dineLA Restaurant Week 2009

Ah, it's that magical time of year again--two weeks of prix fixe meals at some of LA's best restaurants. This year, the two weeks will be broken up into January 25th-30th, February 1st-6th. Here's the full list of participating places. So rather than have one set price, dineLA pulled an iTunes and is offering meals divided into three price tiers.
Lunch
($)Deluxe Dining:$16
($$)Premier Dining:$22
($$$)Fine Dining:$28
Dinner
($)Deluxe Dining:$26
($$)Premier Dining:$34
($$$)Fine Dining:$44
As you'd imagine, most places are "fine dining," which makes me question that category altogether. Here are some places that piqued my interest:
My picks...

Asia de Cuba ($$)
I wouldn't come here again so soon, but my last visit was rather pleasant. I've had the Alaska miso-cured butterfish that's on the menu this time and I'd easily recommend it. The venue is cozy and the prices are high, so now would be a good time to take advantage of the deal.

Beacon ($)
Besides the fact this is billed as a "fusion" restaurant, I've heard good things about the owners. It might be worth checking out for the lower end.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. ($)
Haha, no.

Chinois on Main ($$$)
I've been meaning to check out Wolfgang Puck's Asian side for awhile. However, they are only offering lunch for Restaurant Week.

Citrus at Social ($$)
From the pictures I've seen, Citrus is a beautiful restaurant. HC seemed to enjoy his trip with a similar menu.

Comme Ca ($$$)
It seems like this place will never cool down.

Gordon Ramsay at the London West Hollywood ($$$)
I was surprised to see Chef Ramsay making an appearance on this list. You would think he'd be above it all. But this might be a good chance to sample some of his dishes for a tighter budget.

Grace ($$$)
I've yet to try Neal Fraser's restaurants, neither Grace nor BLD. Yet, I doubt it would be a crying shame if I left LA without going to either of them.

La Cachette ($$$)
This has been on my try list for some time ever since I noticed it on LA Mag's top 75. It's convenient for me, and given my busy season schedule I don't think I'll be able to go far. So I've made a late Friday reservation here. Will definitely get an additional order of their famous foie gras.

Simon LA ($$)
I've wanted to try Kerry Simon's restaurant across from the Beverly center for some time, but it seems that no one ever wants to go with me. Their desserts are supposedly hardcore comfort food. Although that doesn't seem to be the case with this Restaurant Week menu.

The Bazaar by Jose Andres ($$$)
Usually I like to avoid the overhyped restaurants, but Kevin's dual posts have convinced me to rethink Chef Andres. He just seems like a cool guy. Hopefully his food is as good as his personality.

Water Grill ($$$)
Some bloggers seem to be going here. I like David LeFevre, but I'm not quite feeling Water Grill this time around.

Wolfgang's Steakhouse ($$)
Having been to CUT, there's a part of my palate that yearns to taste the Wolfgangs battle it out in beef. I'm also curious how much filet mignon you can get for $34. I expected a strip steak instead. However, if I did end up here, I'd have to try mighty hard to eschew those lamb chops.

Xiomara on Melrose ($$)
I want to say Xiomara, but the menu doesn't seem fun enough for me.

So here's my list. I'll try to make 3-4 of them this year after only going to Cobras and Matadors last Restaurant Week. Remember to request the Restaurant Week menu when you get to these places.

Let me know where you think you'll end up. Comment if you have some suggestions for me, or if you think these picks are just way off the mark.

^

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Cobras and Matadors

Cobras and Matadors

(323) 932-6178
7615 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Adequately Fed: $30
Green Lentils Sauteed with Jamon Serrano**
Bacaolao Salt Cod Cakes with Aioli***
Roasted Game Hen in a Catalan Sweet and Sour Sauce***
Paella****
Flan****
French Toast*****
(Out of Five Stars)

As part of Los Angeles' Restaurant Week, Cobras and Matadors features a prix fixe menu for $25 a person for a three-course meal usually priced around $30. Not much of a discount, but enough to make this place a good value. For more information on Restaurant Week, visit Dinela.com.

For each course, appetizer, main course, and dessert, there are three options to choose from. My companion and I chose different items to share to try to get a small plates tapas experience. Tapas are a wide variety of Spanish appetizers that can be combined to form meals. I suppose it would be the equivalent of Iberian dim sum. Looking at our selections however, I don't think most of these are traditional tapas dishes. But I won't let that detract from my opinion of an excellent plate.

Both of the appetizers, cod cakes and lentils, exhibited the qualities I like to see in each respectively. The cod cakes had a crisp exterior with a juicy interior topped with aioli that did not overwhelm, but complemented the fish. I have never eaten lentils outside of a soup, but this dish sauteed with Spanish ham gave me quite a surprise. Contrary to what I thought, they were crunchy and not mushy. The flavor had hints of Balsamic vinegar that made these legumes tart and sweet. It was excellent in small quantities, but it felt too heavy to finish.

Cod cakes and Lentils

I once roasted a game hen brined in papaya nectar that turned out tender and sweet. Cobra and Matador's game hen reminded me of my own experiment. Though the sauce was good, with a fruity flavor of apples or pears, it was too sweet. The chicken was overcooked and relied too heavily on the sauce to convey flavor. It could have used a longer marination if it had any at all. The paella had a creamy risotto consistency with mussels, clams, prawns, chorizo topping saffron rice. I love good paella that does not feel dried out or grainy. The texture of this dish fit that description, though it was a little sour for my tastes. The chorizo gets a special commendation for taste.











Game Hen and Paella

To finish off our night, we sampled the flan and French toast desserts. My first forkful of the flan was strangely unfamiliar. I don't know if it is because I haven't had flan in a long time, or if it was somehow different. But with each successive bite, I found myself more and more enamored with this caramel custard. The whipped cream was excellent. It always pleases me when restaurants pay attention to such details as these. Bad whipped cream always seem to be a distraction from an otherwise good dessert. The French toast also came with whipped cream and a plump strawberry. It had a great flavor as well.

Flan

Overall, the amount of food was just right. I left the restaurant feeling great without being weighed down by the food or lightened by my emptier wallet. The service was friendly; the buser even offered to take a picture of us when he spot us taking pictures of the food. The venue is small but picturesque. It seemed to fill up around 8:00, but with a reservation, you should be fine. My gripe is with the tight seating, tables almost side to side. Also, the acoustics were terrible, making a cacophony of overlapping conversations. I really did not care what my neighbor thought of her pets. But even this was not enough to deter me from giving Cobras and Matadors a good review.

Recommendation: Valet is $5.50 so look for side streets. Not cheap enough to go often, but delicious enough to treat yourself from time to time.

A special thanks to my photographer, my lovely girlfriend Yoko.

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