Bite by Bite

Restaurant Review : Wood & Vine (American, tapas) $$$ *6 out of 10*

The first time I came here, I absolutely loved it.  The space was amazing, the interior was nice and cozy, and I immediately fell in love with the outdoor patio.  I felt like I was lost in a secluded little wonderland on Hollywood Boulevard…huh? 

The Chicken and Waffles were sweet and delicious, the service was great, the drinks were good, and they had this 3-course menu for $20 that consisted of a carrot and ginger soup, sausage linguine with fava beans in a lemon butter sauce, and a farmer’s market cobbler.  Aside from the bland linguine, the two other dishes made me a very happy girl…well, that and the drinks of course. 

If it weren’t for our return trip a month later, I would’ve given this place 8 or 9 stars for sure. 

The second time around, the drinks were horrible…really horrible. The five of us came in happy, and the five of us left very unsatisfied. The drinks weren’t mixed right and the glasses even had a smell of dirty rags.  My friend (who bartends down the street) told me that the good bartender was not working that day.  The replacement obviously did not know what he was doing.

Daily Happy Hour (11pm to 2am):  $4 California Beers and $8 Specialty Cocktails.  

Monday Night Farmers Market Dinner:  3 courses for $18

Wood & Vine
6280 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
Neighborhood: Hollywood
(323) 334-3360
http://www.woodandvine.com

Restaurant Review : Luna Park (American) $$ *7 out of 10*

I like Luna Park.  Their 2 for 1 Happy Hour on drinks and appetizers from 4-7PM, Monday through Friday, is something you may want to take advantage of.  Their prix-fix menu for $32 is pretty spiffy too.  You get a choice of any appetizer, any entrée, and any dessert.  Since the portions here are pretty generous you can split this with another person if you’re not a big eater. 

I’ve heard a lot of hype of their warm goat cheese fondue so of course I had to try it.  I found this to be a big disappointment.  The reaction was, “this is goat cheese? I can barely taste it!”  If you don’t like goat cheese, you might actually like this dish. 

The arugula, fennel, parmesan salad was simple, good.  The mac & cheese…not quite as rich as I like, but good.  The Moules Frites didn’t have the freshest of mussels, they were slightly musty.  While my husband stayed away from them I scarfed them down and rebelliously enjoyed them.  The fries were good.  The short ribs were not the best I’ve had…they were lacking a little something something, and they could have been cooked a little longer…mediocre.  Flat iron steak was good….two thumbs up; cooked super rare just the way I like it. 

For dessert we indulged in the Make-your-own S’mores.  I liked this.  I was craving chocolate and it succeeded in partially satisfying it.   The graham crackers were yummy as was the chocolate.  It could have been bigger but that just may be my gluttonous tendencies getting the better of me. 

Oh, and I did take advantage of their $8 dark and stormy drink special.  It makes for a much better evening does it not?

Luna Park
Neighborhood : Mid-Wilshire
672 S La Brea
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 934-2110
http://www.lunaparkla.com

Restaurant Review : Chaya Downtown (Japanese, Asian Fusion) *6 out of 10* DTLA

The $1 oysters at Chaya save the day!  No one seems to know how long they’re going to have this special but it’s here right now so take advantage of it.  They’re fresh and tasty; a perfect way to round up your stressful workday.  Pair them with a beautiful outdoor patio, a cool city skyline and some cocktails and you’ll see a huge smile on my face. 

Aside from the oysters the food needs major help.  Every time I order real food here, I cringe.  On my last trip I ordered “grilled” octopus $8, a spicy tuna hand roll $4, and an ume shiso maki (plum, shiso leaf, cut roll) $5 along with the oysters.  The “grilled” octopus was actually fried, not grilled.  It was greasy, tasteless and tough and had about 5 measly dried-out octopus pieces in it that was drowning in mayo.  

The spicy tuna was food-processored into a tuna mush that didn’t look appetizing at all.  Although the tuna wasn’t of the best quality it did taste better than it looked, thank goodness.  

And how can you mess up an ume shiso roll?  I mean, it’s so simple right?  It turns out that you can mess it up especially if you don’t know how salty your ume is and you put way too much into the roll so that you cure your diner’s mouth and have them desperately reaching for water.

8 stars for the patio/restaurant space
8 stars for the oysters…until they last
3 stars for the food 

PS Free validated parking underground for 4 hours in the City National Bank Plaza
PPS Happy Hour is 7 days a week all night until closing. Includes half price drinks & HH menu.

Restaurant Review : The Falls in Downtown  *7 out of 10*

I walked 5 blocks in the pouring rain on a Saturday night to get here and I was not disappointed.  The layout was comfortable, the décor was interesting; a little jumbled, but I liked it.  They also had a DJ spinning groovy house music. 

They have a Holiday Cocktail Special for $3 all night long.  I personally have never seen cocktails for that cheap in LA my entire life!  I tried the Egg Nog one and it was way too eggy/ noggy for me. The Navy Cider did was good with a good amounts of spices, sweetness and alcohol. I had 2.  PS I did not get a headache afterwards and I’m prone to them due to my low alcohol tolerance.

Around 11:30 it started filling up: The perfect amount of patrons; full, but not jammed.

FYI  Their normal cocktails are around $10, reasonable.  It also looks like they have a good happy hour going.  I’m posting a picture of their happy hour menu.

Restaurant Review : Copa d’Oro in Santa Monica *8 out of 10*

Classic bar and classic cocktails with a modern approach. Go during Happy Hour which is EVERYDAY (except Sunday when they’re closed) from 5:30-8PM and all day on Mondays!

$5 Tasty, hand-crafted, happy hour cocktails—hell yeah!  Really, who cares about the food at this point?  Okay, okay, I do.  I ALWAYS care about the food.  But the quite ordinary food definitely takes back seat to the cocktails here.

I like whiskey cocktails so The Gold Rush, Manhattan, Affinity and Whiskey Sour, are my favorites.  The Buck Fizz is really good too. The Mojitos are a bit too sweet for me.  The Dark and Stormy is a little too…gingery?…but it’s good.

It’s definitely worth a stop-by.  It’s the perfect break from all the shopping.