after a two year absence I’m so happy animal is finally back. I saw a couple familiar faces from the foh but apparently the boh is entirely new.
both sergios were in the kitchen on this night.
no foie biscuit 
hamachi tostada 3.0, fish sauce vinaigrette, peanut, avocado
always a must order. this one had less height (no cabbage?) then the previous version, but still excellent. love the salty, sour, sweet, tart fish sauce vinaigrette and all the fresh herbs and peanuts, very vietnamese chicken salad-y.
chicken liver toast
another must order. I think I like this newest version even better. the liver and shallot jam are still insanely good but now it’s on crispy, soft, buttery brioche instead of a crusty toast.
(new) dungeness crab, tomato, kombu, shiso
really nice light and refreshing bites.
sugar snap peas, ponzu, green garlic, sesame
nice knife work and charring on these snap peas
chicken oyster yakitori, smoked paprika, crème fraiche
I think this may of had some tumeric in it, that with the dill, reminded me of another vietnamese dish, cha ca thang long.
the flavor was there but the oysters had a stringy texture like it was any old piece of thigh meat.
(new) chicken tsukune, ma la vinaigrette
surprise highlight of the night. the tsukune was juicy and flavorful and I could have eaten it plain and been happy. the sauce just made it even better, it was more of a sweet-spicy, there wasn’t any ma.
yellowtail collar, jerk spices, jicama, citrus, palm sugar
this hasn’t changed from previous versions. the sauce is sweet, collar is spicy and you definitely need to try and get a piece of citrus and onion in each bite to balance everything out.
boniato yam, lemon crème fraiche, pepita, salsa verde, za’atar
the yams were perfectly fried so it had a crisp outside but was still creamy on the inside.
crispy pig ear, red chili, lime, market egg
ears were solid but there was just too much lime
michy’s tuna tartare, cilantro, ginger, crème fraiche, chips
barbeque pork belly sandwich, slaw
another classic
quail fry, grits, maple bacon jus
breading on the quail was crispy but a bit too thick, loved the maple bacon.
and the ol 18% service charge is not a gratuity has reached animal, which was no surprise.
l did leave extra but at the same time still felt bad that I somehow under tipped.
