Good to know.
I can’t wait until someone goes and has their really aged ribeye. Maybe it will be me lol
Was it pretty packed?
A good thing. 5J is a well-regarded brand in its own native country. The quality controls in place allows for them to offer consistently, predictably excellent jamon into the marketplace.
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75% full. Maybe affected by SB Sunday. A couple of Sunday’s ago it was packed.
This is 5J aged 5 years. Doesn’t get much better than this in the states.
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Alright, awesome!
Glad to see I wasn’t too off the mark about this place!
I am surprised by that squid being so bland. But great about everything else. I’ll be interested to know if you like the callos, I thought it was pretty tasty.
I agree about the flavors of the paella versus Perfecto’s. Perfecto’s rice has a better texture, but for me the most flavorful paella I’ve had has been Vaca’s, though I admit I don’t necessarily chase the dish all around. I was wondering about Tar & Rose’s version, so that’s nice to know about.
Went back today for more Jamon Iberico Cinco Jotas.
Bombas once again was stellar
The callos was awesome. Tender tripe, nice zip to the sauce.
The botifarra (pork sausage) was as good as you get in Spain. Thick pieces of pork. Properly flavored. Ooof, a must try.
Oxtail was very rich and flavorful. Perfect with red wine. A bit atypical from Spanish rabo but outstanding nonetheless.
This time we ordered the meat paella. Honestly we would have preferred more rice and less meat. The excessive meat was a touch too Americanized for us but the rice had wonderful flavor and texture even if it was lacking soccorat.
We finished with 2 lbs of 50+ day aged ribeye steak. Cooked medium rare. Could have used just a touch more salt but wonderful texture and flavor.
For desserts (not pictured) the churros were average, the almond ice cream excellent, and the crema Catalan outstanding with a hint of lemon zest. I dare say better man many versions you’ll find in Spain.
VACA nails it with the favor profile. It’ll instantly whisk you back to tapas in El Born, Barcelona.
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I dub thee: VACAman
Calling me fat? 
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Good stuff. I actually stopped in there like a week ago quickly btu forgot to talk about it. I just got some bombas, tortilla espanola, and a sherry cobbler. Really solid. Honestly, I could easily call this place #2 restaurant in OC, especially with your more extensive reporting. Tortilla espanola is not the layered potato and egg pie kind of thing you usually see, but like diced potatoes and onions encased in a sort of egg omelette “shell”. Both were really tasty little dishes though, and fairly cheap. I really like that you can genuinely stop in to the place and get a few little dishes and a drink for not that much money (I think I spent $35 on the two dishes and the drink after tax and tip)
Is the minimum order on the aged steak 2 lbs? That is the thing I have been meaning to go try honestly but since I usually have to pop in alone, it’s a tough order if I have to get 2 lbs of steak by myself.
Stopped into Vaca the other night. Really pleasant place… The cooking seems stronger, more balanced than it was in the past. The portion sizes are true tapas, and quite nice for dining along side of the drinks. However, their meat selection is also really coming along, although I just had a few tapas this trip. They are serving real A5 Kobe for $25/ounce…I almost hope word doesn’t get too out because that is like 2/3rd the price of other places in SoCal.
Anywho, gin and tonic with juniper is effervescent and pleasantly refreshing, everything the drink should be.
Oxtail in red wine mushroom sauce was fatty, perfectly cooked, rich, hearty, and delectable. Just realy showed off the textures and meatiness of oxtail set against the umami of the mushrooms and tang of the wine sauce. It is hard to find oxtail any better than this.
Lamb meatballs were firm in texture, and delicately flavored. They were eminently savory little bites though that displayed the lamb well. The cool cucumber, dill yogurt, and a bit of fresh honey really made their flavors pop. A melange of sweet, tart, meaty, vegetal notes caressed the palate in a balanced and thoroughly enjoyable manner. I was quite impressed with the deftness of the conception as well as the execution of the dish.
A bit of tempranillo to go with the tapas after the gin and tonic ran out was excellent and paired wonderfully.
Prices remain a deviation below other places of similar quality it feels like. I had about as much food, and one less drink than at Republique recently, and I spent $105 at Republique, and about $50 at Vaca. That is pretty swell in many ways.
I am happy to see Vaca continuing to grow as opposed to lagging. Really lovely.
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I stopped into Vaca the other night with a fellow FTC’er. We had some sort of hilariously awful service, but I quite enjoyed the food.
Tuna Tataki was perhaps not mind-blowing, but nicely plated and quite tasty. The tuna was well spiced and nicely seared. Avocado mouse was flavorful, and veggies were fresh. Kind of a simple, basic plate, but very enjoyable eating. The addition of crispy pork skin was interesting though, and make it more noteworthy than your average tuna and avocado dish.
Grilled butifarra with whole white beans and white bean puree was exceptional. Great savor to the sausage and the whole white beans. The white bean puree was a bit saccharine as well. It was a simply splendid dish.
Grilled quail was great, if a little over-conceptualized. The qual itself was exceptionally well-spiced, and grilled just to the point of tender succulence. The habanero labneh and blueberry sauce was slightly overwhelming, but not terrible if just a dab was taken with the quail to provide some heat/tart/sweet combo. The quail may have been better without the sauce though. Still excellent, and quite cheap for quail as well.
Mussels came with crispy potato strings and immersed in a cava/pimento broth. The mussels were huge, fresh, and cooked to a just-right tenderness. The broth was thick, slightly peppery, and genuinely lovely. One of the best mussel dishes I can remember, though I don’t eat mussels that frequently.
By the time my cocktail arrived our meal was basically over…a shame because I have never had bad service at Vaca before this. It was pleasant and refreshing though.
Vaca continues to be one of the best restaurants in OC, maybe even in LA. Sans-cocktail, this meal was only about $32/person. It’s nice to be able to eat food of this quality at that kind of price point.
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this joint definitely worth a trip from l.a., especially during those low traffic times.
food was well prepared and very good tasting. interesting selection of sherry and vermouth
based cocktails.
good charcuterie and cheese, serrano wrapped dates and quail. fideo-based paella kinda…odd.
lots of people taking photos of the meat case.
beware the coffee.
i would definitely return. menu needs more exploring.
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Finally tried it this weekend after 7 breweries, so you know we were in the mood for food, any food. Got a bottle of wine (a gloriously thin and one dimensional replacement for a Ribera del Duero I wanted) , and a lineup of 7,8 dishes. One after another they kept failing me. It wasn’t tapas, it wasn’t really Spanish, everything had some critical level flaw in it, can’t think of 1 dish that we all liked (i guess it was the oxtail, but it was one piece for some $16 bones or so)
I don’t know if it’s because we’ve been to Spain a couple of times, or that we’re becoming picky, or savvy. This place, and all of its food basically looked much better than it was. The final straw for me was when the Morcilla showed up. And it was a fucking mashed up morcilla, out of its casing, getting rid of any and all magic of what that sausage is when it’s crisped up and caramelized. Actually sent it back, I never send food back. Bread sucked too.
I should have known by it’s proximity to the symphony hall… didn’t know that. should have ordered a big ass steak and called it a day… I’m sad overall, with smoke.oil.salt gone, la paella appears to be selling, we have no go to spanish food here, at all… none… baco ? send me somewhere actually fucking spanish… and don’t say that chemistry lab by Jose Andres.
this just in: spanish food better in spain than in u.s. details to follow…
just teasing. it is unfortunate you did not enjoy your meal.
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I’ve not been, yet, but Casa Cordoba has been on my list for a while. If you find yourself in the Montrose area it might be worth checking out.
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Looks really good, thanks for the intel, I always worry though that these places representing specific, lesser-known regions will end up catering to more generic taste buds if they aren’t an immediate success.
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You’re welcome - and I share the same concern about places adjusting the recipes to suit the local comfort level.
I need to convince my partner to try it; he’s not a big fan of Spanish food but reasonably flexible.
If you get there, please post a review.
Just drove by Monday looking for somewhere to eat. Ended up at Pine and Crane. Thanks
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LMAO nice. As you know we can get good italian, decent french, and a myriad of amazing asian here, but Spanish…