After an embarrassing period of time, I’ve arranged a night out with my love.
I’m looking for a place that won’t get in the way. Meaning, I’m not looking for the meal itself to be the star experience of the night. So no n/naka or Providence craziness. Those experiences are amazing, but not what we’re going for here.
LASA and Broken Spanish both seem like they’ll be a fun time with exceptionally tasty and interesting food.
Since we haven’t been to either, I wanted to see if any of you bon vivants would be kind enough to share your thoughts.
Other ideas are of course welcome, though I’ve been excited about LASA and Broken Spanish for a little while now.
Thanks!
We went to LASA. It was exactly what we were looking for: very casual atmosphere, attentive service, thoughtful food, not a dinner-as-event meal.
Food was excellent. My only other experience with “upscale” Filipino food was at Qui in Austin, TX. If I’m being truthful, Qui was operating a couple of levels higher in terms of technique while also digging deeper into the Filipino kitchen. I was hoping for an analogous experience. LASA didn’t deliver that, but it was still a 100% winner. Besides, we’re not in Austin and I’m pretty sure no one at LASA has a domestic abuse issue.
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We’ve been only to Broken Spanish with our usual large Food Group, so of course it was all about the food. I would very much like to go there sometime with just Mrs. O; everything we ate was either very good or exquisite, or somewhere in between, and this included vegetarian options. With our crowd of about a dozen we got to taste most of the menu, so you can’t go wrong in my opinion. Service was excellent, servers knew what they were dishing out and could explain it if necessary. Noise level was close to my upper comfort level, but then I’m old and cranky that way; nobody else was having trouble conversing. There are also more sheltered areas in there; we were out in the large south room.
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Does LASA require reservations? Turns out the Valencia brothers and I have a mutual friend in common.
Not sure. We had them and I always recommend reservations for relatively small dining rooms.
Word is they may be transitioning to an a la carte menu in a few weeks.
Thank you! Next time!
What do you mean digging deeper into the Filipino kitchen?
Small sample sizes + very different restaurants so perhaps not a fair comparison.
Qui had a much broader menu that highlighted more Filipino dishes than what LASA is currently capable of with its current four course format. The dishes at LASA are really deconstructed while what was served at Qui was more deeply rooted in the original dish. And Qui had a brilliant bar program . . . apropos of nothing.
Anyways, all academic since I don’t patronize abusers, the restaurant in question is in another state, and it’s now shuttered.
I really liked LASA so maybe I’m not serving the conversation well by even bringing Qui into it. In particular, the dessert at LASA was exceptional. Kesong puti fritters. Really good.
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I really like Broken Spanish. Great cocktails, too.
Loved LASA. And Broken Spanish. Both good choices.
Yeah, you should use your inside connection. On a weekend they are most likely completely booked.
I would go to LASA on a date with someone I was already involved with, but maybe Broken Spanish with someone that wanted to be “impressed”. LASA has no alcohol, no massive crowds and dim light hosting a cadre of expense-account executives… it’s a quiet, familial atmosphere, simple, and quiet with extraordinary food for an incredibly reasonable price.
Broken Spanish is nice to go to though, don’t get me wrong, but LASA is the kind of place I would rather be at if I wanted to genuinely talk to someone and enjoy their company.
If you need copious amounts of alcohol though, BS is your spot.