Lexington Social House: Kiowa Bryan Goes Hollywood

Lexington Social House is the latest addition to the burgeoning Hollywood restaurant and cocktail scene.  Its opening brings back Kiowa Bryan, who garnered significant attention in her previous role as the head bartender at Fraiche in Culver City for her creative cocktails.  You can find her Thursday - Saturday evenings at the bar in the back patio at Lexington Social House.

This patio area can get crowded and become quite a scene but a few sips of Bryan's cocktails and you can forget that you are in Hollywood and just enjoy the beverages and the cool evening air.  The Lexington (below) is a great way to begin exploring the menu.  It is made with Earl Grey infused Woodford Reserve Bourbon, honey, lemon juice and orange bitters.  The Lexington is well balanced and  the citrus plays well with the bourbon.

The Lexington

For a frothier touch, the Smoke and Mirrors brings mezcal to the forefront.  Del Maguey mezcal, Herradura Silver tequila, honey, lemon juice, egg white, barbeque bitters and smoke sea salt are all shaken together and served in a couple glass.  The smoke from the mezcal comes through yet the cocktail is light and frothy.  This is an excellent cocktail for those who may not have tried mezcal and the combination of mezcal and tequila and is a deluxe way to continue celebrating Cinco de Mayo all summer long.

Smoke & Mirrors

Bryan uses custom ice cubs in several drinks.  The Name Dropper (not to be confused with Dave Kupchinsky of the Everleigh's legendary Panty Dropper) utilizes hibiscus water ice cubes and the Wicked is cooled by an cucumber-water ice cube.  The Wicked (below) is made with Plymouth Gin, lime juice, simple syrup, lavender bitters and is served in a rocks glass with a large cucumber-water ice cube that is bright green.  The cocktail was named for the musical, which played at the Pantages theater nearby, due to the green hue, which reminded Bryan of the color of the wicked witch.  The cucumber flavor becomes more pronounced as the ice cube melts and its fun to see the flavor profile of the drink change.  That said, it is difficult to let this cocktail sit long enough for too much of the cube to melt.

Wicked

Bryan's playful side comes out in the Super Hero, made with cranberry-infused Absolut vodka, lime juice, simple syrup and Red Bull pop rocks.  The pop rocks are served in a glass alongside the cocktail and the guest can add the pop rocks all at once or bit by bit.  Bryan made the Red Bull pop rocks in-house, in collaboration with Executive Chef Mette Williams.  Bryan said it took a lot of experiments to get it right.  The drink, while on the sweet side, is fun to drink.  Who doesn't love pop rocks?

Super Hero

The food menu includes several small plates, which are just the right size to accompany some cocktails.  The Lamb Pita is recommended.  Four house-made pita pockets stuffed with generous portions of roast lamb served with hummus, raita and pickles on the side.  The hummus is good enough to request extra pitas to scoop up any leftover dip.   Chef Williams spent years working for Wolfgang Puck at Spago and Cut, so it is not surprising that she knows how to run a kitchen.

All cocktails are generally $14 each.  On the evening I visited cocktails were $7 or $10, for Cinco de Mayo pricing.  The small plates were $6 on this visit.  I am unsure of regular pricing.  I was told that happy hours or other specials may be in the works.

The back patio (photo courtesy of Lexington Social House)

Hollywood is now home to a variety of spots that make legit cocktails including The Spare Room and the Library Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel, B Side Lounge at Rolling Stone, Hemingway's Lounge, Harvard & Stone, and the forthcoming Writers Room in addition to Lexington Social House.  What a great evolution in the neighborhood.

Lexington Social House: 1718 Vine St, Hollywood.  Phone: (323) 461-1700.  Website: http://www.lexingtonsocialhouse.com/

Notorious FIG

FIG in the Fairmont Hotel in Santa Monica is a restaurant that isn't shy about proclaiming its focus on local and seasonal ingredients.  The bottom of the menu lists which produce is "just arrived," peak season," and "coming soon."  When I dined here on Friday, Chef Ray Garcia was away at the Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival, so I hoped for the best.  On a previous visit, for my birthday last year, I found the cuisine to be competent but boring.  Nothing got me excited to take another bite.  I am happy to say that on this visit, the food was well seasoned, flavorful and had my party eating with gusto.

We began with a sampling of charcuterie and cheese (above) which was a gift of the house.  A dining companion of mine had hosted an event at the hotel several months ago and the rest of us were all the fortunate recipients of this thank you.  The pork eaters in our group laid waste to the meat, including a spreadable salami, while I enjoyed the various cheeses.  A fun way to begin the meal.

The Foie Gras and Chicken Liver Parfait was a big winner.  Decadent and served with warm toasts and fig marmalade.  Spreading a little marmalade on the toast and then a thick layer of the parfait was rich and delicious.  There were smiles all around the table with this dish.

We had the Queso Fundido without the chorizo and I am not sure what the point was of this dish.  Melted chese and some housemade tortillas.  Uninteresting and one dimensional.  Perhaps the chorizo was required in order for this dish to work.  A rare miss.

The Braised Tongue with tomatillo and breakfast radish was another success.  It was like melt in your mouth brisket.  We ordered this dish based on a recommendation from Vxronica and boy was she right.  This was not a dish I would have likely selected otherwise.  The radishes were a nice crunchy textural contrast to the soft braised tongue.

The Duck Rillette had a similar presentation to the foie and chicken liver.  Stick to the foie and chicken liver as once you have had that, this is a pale imitation.  Although I thought it was just OK, others at my table made quick work of it.  There is something fun about food presented in mason jars; it feels rustic.

Buffalo Mozzarella with Hand Mashed Pesto was tangy and the pesto was top notch.  It has been a while since I have had mozzarella served like this; lately burrata seems to dominate menus.

The pièce de résistance of our dinner may have been the Cote de Boeuf for Two.  This monster of a prime steak was aged for 32 days before being cooked.  It had real beefy flavor and was big enough for several of us to share.  To accompany it we shared the Asparagus with paprika and lemon, the Brussels Sprouts, the French Fries, and Bordeaux Spinach.  It was cooked medium, as asked, although with some redder slices, which I availed myself of.

We were too full for dessert.  This meal won me over and I'd certainly return without reservations.  I am chalking down my prior visit to an anomaly.

Note:  When I went to retrieve my car from the hotel valet, they could not find it.  It took them a frantic forty minutes of searching to find it in their overflow lot, by which time my dinner companions were long gone and I had to cancel the drinks plans I had for afterwards.  I spoke to the manager of the hotel this week and he apologized profusely.  This was not the fault of the restaurant but just be aware when you valet your car at the Fairmont that it may not come back in a timely manner.

FIG: 101 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica. In the Fairmont Hotel.  Phone: (310) 319-3111.  Website: www.figsantamonica.com

Breeze: Vegan Eats in Century City

Breeze, the restaurant in the Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel, recently launched a series of vegan options to their menu. I was recently invited to check out the new meat, dairy and egg free dishes to see what Executive Chef Manfred Lassahn had been working on. The hotel had been getting an increasing number of requests for vegan food offerings and the Humane Society's Genesis Awards this Spring was the impetus for the R&D that led to the dishes and the launching of them on the lunch and dinner menus.

I am not a vegan or vegetarian, so I was curious to see how delicious and satisfying these vegan dishes would be.  It is unusual for a hotel to create specific vegan dishes, so it is commendable that the Century Plaza has launched this program.  However, I do not grade on a curve as you are eating food, not intentions.

Our meal began with several shared appetizers: Beet Carpaccio, Macadamia Caprese, and Wild Field Green Salad.  The Beet Carpaccio (above) uses beets as the "bread" in the sandwich of edamame hummus and mango emulsion with basil oil.

The Macadamia Caprese is made with house-made macadamia nut cheese, semi-dried tomatoes, baby mizuna and green olive oil was my favorite of the appetizers.  The "cheese" is rolled in tarragon and chives and a basil vinaigrette with a balsamic reduction was sprinkled on top.  The semi-dried tomatoes were new to me; their texture went well with the macadamia nut cheese; fresh tomatoes would have been too wet.

The third appetizer, Wild Field Greens, is a salad of market stand greens, dried cherries and blueberries, sunflower seeds, house made tofu-ricotta, Harry's Berries strawberries and a warm vinaigrette.  The berries were delicious but this dish could have been tasty and vegan without the faux-cheese.

The meal continued with several main courses, some of which included Gardein, a plant-based protein designed to mimic chicken.  The main courses were Gardein Chicken, Gardein Chicken Scaloppini, and Red Beet Quinoa and Zucchini Noodle.  The Gardein Chicken, below, was my favorite of the entrees.  It was served with a green bean and fingerling potato salad, baby arugula and white wine and cashew cream sauce.  The "chicken" had been spiced very well and had a pleasant texture.  It almost passed for chicken and tasted very good.   The green bean and baby potato salad was also a good and well executed foil to the "chicken."

The Gardein Chicken Scaloppini was dusted with spiced flour and was served with garlic pea shoots and asparagus-meyer lemon risotto.  I did not care for the texture of the risotto, although the "chicken" and pea shoots were good.

The Red Beet Quinoa and Zucchini Noodle with toasted almond, golden raisin, micro greens, yellow beet chips, avocado-basil pesto and aged balsamic vinegar.  The quinoa was served in a disc shape, much as tuna tartare often is.

To conclude the meal, the chef prepared a special dessert of Tiramisu made with egg-free lady fingers, tofu marscapone, Kahlua and cocoa.  This dessert is available by special advance request, although there is not a currently a vegan option on the dessert menu beyond fresh fruit.  This was a satisfying end to the meal, although I must confess I would have preferred a bowl of berries from the farmer's market.  Sometimes simple is best and there is no need to mess with the bounty of produce available to us here in Los Angeles.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and thought put into the vegan options and by how much I enjoyed the Gardein chicken.  Breeze is evidently putting a lot of effort into expanding their offerings to guests who are often offered uninteresting options like a grilled vegetable plate.  I think that they should also work to design dishes that are vegan but don't rely on mock meat or cheese.  There are plenty of flavorful salads that are already vegetarian/vegan and I can't help but think of Tender Greens and the amazing salads and cooked vegetable dishes that they offer.  The faux product should really only be used to supplement the natural abundance of fruits, vegetables and grains available to us, and need not be the focal point of vegan dishes.  Chef Lassahn already shops at the various farmers' markets as evidenced by the Harry's Berries strawberries and the red, peruvian and fingerling potatoes in the Gardein Chicken entree, so he is well aware of the product available to him.

Breeze is a comfortable restaurant and the vegan options make this jump to the shortlist of places I would go to with a vegan dining companion on the westside, especially near Century City.  The menu, because it offers healthy and vegan options in addition to its regular menu, makes it easy to find something for both the meat and vegan eaters in the crowd.  It is also more upscale and has a less preachy/crunchy menu than most vegan spots.  Whether it is vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free etc, it is great to see more general restaurants offer options that meet the needs of diners with dietary restrictions, without everyone having to go to a specialized restaurant.

Breeze: 2025 Avenue of the Stars in the Century Plaza Hotel, Century City.  (310) 551-3334.  Website: http://www.centuryplaza.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/entertainment/restaurants/

Now On Tap: City Tavern in Culver City

Exterior

City Tavern in Culver City has gotten a lot of buzz in the few weeks it has been open.  The new restaurant and bar, from the owners of nearby Rush Street, is a craft beer focused establishment in the heart of Culver City's restaurant district.  They have three booths that have beer taps at them for self service, a first in the state.  Not surprisingly, these booths have generated a lot of notoriety and demand - you need to book in advance if you hope to pour yourself some draft beer from the comfort of your six person booth.

Interior

The interior is comfortable and if anything smaller than I expected.  The decor is modern gastro-pub with exposed brick walls, reclaimed wooden floors and a copper and walnut bar.  The ceilings are high, giving the tavern a light and airy feel.  There is also outdoor seating (top picture) on the front patio with wooden tables and chairs.

City Tavern has 22 beers on tap with an all-California list, which provides a broad sprectrum of craft beers to try.  Even better, the beers are served in three sizes, labeled taste, glass or share.  The taster glasses, which are the same size as the water glasses, are a great idea as they allow customers to try a variety of beers over the course of their meal.  Breweries represented on the draft list include The Bruery, Craftsman, Sierra Nevada (with the great Oliva I enjoyed at ColLAboration), Cismontane, and Eagle Rock among others.

Crudo

On a visit last week with Nick of TreasureLA, we had the opportunity to try a large swathe of Chef Jessica Christensen's menu.  We began with the Crudo (above), the Oysters and the Grilled Cheese sandwich.  I did not try the oysters ($15) but Nick was pretty pleased with them.  The grilled cheese sandwich ($8) is made with pimento cheese, a Southern touch.  The grilled cheese was fine but the crudo ($13) , which was made with hiramasa, crushed coriander and fennel, was rather bland.

Carrots

Things perked up with the next set of dishes.  We got the salt roasted carrots (above), the arctic char (below), the french fries (unpictured), and the olive oil poached New York strip steak (below, bottom).  The carrots ($5) were too sweet; not naturally so, it tasted like the sauce they were in was overly sweetened.  However, the french fries ($5) were excellent.  Served with toasted garlic and parsley, the fries were crisp, hot and full of flavor.

The arctic char ($16) was also a winner.  The fish was served with cippolini onions and potatoes in a sherry jus.  The char had a nice texture to it and the onions, potatoes, artichokes and jus were all well suited partners for it.  It was attractively presented and felt like a Spring dish.

Fish

One of our other favorites was the New York strip steak ($17) which was prepared sous vide by poaching it with olive oil and was served with crispy potatoes.  The steak was well seasoned and cooked perfectly medium rare.  The little potatoes served with it were almost like tater tots with thicker skin/crust.  This was an excellent finish to the savory portion of the meal.

Steak

At City Tavern, the environment is comfortable, the food by and large well executed and fairly priced, and the beer selection is very good.  This is a spot that is easy to come back to or bring friends to as the menu is accessible but not boring.  Occasionally the crowd would get loud when there was a big play on either of the TVs above the bar tuned to sporting events, but that comes with the tavern/pub-like environment.  City Tavern is a place to relax and hang out with friends over a meal and some beers; fine dining this is not, nor is it meant to be.  It is a definite step up from other burger and beer type of spots in the neighborhood, without any of the pretentiousness or high price points of the gourmet restaurants nearby.

Our meal was hosted.

City Tavern: 9739 Culver Blvd, Culver City. Phone: (310) 838-9739.  Website: www.citytavernculvercity.com

Kick off Cinco de Mayo with Cuatro de Mayo at La Descarga

Image: Steve Livigni

Why wait until Thursday to celebrate Cinco de Mayo?  Begin a night early on Wednesday evening at La Descarga.  The celebration begins at 8 pm and runs until close.  You can expect tequila and mezcal drinks and shots all night long. These bebidas include the "Wet Baquiri", "Kraken Micheladas" and more that were too top secret to be revealed in advance.

For your listening and dancing pleasure, none other than StreetGourmetLA aka Bill Esparza will be leading the band all night long.  DJ Henry Helix will also be spinning his sweet tunes.  Providing food will be the Camarena Taco truck, which will park outside from 9:30-12:00.  If you get there early, word on the calle is that there is free food for the early arrivals.

Other surprises are in store for revelers.  Make reservations while you can, as La Descarga fills up and this is sure to be a fun fiesta.

La Descarga: 1159 Western Avenue, just North of Santa Monica Blvd. Phone: (323) 466-1324. Website: www.descargala.com

ColLAboration Comes to Hollywood

ColLAboration, the mobile craft beer garden from the folks behind Tony’s Darts Away, Verdugo Bar/Surly Goat, Blue Palms and 38 Degree Ale House, that I enjoyed so much last month in Burbank is coming back. This time the frothy and hoppy party is popping-up in Hollywood on Saturday, June 4th at the corner of Gower and Hollywood, from noon til 7 p.m.

Just like before you can purchase a glass, which is your admission ticket, for $10 online. If you attended the first event I hope you kept your glass, as it will get you in to the next one as well. The Hollywood ColLAboration beer garden will feature dozens of craft beers, including favorites from breweries such as Russian River, Craftsman, Green Flash, Moylan’s, Avery, Alesmith, New Belgium, Dogfish Head, Port/Los Abbey, Eagle Rock, Sierra Nevada, and more legit joints than I can fit in this blogpost. Each beer will be priced at $5-6 per glassful.

As if the June 4th event is not enough to quench your thirst for craft beer, for the entire month of July, COLLAB will be held every Friday (4 p.m. to 9 p.m) and Saturday (noon to 9 p.m.) on the Sunset Strip right across from the Roxy Theater. Just like the Hollywood edition, these Sunset Strip COLLABs will venture beyond California to include great craft brews from a broader area. Sometimes you just gotta cross state lines.

ColLAboration: 6124 Hollywood Blvd. at the corner of Gower and Hollywood. Saturday June 4th from 12 Noon – 7 pm. More information and glasses for purchase can be found at http://www.collaboration.la/

Coverage of the first ColLAboration here.

Note: Edited to reflect that beers are from California + other states at the Hollywood edition.

Public: Opening up the Roosevelt Lobby

Public Kitchen & Bar Dining Room

The main lobby in the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel is one of the more dramatic spaces in town, yet for years it has been neglected and sat largely empty as there was nothing to drive energy to it.  Library Bar is small and off to the side and entrance to Teddy's is nothing but discreet.  Now the newly launched Public Kitchen & Bar has opened up the space both literally and figuratively to provide a needed focal point and locus of energy.  The restaurant, from Chef Tim Goodell, is in the former Dakota location, although this restaurant suits the location and the times much more than the steakhouse ever did.

Pineapple Express

The bar faces both the lobby and the restaurant and offers a dozen classic and classically inspired cocktails for $9, a bargain in this setting and neighborhood.  On a recent visit I enjoyed the Spiced Cucumber Collins with Hendrick's Gin, lime juice, shishito pepper, cucumber and mint.  The gin was the forward flavor element in the cocktail and the Hendrick's paired well with cucumber.

You cannot go to Public without ordering a round of the Parker House Rolls ($5), which come in a set of six and arrive with Vermont Creamery butter.  They are Chef Goodell's grandmother's recipe and are wonderfully fluffy and light.  These set the tone for the restaurant: well executed, delicious, American and unpretentious.

Burrata with bagnet vert and cherry tomatoes is marvelously creamy.  My tablemates and I did not let even a spoonful go to waste.  The kitchen appears to love mason jars with hinged lids as the burrata, the pickles and the chicken liver terrine all came in them.  I found them to be a fun playful touch that speak to the use of the chef's grandma's recipes and traditions.

Pickles

The House Pickled Seasonal Vegetables ($6) are crunchy and vinegary and go beyond the standard pickled cucumbers.  The Chicken Liver Terrine ($14) is served with a kumquat marmalade and grilled rustic bread.  This dish defines decadent.  The layer of red wine gelee on top of the chicken liver only enhances the richness of the dish, which I was not shy about eating.  The marmalade is served in a white oval dish that when filled resembles an egg with the yolk in the middle.

The Cured and Smoked Salmon ($10) is a light appetizer that is served with a fingerling potato salad and finished with yuzu juice.  The fish is silky in texture and not too smoky; an appetizer that lives up to the promise of whetting your appetite.

Another popular appetizer at my table (yes, we were very hungry) was the Potato and Three Cheese Fritters with basil aioli.  The fritters are miraculously crisp on the exterior and melty on the interior.  Even if you are tempted to order them just to have an excuse to say the word "fritter" do so.  These little guys are best eaten warm; not that you'd let them get cold.

The Crispy Oxtail Gallette ($9) with a poached farm egg and frisee is like shredded short ribs with a beautifully run egg on top.  This dish (unpictured) hits two of my sweet spots in one: secondary meats and runny eggs.  The galette is not for the faint of heart but it stops short of being too much.  Don't be afraid and go for it.  I bet you'll be eating it with as much gusto as I did.

A special of a Foie Gras and Duck Sausage was ravenously set upon by our table as if we had not eaten any of the previous dishes.  I can't divulge too much about this dish, except that it didn't last long.

Now when it comes to dessert, it better be worth it.  The duo of Chocolate and Butterscotch Puddings ($8) delivered.  The butterscotch wasn't afraid of venturing over to the savory side with a healthy dose of salt and the vanilla bean cream was a luxurious touch on top of each.

The Valhrona Chocolate Souffle ($8) is a way to end your meal in style.  Nothing quite says celebration like a souffle (and some bubbly), so get both and toast to your good fortune.

Souffle

Public is a fun restaurant that makes tasty food in a beautiful environment in a cool hotel for way less money than you would expect.  Cocktails are only $9, appetizers are $6 - $13 and mains are $14 - $26 (except the steak category which are $34 - $75 for the cote d boeuf for two).  The room is great, the food delicious, the service professional and as a bonus when you are done with dinner you can get a cocktail at the Library Bar or at the new Spare Room upstairs.

The only weak point I found was that the cocktails often read better on paper than they tasted in my glass.  If Goodell and company raise the caliber of the cocktails to that of the food and the room then they can't go wrong.  As it is, I feel confident recommending Public.  The Hollywood Roosevelt finally has a restaurant worthy of the public spaces of the hotel.  If you go, please report back.

All food and beverage on my visit were hosted.

Public Kitchen & Bar: 7000 Hollywood Blvd (in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel).  Phone: (323) 466-7000.  Website: http://www.thompsonhotels.com/hotels/la/hollywood-roosevelt/eat/public-kitchen-and-bar