had a dinner there last night with the wife, you will say “huh?”, and “can you repeat that?” quite a bit, but the food was damn good.
Wish I had brushed up on this thread before I went though; should have gotten the fitters instead of the other 2 desserts we got.
Thanks, Ns1. Super helpful.
I recently returned to O&P and had an absolutely spectacular dinner. I am not sure what the comments about decibels are about as I choose this place for dinners when I want to have conversations, and this was no exception. I as very easily able to have a night of great conversation with an old friend even when the restaurant was full.
We started with what is basically O&P’s version of a ceasar salad. I thought it was a beautiful plate of well-sourced red romaine lettuce with an appropriately light smoked jalapeno and parmesan cream dressing with chipotle-spiced breadcrumbs adding a pleasant crunch. It was not overdressed, and had only a delicate spiciness to it that was tempered by the cool sweetness of the lettuces. Maybe I just love fresh produce too much though.
We moved on to fresh grilled snap peas and their tendrils with a chimichuri sauce. Absolutely brilliant. Showing off the sweetness of the fresh peas, with a bit of astringency from the tendrils against a savory chimichurri that was even a bit nutty, but not overpowering. Beautiful.
Fried mushrooms are a classic at O&P and did not disappoint. Lightly fried, bursting with the umami essence of mushroom and controlled by the soft luxuriousness of the Persian garlic sauce on the side. Just brilliant.
The only main we got was an oak grilled Branzino, which was a perfect showing of the fish with gloriously crispy skin. The fish itself was still moist, and tender and went perfectly with the sharp olive tapenade adorning it. But there was a melange of braised leeks, escarole, and asparagus underneath the fish was that utterly sublime. Each vegetable was cooked perfectly in a type of lemon confit, and displayed their vegetal essences magnificently while also having very sumptuous textures that were somehow new to me. The vegetables on the dish overshadowed the awesomeness of the fish honestly. It was really a breathtaking plate overall. I could see some people being upset about the pricing of this since you get a filet for $32 whereas you can get whole Branzino for that at places like Bestia, but it was so great I didn’t even think about it.
Cauliflower with walnut pesto is another classic, and remains one of the best things I have ever eaten. Like a fine vegetable risotto with added nuttiness from the walnut pesto. It is impossible creamy, savory, nutty, sweet and comforting in the best way imaginable.
Sprouting kale was tremdnous in its texture, being quite thick and toothsome, but not chewy in a bad way. It was hefty and lovely. Lots of umami bite from house sambal combined with the luxuriousness of brown butter, yet the fresh earthy essence of the kale was not overpowered. Seriously amazing, not just another kale dish, but a new spin that is well worth your time to explore.
Finally, spaghetti squash in almost “noodle” form with a simple salsa cruda and parmesan. The squash was featured prominently and mostly unadorned. The savory character yet unmistakble saccharine notes came through in a lovely way. Once of the niest squash dishes I have eaten in quite some time.
We finished with a blackberry brown butter crostata and lemon sorbet. Wow, extraordinary butter crust that was just completely perfect in terms of its crispness, its buttery savor, etc… and the fresh blackberries were brilliant, displayed tartness and sweetness in equal components against the buttery crust. The lemon sorbet was the silkiest sorbet I have ever encountered and was not overpowering but provided an alluring sour note and cooling temperature contrast to the warm buttery crostata. A perfectly conceived and executed dessert; I expect nothing less of Karen Hatfield.
All in all, it was a flawless meal showing off the bounty of LA’s produce, which is what I missed most wile away from the city. Afterwards I was treated to some rare liquors and mezcals. I would say this is the only place in LA I have been to that is serving Mezcal as good as the best places have in Mexico City, and that alone makes it worth a visit.
Everything about O&P makes me love it. Service, ambiance, and food all seem to be perfect, even if it isn’t a “fine dining” establishment. It is one of my favorite places in the world just to be for a night.
First time we went, we were just short of shouting. But this last time, at 7:00 on a weekday, it was quite pleasant. Not full, terrific service and not overly loud… And the papardelle was delightful, as was the dessert.
cheese puffs, smoked tomato romesco
pappardelle, pork belly bolognese, fried sage
apple smoked short rib. The smoke ring was so red the emmys are using it for their carpet
za’atar onion rings
cock blocked
warm caramel cake, roasted strawberries, orange, ginger ice cream. So glad i saved room for dessert, this was excellent.
What a gorgeous spot. Food was good though after chi spacca it almost feels like waste of money lol. who deep fries wild mushrooms? you saute them or you develop their flavor… also who makes spicy bolognese out of pork belly? that’s not a bolognese… it’s a just a spicy pork sauce… noodle was great though.
Shake Shack
The Fix Burger
Happy Family
Crossroads
Shojin
Too many corner “char broiled” burger stands to name
Too many Japanese izakayas to mention
They are not deep frying wild mushrooms, just regular button mushrooms.
Waste of hard to get mushrooms
Do they at least give you some ranch to dip them in?
Yes… i dont know… this all bothers me lol… i come from a mushroom people, we used to pick them in the forests of Ukraine etc… and sauteing them in butter with a bit of onion is how you get them to taste more mushroomy, not by dry deep frying them to toast.
I hear you. I have family in Central Europe that would roll their eyes at the crazy americký.
look for our pal here:
Had a great meal with a couple of friends last night. The smoked lamb lettuce cups and smoked short ribs were some of the best barbecue I’ve had. There were only two orders of ribs left at 8:00 so i guess that’s an argument to go early,.
Cheese puffs with that fantastic romesco sauce, squid stuffed with chorizo, cauliflower with millet, pappardelle with pork belly bolognese, and rotisserie pork with cherry mostarda were all great. The fried mushrooms with garlic dip and charred broccolini were good but paled a bit in comparison with the other dishes. Caramel cake and chocolate rye pie were great and original.
Solid service, good wines.
Looks like it’s literally a Happy HOUR
The food is good. The portions are on the small side. The fried rice and brussel sprouts is really good. The drinks are well-made but not cheap. They do add 18% service.
oh damn, a certain mainstream food blog reports that O+P will close next month; the Hatfields sold [the space?]
