
1, A pumpkin soup that changed the way I think of soups. I know that sounds extreme, but it had a homemade marshmallow type dollop (instead of a dollop of crème fresh) , along with pickled mushrooms. Sounds ridiculous. It was awesomely good.
2. Monkfish that was made kind of like sand dabs, with an egg wash. Again, not traditional but really good. Added a nice texture.
3. A rustic buttermilk pie. Not too sweet so it ended the meal in a nice way.
I hope I wander into another restaurant that good soon.

[Tripeler]

Sounds like a small tine operation.

[ilysla]

Looking at the menu, I'm getting gastropub/comfort food? Is that correct? Interior looks a bit like Piccolo....

[mlle.emery]

menu looks good! but as a side note, why must restaurants always do the menu as a PDF? pet peeve.

[Servorg]

I find pdf files to work great with my PC Windows 7 at home. Easy to enlarge the type and this sites menu displays perfectly. Yes it's a little more of a hassle (slightly more) with an Apple product, but still no biggie...

[mlle.emery]

hey, thanks for the reply servorg! glad i'm not the only one that has noticed... it's not so much the view, but the act of taking the time to open another program and save something on your computer. i know, it's minor, but for some reason it bugs me. it feels very web 2.0. I can't think of another industry that does this, not sure why the restaurant biz does...

[ns1]

kind of OT but...why doesn't your PDF just open in browser?

Not seeing how it would be more difficult on an Apple product, given Safari has native PDF support...

[ns1]

JG described it as "elevated bar food" and I agree.

[Servorg]

Sounds quite promising. How was the crowd? Did you make reservation (if they take them) or just walk in?

http://littleforkla.com/

[lil mikey]

There was no crowd. I walked in and made a reservation the previous day. We were almost the only ones in the restaurant, but we went early. The waiter said they expect more of a late crowd, which kind of makes sense as it's Hollywood...