humara's Profile
El Tarasco on Sunset
what would be some other suggestions in the area?
i thought this place was so much better than yucas has been for a long time. tacos always seem authentic to me, but by no means do i consider myself an authority on the matter.
Reservoir in Silverlake?
actually, i thought my review was much more informative and authentic than the useless
"...portions are small, prices are high, and taste was mediocre."
the prices are no higher than anything comparable in the area. the food is overwhelmingly better than blairs. the portions are only small if you're used to eating at cheesecake factory.
Reservoir in Silverlake?
resevoir is GREAT.
we ate there last night and although a bit spendy, we all felt it was worth the price.
the service was great. we were seated promptly in the very nicely designed space. our waiter was friendly but not too friendly and knew quite a bit about the menu considering they've only been opened a few days.
i know i will take issue with their no reservation policy. they want to keep it available to locals. makes no sense to me, because last time I checked, most people in silverlake also have phones. being from los feliz, i guess I am a 2nd class citizen here. anyway, not an issue right now because a table was available.
after word starts getting out about the great food and overall good vibe, i feel i will be waiting an hour or so for a table on a friday night unless i get there at 5-6pm.
anyway, on to the food.
the menu is very interesting and divided in kind of a novel way.
most of the mains are ordered "a la carte" but you get to pick from 4-5 different setups. a setup consists of some carbs and some veggies. that doesn't really do it justice though. I ordered the skirt steak with chimichuri and while it was good, and cooked to my requested temperature, it didn't really showcase the skills of the kitchen. my choice of "setup" was a little more telling though. Parmesan crusted potato au gratin with a hash of beluga lentils and fava beans were very very good and added a much needed variety of taste and texture to the plate.
other items ordered at our table which i sampled.
scallops (hell's kitchen reference???) nice texture, not rubbery, not over cooked, very nicely seared with good color and bite. polenta with spring peas and morel mushrooms. very good choice of a "setup". we saw some other tables just ordering "setups" as a main, and I would think that is a great choice for a vegetarian. speaking of which, we had one with us and he ordered the tofu. came served about the size of a stick of butter. crusted with black and toasted sesame seeds, marinated in an asian inspired soy based sauce. not too firm but not squishy or watery either. i would say it was one of the better tofu dishes I've had in a while. (jitlada tofu excepted)
one of the more unusual and interesting dishes we had was a braised beef shortrib and artichoke open face lasagna. this was the star for me. braised shortribs of course were tender, the baby artichokes went well with the dish. also lots of very flavorful cherry tomatoes that had been cooked in with the dish. the lasagna was really just a sheet of lasagna folded into the dish, so it wasn't layered as you might think from the name. regardless, it worked well together and I would go back just for that dish again.
desserts were also very good, and we only managed to try 2 but all the other choices on the mneu sounded very very good. sometimes, we struggle just to find one good choice on some dessert menus. anyway, we had some crazy chocolate plate, which was really about 5 desserts in one. the standard flourless moulten chocolate cake, some mousse with blood oranges(?), peppermint bark, a small shot of spicy hot chocolate and a bit of guiness ice cream. while the plate didn't really come across as a solid concept, i don't think that was the point. each little bit stood on it's own and was very delicious and served fresh. now, about that guiness ice cream. weird? yes. amazing? yes. very subtle. we were also intrigues by their other flavors of ice creams, so got a plate of 3. nutella, black garlic, and horchata. i thought the black garlic ice cream was disgusting and while probably made as well as one could hope, there are just some things better left alone. horchata was really really good though, a little less in-your-face than a glass of horchata, which made it a nice interpretation. the nutella was a little disappointing, the chocolate flavor overwhelmed any sense of hazelnuttiness that i would have liked, and while we did eat all of it, probably would not be my first choice next time. we missed out on a tarte tatin with a creme anglaise and caramel, and also missed out an interesting sounding panna cotta.
so obviously, i think the spot will do well, but please don't go so i can get a table.
Best GELATO? Recommendations please?!?
pazzo in silverlake.
freshest ingredients, best techniques and as people have said before, best combination of innovation of flavors and keeping the old stand-bys...
I have to see I've seen some recommendations on this thread, and cringe a little bit. A good quick indicator for quality gelato is too look at the colors of most flavors. In particular pistachio. What part of a pistachio is fluorescent green? Exactly. Look for natural colors and you will more than likely be safe. Angelato in santa monica is a good example of what not to eat. If your food blinds you, then perhaps you should not eat it.
For Pasta--All' Angelo or Osteria Mozza
You can't go wrong at either place, but for pasta, I would go with all'angelo. To be honest, even before the revamp, A'A prices weren't out of line with the caliber of food served. very similar to what the other top italians charge in the city.
Thoughts on La Botte?
Don't forget about the Michelin star... Not too many places in LA have that.
Of course there are many more that should... but that's another thread entirely.
Valentino's the best!
Thanks for the help, it does make sense. Perhaps you should actually read the post before jumping all over it. I do not hate Valentino, it's just there are at least 7-8 WAY better restaurants in town. (which I named) and believe formed a fairly valid opinion.
Thoughts on La Botte?
La Botte is great. Their food is as good or better than any Italian one could name in LA. The owner is always friendly and as far as I have seen is ALWAYS there. The food is top notch. Typical in quintessential Italian cooking, high quality ingredients, used effectively and simply to coax out the best flavors possible. Pastas here are always amazing, especially and of the stuffed ones that may be on the menu, but certainly the braised beef ravioli are always a pleaser. Wine list is fairly comprehensive (at least in Italian reds) and has many reasonably priced selections as well as a fair share of top shelf labels and vintages. If you're looking for other alternatives, look into Pecorino, and/or Picolo. Also both very fine Italian places.
Dinela extended??
how much savings do you think the typical dinela menu gives you?
wife and i have been to about 10 places this year and i'm guess the average savings was less than $10 per person. il moro seemed that it was about a free dessert. london i think actually was probably the best "deal" versus regular prices. akasha was about a free dessert depending on entree selection. valentino was probably the worst deal since they served smaller portions than the regular menu. we had 2 orders of vitello tonatto. 1 from the regular menu and 1 from dinela. the dinela was about 50-60% of the size. at the same table even.
Valentino's the best!
ha, so pinks has been around for 65 years, does that make it better than valentinos?
el coyote has been around 40-50 years? hmmm, best mexican in LA. guess i'll go again and maybe it won't be the most disgusting food (regardless of nationality) in los angles, hell, it's been there so long, its got to be amazing.
pinks, valentinos, el coyote. best food in town.
Valentino's the best!
what restaurants on my deleted again list do you not think are in the same league as valentino and what do you base that assesment on? Clearly Valentino still can deliver on the food, since they have a michelin star just like la botte. Maybe I just happened to go on several bad nights and maybe luck of the draw left me with bad waiters on each occasion.
But since you didn't list specifics about which of those places food doesn't compare to valentino's I can only surmise that you're generalizing or somehow convinced that there can only be one good Italian place in town.
Valentino's the best!
why was my post deleted?
Valentino's time has passed. There is now much better Italian food in Los
Angeles. Maybe in 1979, they could get away with such pretentious behavior,
but this is 2009. From the overhyped, oversized and overpriced wine list,
to the "yes, we allow you to be graced with our presence" attitude,
everything about this restaurant makes me want to eat elsewhere. The food
is actually quite good, not great but very good. Fresh made pastas are a
hard thing to come by, and for that I am grateful they do still have that
going for them. Braised shanks on the otherhand, were served cold and very
bland. Steaks were served and cooked properly, but that isn't exactly
rocket science, is it?
Another problem I have with their menu, is that there seems to be no
regional specificity to their offerings. Italian greatest hits for foodie
tourists is what it felt like.
I know this isn't the friendliest of first posts, but there probably have
been worse. But this restaurant was probably my biggest culinary letdown of
all time.
List of Italian restaurants better than Valentinos:
La Botte, Piccolo, Via Veneto, All'Angelo, Angelini Osteria, La Terza,
Melograno and Il Moro
Ironically none of these restaurants are cheaper and maybe some might be a
tad more but generally priced in the same range and all of which have
always been friendly, courteous and professional, from the chefs to the
wait staff to the bus staff.
Appetite Stimulus Menu - Valentino
Valentino's time has passed. There is now much better Italian food in Los Angeles. Maybe in 1979, they could get away with such pretentious behavior, but this is 2009. From the overhyped, oversized and overpriced wine list, to the "yes, we allow you to be graced with our presence" attitude, everything about this restaurant makes me want to eat elsewhere. The food is actually quite good, not great but very good. Fresh made pastas are a hard thing to come by, and for that I am grateful they do still have that going for them. Braised shanks on the otherhand, were served cold and very bland. Steaks were served and cooked properly, but that isn't exactly rocket science, is it?
Another problem I have with their menu, is that there seems to be no regional specificity to their offerings. Italian greatest hits for foodie tourists is what it felt like.
I know this isn't the friendliest of first posts, but there probably have been worse. But this restaurant was probably my biggest culinary letdown of all time.
List of Italian restaurants better than Valentinos:
La Botte, Piccolo, Via Veneto, All'Angelo, Angelini Osteria, La Terza, Melograno and Il Moro
Ironically none of these restaurants are cheaper and maybe some might be a tad more but generally priced in the same range and all of which have always been friendly, courteous and professional, from the chefs to the wait staff to the bus staff.
