Hit this place late at night after Shibumi closed. Man, they are absolutely on fire.
Popcorn Shrimp was not like I thought it would be at all. It was huge shrimp that were perfectly cooked in crisp and wonderfully flavorful batter. The spicy tartar-like sauce was the perfect accompaniment as well.
Crispy Chicken Skin was more straightforward, but great. A perfect drinking snack. Not overly crisp, with a bit of chew, but not too much. Taken with the lime juice sprinkled over them and with a dab of the sweet and tangy sauce it was quite addictive. I wouldnât mind if they had an option to order them with a spicy sauce/dip though, such as nam prik noom or something like that.
Tamarind Chicken was incredible. Like a sour and more complex version of orange chicken, but prepared perfectly. Crispy, juicy chicken that is making my mouth water thinking back to it even now. Just incredible.
Phuket-style Squid in Squid Ink was absurdly good. I wish I had remembered that you could order the food spicier, but there was still some heat in the default mild prep. The funk of the sauce was uniquely briny, funky, sour, yet a touch saccharine, with a great lilting heat underneath it. The squid itself is stunningly well-cooked; tender and succulent. This is a dish that would be twice the price and marveled over in a high-end place, but it only costs $12 here in a bar.
My friend had a St. Archer beer and I tried their Siamese Twin which has tumeric-infused cognac and thai tea in it. A rather bizarre and intensely herbaceous cocktail that was sort of like drinking a curried tea⌠more interesting than amazing. I think it needed another element, perhaps some acid or something to make it more vibrant as it just drank a bit flat. Funnily enough, it was also the most expensive item ordered.
This has to be the best bar food in all of LA at the moment, but it would be great even if it wasnât bar food. I donât know if itâs because they have a better kitchen or what, but the Luv2Eat folks are absolutely on fire here. The food seems to be cooked with more precision somehow than at Luv2Eat (And Luv2Eat is already really damn good). They are making seemingly simple things absolutely sing with flavors that are beyond expectation. Really remarkable.
The fusion of such a family-oriented, talented kitchen with the typical Hollywood high-end cocktail bar is interesting, but the service on the outside is rough around the edges. Hopefully, theyâve fixed it by now, but on my check they charged me âOther Taxesâ that were an additionally 5% of the meal on top of the 8.75% sales tax. When I asked about what it was the bartender had no idea and got a manager to speak to me, but she seemed pretty upset that I wanted to speak to a manager. The manager also couldnât explain it and eventually refunded the $4 to me, but the attitude that I was calling them out on it was sort of bad⌠I left the money as additional tip money, but I still like to know what I am paying for. It was a sort of odd ending hiccup for an otherwise awesome meal. I hope their other cocktails are a bit better, but I canât wait to go back for more food, I might even try the duck version of the jade noodles!
