Glad you had fun @paranoidgarliclover!
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If anyone has an American Express, they can register it here: https://offerenroll.americanexpress.com/enroll/EnrollmentSitePage?offer=dineLA. Then if they spend $21+ at any dineLA restaurant before the end of the month, they get $5 back on their statement.
Doesn’t have to be for the dineLA deal since Amex wouldn’t be privy to what was ordered, just the amount. So even the $15 meals, if you order a drink too, after tax and tip, should put you over $21.
Note, if you and your spouse each have an Amex, even on the same account, you can register each card, and split a check of $42+ to get $10 back total. I suppose one person with multiple Amex cards could do the same too…
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@ThrCookie They have the best gazpacho. When I used to be a regular, the
bar guy would let me know when it’s almost gazpacho time. 
. So I’m not mistaken? It was so surprising that I’ll probably put it on the Best Bite list.
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The Charcoal and Spago menus were both terrific–Spago’s included a surprises additional item, a delicious lobster corn dog offered as part of a quick tour of the kitchen. The offering at Chinois was somewhat disappointing in terms of portion size, though the flavors were great.
Is the original N + M on the Sunset strip not on the Westside?
Anyone know how to read the Charcoal DineLA menu? It looks like you get 7-8 dishes for $49, which is insane…
That kind of personal touch is I believe part of the ongoing success of Wolfgang Puck’s restaurants. I am not a V.I.P., but can’t recall a time when we’ve dined at one of the restaurants when either Puck or his ex Barbara didn’t stop by our table for a brief greeting. Very few restaurants in L.A. practice that kind of hospitality.
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I was in Manhattan Beach today and stopped in at Fishing with Dynamite for the DineLA lunch ($25).
I started with the seafood sampler, 2 each of cooked shrimp, oysters, and raw scallops. The shrimp were large and had a nice texture, but nothing special. There was a very good lemon aoli to dip them in, though. The oysters were also big and meaty, but not very flavorful, I forget what kind they were. I used lots of horseradish and cocktail sauce on those. The scallops were great, sweet and firm, and they came very lightly dressed with a ponzu-like sauce. Everything was very fresh.
I had the crab cake for the main, it was full of crab, very lightly breaded and had a little bit of a bite. Very good and the (tartar?) sauce it was sitting on was just the right amount to mix with the cabbage. I really liked this dish and I don’t usually like fried food.
I don’t really eat sweets, and they were nice enough to offer to pack a dessert to go, so I got the chocolate bread pudding for my son. They accidentally gave me key lime pie instead, but no big deal. It looks very nice.
The service was excellent, very friendly and quick. The wait was half an hour and the hostess said they would text me, so I did some boutique browsing while I waited. They put me at a table even though I was solo dining and they were pretty busy. The place is tiny.
Such a fun beach vibe, can’t wait to come back and try the chowder and an oyster sampler. And more scallops. Btw, they serve lunch until dinnertime at 4:45, unlike most DineLA lunches that end at 2:30.
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You should sneak a taste of that key lime pie, it’s one of my favorite desserts in LA
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@PorkyBelly - Oh, wow, I can see why! I just tasted it and it’s so tart! And the meringue is soft, like a marshmallow, but not as sweet.
When I’m in the rare mood for a dessert with coffee or something, one of the few things I’ll try are lemon bars or key lime pie, but am usually disappointed because they are always too sweet for my taste.
This is a GOOD one, thanks!
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I’ve been wanting to try their DineLA menu. Thanks for the report. Looks like I’ll have to to try to make time to go.
You get all of the following:
The ember roasted cabbage with sumac yogurt (outstanding)
A combo appetizer of the grilled chili-vinegar chicken wings and the grilled calamari with Blue Lake beans (not a fan of calamari but liked the wings a lot)
A choice of one of two salads (the collard greens with sweet potato, cheddar and bread crumbs was quite good)
A plate with three slices of the hanger steak (great) and three slices of the chicken salsa verde (good but not my favorite)
A choice of vegetable (the coal roasted yukon potato with gouda and creme fraiche is delicious)
Three (small) scoops of McConnell’s ice cream (vanilla, coffee and peanut butter the night I was there).
All told, it wound up being quite filling and I left well pleased. However, I will also put in a recommendation for the excellent grilled Brentwood corn if you want to order an additional vegetable.
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Great deal for $25
sounds like an excellent option for a solo diner
That is by far the best DineLA deal I have ever seen…wow
Pok Pok remains one of the most annoying places for calories input in LA.
crap QPR - this was served as part of the Dine LA “discount”:
bland AF food; i don’t care you’re using mary’s chicken or whatever. no one cares when the nam prick num served with the fried chicken was blander than the pre-packaged frozen from LAX-C. why bother with “authentic” accoutrements when they’re all just complete blah? how about just another piece of fried chix?
and last but not least: hateful server. just sod off and leave LA already. maybe New Yorkers are used to this kinda waitstaff attitude but man, go finish your YA novel first or something.
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$20 just for that?
Their website says 3 courses for 20$