Eataly - Century City

[Jase]

We finally made it over there this weekend and even with the warning about the layout, it still threw us off. Drooled over the cheese, salumi and butcher section but not a whole lot more. Got a couple slices of pizza. The tri-colori ingredients were tasty but the bread was ridiculously tough and almost impossible to chew through and I like noshing on jerky!

There is some other neat items in the grocery area but I’m not sure we’ll be rushing back any time soon.

Parking hack if you don’t plan to have lots of packages, we parked at Annenberg for the exhibit and after we were done, we just walked across the street to the mall. After we were done, we walked back to pick up our car. Easy way to avoid the parking lot madness. Parking on weekends at Annenberg is only $1.50 if you visit the museum and get your parking validated.

[A5KOBE]

@Jase

Parking on weekends at Annenberg is only $1.50 if you visit the museum and get your parking validated.

Thank you!!!

[Omotesando]

I went on Sunday night and tried to get into Terra without a reservation at 7:00 p.m. No dice.

Long line for pizza and pasta restaurant, but no problem getting into Il Pesce. Dinner at Il Pesce was actually quite tasty. Nice bottle of Bastianich red, fresh oysters and a whole, head on, bone in Thai Snapper for two. I’m always thrilled when I can get a whole fish, so I was a happy camper. Century City/Beverly Hills/West L.A. is kind of a food desert in my mind, so I still see Eataly as a welcome addition to the neighborhood. Can’t think of anywhere else I can go close by and get a whole fish.

[J_L]

@Omotesando

Can’t think of anywhere else I can go close by and get a whole fish.

Meanwhile, just a ‘Hop Woo’ down the street on Olympic…

(I call dibs on eyeballs.)

[ipsedixit]

@Omotesando

Looks like a nice fish, although I guess I meant non-ethnic restaurants where I can get a whole fish. For whatever reason (perhaps not having been exposed to the best), I don’t love Chinese food.

Cassia has a whole grilled sea bass which is quite good. For non-Chinese food [smirk].

[J_L]

@ipsedixit

For non-Chinese food [smirk].

Lolz

[paranoidgarliclover]

@Omotesando

West L.A. is kind of a food desert in my mind

The entirety of West LA? B/c, if so, I would rather strongly disagree…

[Bookwich]

Yeah! We have Gjusta, Gjusta, Gjusta.

Is Mexican food ethnic? Because Coni’s (Centinela) does whole fish.

[bulavinaka]

@Bookwich

Because Coni’s (Centinela) does whole fish.

I dare you to eat one.

[Omotesando]

I have my own definition of West L.A., which because I detest traffic doesn’t involve going West of the 405. The West LA of my mind extends to Sepulveda. And that I believe, despite my fondness for the fast food Green Olive on Santa Monica and Sepulveda, is a food wasteland.

[paranoidgarliclover]

@Omotesando

is a food wasteland

I actually do mean this literally (and respectfully), but that’s also going to depend on how you define “food wasteland.”

You have Fundamental LA, Poke Me, Yamada-ya (I haven’t been recently, so I have no idea if it’s still good), Fresh Corn Grill (ditto, but it certaily has a lot of business), Pomodoro (ditto), P’tit Soleil (separate from Soleil, which I haven’t been to), Attari, Shaherzad, Shamshiri (which I don’t particularly like, but it has it’s fans), Emporium Thai, Qin West, Sprouts, and Bristol Farms. And that’s just btw Wilshire and SM Blvd.

If you expand just north and just south, you have Tender Greens, Northern Cafe, Pink Orchid Bakery, California Chicken Cafe (yes, it’s a chain, but it’s a really solid chain, IMHO), Ptifire Pizza, Wally’s (for some basic upscale ingredients). Some might include Eduardo’s, Tacos Tu Madre, and Pastina. And that’s still just basically on Westwood Blvd.

If you extend from Century City to Sepulveda, you have Clementine, Tuscon Son (the entrees are meh, but the baked goods are wonderful), The Stalking Horse (which was fine the one time I went, but I don’t yearn to go back), The Six, Westside Tavern, Gyu-Kaku (not my favorite, but one of my friends who recently started eating beef again loves it), Jaipur, Bossa Nova (decent enough chain, IMHO, and the hrs are great).

Add in the stuff that’s already at and coming to the mall, and you have what might be the most wonderful 4 mi square eating radius in the history of mankind. Okay, so I might be exaggerating (just a little bit) for effect, but, IMHO, it’s an embarrassment of riches. But YMMV.

[nosh]

And you didn’t mention Zankou Chicken, Feast from the East, or Lamonica’s Pizza.

[J_L]

There’s also necco, Mesa Brazilian, Saffron Rose and Stan’s Doughnuts .

[A5KOBE]

Sotto x Stan’s x Marty’s bang^3

[Bookwich]

@Omotesando

I have my own definition of West L.A., which because I detest traffic doesn’t involve going West of the 405. The West LA of my mind extends to Sepulveda. And that I believe, despite my fondness for the fast food Green Olive on Santa Monica and Sepulveda, is a food wasteland.

So you don’t drive south or north? I get the staying west of the 405, but is Santa Monica Blvd. your defining line? Like, you just driven back and forth on S.M. from the ocean to Sepulveda, then turn around?

[Jase]

@A5KOBE

Thank you!!!

Welcome! I forgot to mention that museum admission is free for those who don’t know. They have great exhibits there. Cheap parking and then walk across to the mall is a heck of deal to me.

[Omotesando]

@Bookwich, no I tend to stay east of the 405, not west. By food wasteland, I’m not talking about decent fast casual like Feast from the East and Green Olive, where I actually eat rather frequently, but somewhere that has a good, imaginative wine list and good food. There are surprisingly few places like that in my immediate neighborhood. Wally’s has a decent enough wine list, but I think the food sucks. I have had so many mediocre meals at Spago that I won’t go there unless dragged and someone else is paying. I think the food is good at Sotto, but I don’t like the room. I just feel that Eataly is a welcome addition to the neighborhood given the other options. I may be spoiled by the amount of time I spend in NYC where in almost neighborhood you can walk to decent food and wine (although I get pissed off at the awful wine list at the hip hotel I usually stay at in Hell’s KItchen).

[Bookwich]

Interesting. I think Spago is consistently good every time I go there, and Eataly is a pretty great addition to the area, for the cheese, meats, and desserts, if nothing else.

I’ve always found NY neighborhood restaurants hit or miss, like anywhere. Some are great, many aren’t.

[paranoidgarliclover]

@Omotesando

I may be spoiled by the amount of time I spend in NYC where in almost neighborhood you can walk to decent food and wine (although I get pissed off at the awful wine list at the hip hotel I usually stay at in Hell’s KItchen).

I think I understand your point more.

Not familiar w/ the NYC scene, but a city built around walking is going to have a very different density of everything (incl restaurants) than is a newer city built around driving. When I was in NY for a few wks many yrs ago, I thining how interesting it was that every block seemed to have lots of pizza and lots of Duane Reades. And I don’t know if LA’s strength has ever been the class above fast causal + good wine.

[Omotesando]

@paranoidgarliclover, thank goodness for corkage. It’s a much bigger thing in L.A. than in New York, perhaps because you really need it here to drink decent wine. Part of the reason I was feeling so kindly about my dinner at Il Pesce at Eataly was because I got decent wine without bringing my own. Sure, I could have brought better wine if I had brought my own, but the wine we had (Bastianch Vespa Rosso) was definitely drinkable, albeit with the usual restaurant markup.