I spent a few days in San Sebastian ten or so years ago!!! So much fun on a school trip through Italy and Spain. I didn’t know much about food at the time though we did hop around bars and try bites of any and everything. We were more concerned about not running out of hashish.
Thank you for the suggestions! I will probably be finding myself in Europe for work next year and will have some time to roam around.
Especially if you love seafood!
Update 1:
We had another great meal at Chi SPACCA. Executive Chef Ryan Denicola and his crew have definitely improved over time.
The open air kitchen starting to heat up with the influx of diners as we arrived.
Affettati Misti - Charcuterie Plate:
As before, Chi SPACCA’s Housemade Charcuterie is a standout item on the menu.
Speck:
Thinly sliced, their Housemade Speck had the most buttery, fatty mouthfeel (in a good way).
Capocollo:
Nice, balanced salinity.
Christmas Salame + Trappist Salame:
Loved both of them. 
Two of our friends thought the Trappist Salame was the best of the selections, but enjoyed them all.
Butcher’s Pate + Trotter Fritti:
Also very good. The Butcher’s Pate and Trotter Fritti are a smart textural contrast to the rest of the Charcuterie offerings, one spreadable, the other crispy.
Puglia Burrata + Toasted Pane Bianco:
For those of you that haven’t experienced the glory of the imported Burrata from Puglia, Italy that Chef-Owner Nancy Silverton used to bring in a couple days a week at Osteria Mozza back in the day, it now seems she is able to source this Puglia Burrata all the time, as it’s appearing on the Chi SPACCA menu as well.
Our friends were wondering why I was grinning ear-to-ear. Taking a bite: Incredible creaminess, more delicate than our own L.A. home-grown version at Gioia (which is still very good). And paired with the freshly grilled Pane Bianco Bread? Silly. 
We had 3 orders of this, and our table devoured it in about 2 minutes. 
Insalata Inverno (Portobello, Fennel, Celery Hearts, Parmigiano, Hearts of Palm):
The combination of thinly sliced Portobello Mushrooms, with a hint of the Licorice / Anise from the Fennel, Hearts of Palm, Celery Hearts with the lightly funky Parmigiano was excellent!
Porchetta Fredda (Chiccharon Salsa):
Delicious, but definitely a bit too luscious and decadent for me.
Carabinero Prawns (Charred Lemon, Olive Oil):
Oh yes! The Carabinero Prawns were quite good this evening, a balanced brininess, a deeper flavor than our local Prawns. (@J_L @PorkyBelly @Nemroz @TheCookie and others.)
Pollo alla Diavola su Crostone (Roasted Petaluma Chicken):
As delicious as our previous visit: Great marinade and flavor that permeates into the meat itself.
Bloomsdale Spinach:
Beef & Bone Marrow Pie (Beef Cheek, Cippolini, Funghi):
Yes, the Beef & Bone Marrow Pie feels almost specifically built for the social media / Instagram set, but Chi SPACCA was doing this dish since they opened years ago. We enjoyed it the first time we ordered it back then, but on this visit, Chef Denicola and his team feel like they’ve improved it:
A real savory, deeply beefy quality. The Pie crust still having flaky crisped edges, but also serves as a nice vehicle to soak up the jus within and with a bit of the Roasted Bone Marrow itself, it was stunningly great!
It was so good, this was everyone’s best bite of the evening. All of our friends said they’d come back to Chi SPACCA just for this dish alone. And I’d have to agree based on this evening’s execution.
The accompanying Mashed Potatoes were so creamy, smooth and silky. It just added to the decadence of this whole dish.
Tomahawk Pork Chop (Fennel Pollen):
Made standout under OG Executive Chef Chad Colby, it is as delicious as always: One of the best Pork Chops in town, not dry and bland like too many versions locally, but moist, nicely balanced with lean and fatty bits, and a gorgeous Fennel Pollen infusion that added a great herbaceous note. So good!
Bistecca Fiorentina 50 oz (Flannery Dry-Aged Porterhouse):
Yes, Chi SPACCA’s most attention-grabbing grilled menu item might very well be it’s Bistecca Fiorentina, a 50 oz(!) Flannery Dry-Aged Porterhouse (a.k.a. “Appetizer” for our FTC Legends @J_L @PorkyBelly). 
We let the kitchen cook it to their recommended doneness, and it arrived legit rare, arguably just raw in a few bites. We had one friend who’s a bit fearful of too much blood on the plate, but tried a slice, and loved it.
Overall, it was surprisingly tender, had a good exterior crust, no gristle in any of my bites, and was an excellent Steak overall. However at $265 (+ tax & tip) for this dish, and the fact that our USDA Prime Tomahawk Chop at CUT was better, we’d order this again if we were here with a few friends, but would rather stick to some of the other dishes, and go to CUT for their Steaks.
Butterscotch Budino (Sea Salt & Rosemary Pine Nut Cookies):
One of Chef-Owner Nancy Silverton & her OG Pastry Chef Dahlia Narvaez’s greatest Desserts at Pizzeria Mozza is also available at Chi SPACCA, and it tastes as perfectly balanced as always: The aromatic, not too sweet Butterscotch Pudding flavors mixed with the silky, luscious Caramel, and of course the Sea Salt and Whipped Cream. Taking a bite with all of those elements together = Magic!
And the Rosemary Pine Nut Cookies just add even more complementary flavors to the Dessert.
Spiced Apple Pie:
This was fine. A bit more elevated than a classic Apple Pie, but hitting all the familiar notes and a little bit more.
Chi SPACCA still feels a bit extravagant and decadent at times, not in terms of bling ingredients, but just in terms of rich, big, heavy dishes that are well executed. Despite its heaviness at times, it does so with panache and an earnestness. It’s genuinely delicious and that alone is worth celebrating.
Chi SPACCA
6610 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Tel: (323) 297-1133
No need to bring the rice cooker to this meal. Looks fantastic.
I’m drooling. How many people did you have that you ordered this much food? Do you recall how much the charcuterie board was? Looks insane.
Hi @tailbacku,
We had 8 of us total. Their Housemade Charcuterie Board was $38. Thanks.
That looks like a legendary chi spacca meal, had a few of those over the years. Jealous!
Epic dinner @Chowseeker1999 but you forgot your ABCs (anchovy, butter, crostini)
Thanks @PorkyBelly. 
We were so stuffed! That’s why we all need to bring along a @PorkyBelly so we can order more delicious food like that anchovy butter crostini! 
(So sad I missed that. I need to order that next time!)
had me at “pork pie hat”
If you killed it, I will come.
ABC
porchetta fredda, chicharron salsa
Excellent
quail al mattone, parsnip, radicchio
Delicious flavorful quail on top of crispy fried parsnips.
pork pie, borlotti al fiasco
Great texture to the crust with no squidgy bottom @thecookie. A bit too much rosemary and a little side of sauce or chutney to go with it would have been perfect.
Do jeans and a t-shirt go with a pork pie hat? Asking for a friend.
So porky I can still hear it
What is ABC? Not sure what I’m looking at in that photo.
Anchovy bread?
Ah, now I can see it.
She got the memo.
How’s the filling? All that rosemary’s gotta’ go!
it was okay but too rich and salty with cubes of pure pork fat mixed in with the confit pork, and yeah too much rosemary for me. some kind of sauce would have been nice. still on #teambonemarrowpie
My thoughts when looking at it.
You had squidgy bottom from this pie? the one thing that shocked me the most about the marro pie is how well the bottom holds up
It was the Chicken Pot Pie that didn’t have enough sauce and a starchy, squidgy bottom. I 
the Bone Marrow pie.
