A Foodie in L.A. – Part 1 of 3
Apologies for not posting sooner, but last week I was on the road in the fast paced L.A. (Los Angeles, not to be confused with Ms. Spears’ beloved Louisiana – another foodie hub).
The weekend was jammed packed with celebrating my little sis’ grad from college, road rage, avoiding the swine flu, but of course, I fit in some time to eat and drink.
The first place I went to was Beechwood Restaurant, a non-descript-looking-like-a-little-shack in the beachy town of Venice. Considering it was probably 5 or so on a Friday, I was surprised by how empty the restaurant was. It had a cool bar atmosphere, nice outdoor seating, oversized couches and a nice patio with a fireplace.
Since we were rushed for time, we only had drinks and apps. My half of the table was obviously the more heiferish side, ordering a platter of fries (shoestring, normal and sweet potato), plantains and an upscale serving of grilled cheese served with a side of arugula topped with a light balsamic dressing and red onions.
Fries – well, you can’t really go wrong with fried + potatoes. Each variety we ordered were delightful and were served with a traditional ketchup, spicy ketchupy BBQ sauce and an amazing mayonnaise-based olio. The mayo-like sauce was by far the best since it was the perfect consistency and had a hint of garlic? The spicy ketchup BBQ was a little off tasting, since it wasn’t a good blend or balance of the BBQ/chili taste with the ketchup.
Next up, the plantains – delish – but a miniscule portion for this hungry girl. These plantains weren’t dehydrated like your traditional banana chips. Instead, they were seasoned lightly and still moist – think caramelized bananas – brilliant.
And, the grilled cheese. Probably the biggest disappointment – it was a mixture of brioche, fig paste, truffle pecorino, gruyere and goat cheese. But, because of the different cheese textures, some melted nicely, others were crumbly
, overpowering and smelly. But, the arugula salad was actually a huge surprise. Speaking of overbearing, usually arugula is bitter and gross but this salad was a fresh spring mix that was topped with tasty red onions.
And, who could forget the drinks…..I stuck with a blood orange martini. Yum! Not too much vodka to cause me a to have a horrible headache, but just enough to make, as my friends and I say, buuzznebriated (just kidding Mom)!
Overall, Beechwood was a great atmosphere that, if you ordered the right dishes, I think would be a lovely experience. Unfortunately, I wish we would have swapped the grilled cheese with the scallops that were calling my name at the other end of the table.
The Verdict:
Name: Beechwood Restaurant
URL: http://www.beechwoodrestaurant.com/home.php
Pricing: On average $10 bucks per app plate; $15-20 per dinner plate
Address: 822 West Washington Blvd., Venice, CA 90292
Byte Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Check back for my two other reviews coming this week...
Apologies for not posting sooner, but last week I was on the road in the fast paced L.A. (Los Angeles, not to be confused with Ms. Spears’ beloved Louisiana – another foodie hub).The weekend was jammed packed with celebrating my little sis’ grad from college, road rage, avoiding the swine flu, but of course, I fit in some time to eat and drink.
The first place I went to was Beechwood Restaurant, a non-descript-looking-like-a-little-shack in the beachy town of Venice. Considering it was probably 5 or so on a Friday, I was surprised by how empty the restaurant was. It had a cool bar atmosphere, nice outdoor seating, oversized couches and a nice patio with a fireplace.
Since we were rushed for time, we only had drinks and apps. My half of the table was obviously the more heiferish side, ordering a platter of fries (shoestring, normal and sweet potato), plantains and an upscale serving of grilled cheese served with a side of arugula topped with a light balsamic dressing and red onions.
Fries – well, you can’t really go wrong with fried + potatoes. Each variety we ordered were delightful and were served with a traditional ketchup, spicy ketchupy BBQ sauce and an amazing mayonnaise-based olio. The mayo-like sauce was by far the best since it was the perfect consistency and had a hint of garlic? The spicy ketchup BBQ was a little off tasting, since it wasn’t a good blend or balance of the BBQ/chili taste with the ketchup.
Next up, the plantains – delish – but a miniscule portion for this hungry girl. These plantains weren’t dehydrated like your traditional banana chips. Instead, they were seasoned lightly and still moist – think caramelized bananas – brilliant.
And, the grilled cheese. Probably the biggest disappointment – it was a mixture of brioche, fig paste, truffle pecorino, gruyere and goat cheese. But, because of the different cheese textures, some melted nicely, others were crumbly
, overpowering and smelly. But, the arugula salad was actually a huge surprise. Speaking of overbearing, usually arugula is bitter and gross but this salad was a fresh spring mix that was topped with tasty red onions.And, who could forget the drinks…..I stuck with a blood orange martini. Yum! Not too much vodka to cause me a to have a horrible headache, but just enough to make, as my friends and I say, buuzznebriated (just kidding Mom)!
Overall, Beechwood was a great atmosphere that, if you ordered the right dishes, I think would be a lovely experience. Unfortunately, I wish we would have swapped the grilled cheese with the scallops that were calling my name at the other end of the table.
The Verdict:
Name: Beechwood Restaurant
URL: http://www.beechwoodrestaurant.com/home.php
Pricing: On average $10 bucks per app plate; $15-20 per dinner plate
Address: 822 West Washington Blvd., Venice, CA 90292
Byte Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Check back for my two other reviews coming this week...
I don't recommend the nasty ginger drink on Beachwood's menu. I don't remember what it was called... but it was pretty gross.
ReplyDeleteYea that one didn't seem too good at all. Either way, my blood orange was very tasty as it was a refreshing citrus drink - what a way to start off the evening!
ReplyDelete