Top Chef Masters Viewing Party w/ Chef Ludo Lefebvre

Husband and I became avid fans of Top Chef after we caught a few episodes of Season 2.  When we heard that there was going to be a Top Chef Masters, we were excited.  How would some of the most renowned chefs perform, especially the ones that had previously been judges?

The first season last year was my introduction to Chef Ludo Lefebvre.  I was a little padawan foodie, learning my way around the LA food scene (still am!).  I remember watching him, wondering what the hell he was saying, and getting a kick from the bickering between him and Chef Rick Moonen.  Fast forward to the last few months…  I’ve since gotten a better handle on LA food and restaurants and, no surprise,  Chef Ludo’s name has been popping up quite a bit with the exponentially increasing popularity of his pop-up restaurant, LudoBites as well as his LFC – Ludo Fried Chicken.

Finally about to get me some Ludobites!

Wine, wine and more wine

Chef Ludo returned to the 2nd season of Top Chef Masters and when the episode aired on 4/21, he threw a viewing party at Akasha in Culver City.  Husband and I were there to watch all the fun as he and the other contestants, including Moonen, fought for a spot in the next round and redeem themselves.  But more so, we were there to eat some LFC for the first time.

Akasha is in the building that many geeks would recognize as the exterior of Flynn’s Arcade from the movie, “Tron”.  Let’s just say that the interior of Akasha is about as far from an arcade as you can get. The space isn’t huge but the open contemporary floor plan makes it feel intimate yet large at the same time. I couldn’t stop staring at the extensive wine collection behind the large bar.

Sage Lemondrop

Since we got there when the party started, the place was still fairly empty.  That was fine as it allowed us to grab a table.  A waitress came by and we ordered the cocktail of the night – Sage Lemondrop.  Chef Ludo combined organic gin, organic lemonade and sage leaves to make this.  I always thought I hated gin (ugh, gin n’ tonics are nasty!) but this was delicious.  A little tangy, not too sweet…

My plate of everything

Bacon biscuits

They were still setting up the food, served buffet style.  I spied a large basket of jalapeño corn bread, salad, deviled eggs, something in a large pot and biscuits.  Hrm, a Southern theme…  I can dig it.

When everything was set up, Husband and I dug in.  I grabbed a little of everything.  The large pot ended up containing collard greens with black-eyed peas, not my favorite.  I’m not really a bean person.  There was also mac n’ cheese, a red cabbage cole slaw and mashed potatoes.  The biscuits had bacon bits in it which sold Husband on them, and me, as well.  The couple that loves bacon together…well, gets fat together.  These were soft, fluffy; I kept having to constrain myself from going back for more.

Awesome mac n' cheese

As a mac n’ cheese lover, I’m a bit picky about it.  Chef Ludo made a fantastic classic version.  Many other versions I’ve had never had enough cheese sauce for my liking but this wasn’t the case.  And the crunchy crumbs on top is a must from a texture point of view, I think.

LFC

Since they wanted to make sure everyone got some LFC, we were limited to 3 pieces.  That’s okay, because these boneless fried balls of poultry were quite large.  A nice amount of batter that didn’t come out too saturated in oil, the herbs really gave it a lot of flavor.  Even Husband was impressed.  I think I heard the words “some of the best fried chicken ever” come out of his mouth.  I agree.  And the lemon aoli sauce gave a nice tang to it.  I can understand the hype surrounding LFC.

This bird will OWN you...

By the time the viewing started, the place was packed with Ludo fans like this guy.  It was fun watching the show with other people who were just as into it as us.  While Ludo didn’t win on the show, he certainly won me and Husband over.

Now I’m really sad I wasn’t able to get a reservation for LudoBites 4.0 at Gram & Papa’s…*sniff sniff*  Well, there will be a LudoBites 5.0, right?

The Catty Critic give LFC 5 NOMs!  More please…

For more pictures, visit my Facebook page!

LudoBites
Pops up at various locations

Alice in Wonderland tea set @ Royal/T

Yes, I’m going thru my backlog of pictures…*phew*….

Back in March, I heard that Royal/T, the Japanese maid cafe in Culver City was offering an Alice in Wonderland tea set for the month.  Since Husband works down the street from the place and he worked on the movie, I insisted we go one day for lunch.

I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking..er…writing?

Outside Royal/T

Wall o' tea canisters

I know what I'm ordering...

Anime-ish Alice n' friends

Maid to order

It said "Drink me" so I did...

The complete tea set

Canapes were cut up into card suite shapes

These canapes were pretty good. The bread was a little crispy from toasting and all the toppings were flavorful. I’m always a smoked salmon fan. There was also an egg salad, tuna salad and one other thing I can’t quite recall.

I adored that little mushroom...and the macaron

The sign did say purple macaron but, as you can see, I ended up with a green one. It was vanilla flavored and really good.  There was a mini chocolate cupcake with a small “Eat me” sign, just like the big one on top.  The mushroom was a meringue, I think, and so cute.  They even painted the bottom with little stripes to make it look as mushroom-y as possible!  I was hoping for a Caterpillar to come along, sit on top of it with his hookah and ask “Whooooooooooo are yoooooooooooooouuuu?”

Why yes, I think I will...

This cupcake was vanilla flavored with a cream cheese type frosting and cinnamon. Looking at another version of the tea set someone else had ordered, they ended up with a chocolate one and a mini vanilla one. While the cupcake was moist, I found it had too much frosting.  But then again, I’m not a huge frosting person to begin with…

Husband ordered one of Royal/T’s beers and the Kobe beef burger sans the veggies.  Apparently, the burgers have gotten juicier since our first visit.  My little slider dribbled down my hand and Husband had a slightly messy time.  His coworker ended up having some juice fall in his lap.

beer

Kobe beef burger

I’ve always had a great meal at Royal/T and this time was no exception. I really enjoyed the tea set and admired the attention to detail that was paid to the decoration and execution of it.  While it did satisfy my hunger, the amount of food didn’t fill me up. $25 was a little bit pricy for what I got, I think, but for the novelty and fun I had working my way thru eating it, I was okay paying the price.

Service this time around was a little better but still, lunch here can run over an hour due to waiting around for your order to be taken or food to be served.

4 1/2 NOMs for an awesome special tea set!
Royal/T gets an upgrade from 3 NOMs to 3 1/2 NOMs.  Service here can still improve and the prices, while not unreasonable, do fall on the high end for what you get.

Royal/T
8910 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 559-6300
http://www.royal-t.org/

K-Zo

I must be missing something…  According to the reviews on Yelp, this place is supposed to be a great sushi restaurant.  But what I found was okay food for a high price…

Husband’s work was showing “Shutter Island” for free so we decided to take a break from packing and catch a flick as well as dinner.  He suggested K-Zo which was around the corner from his office in Culver City.

K-Zo sushi bar

When we got there, it was pretty empty as they had just opened for dinner.  The interior is very stark and modern.  I was amused by the one table that was hidden behind a curtain of beads/chains.  Guess that’s for customers who really want their privacy…  There’s a bar right by the door for cocktails, a row of tables along the windowed wall and a very long sushi bar with 3 chefs working when we were there.

Cocktails and an Asian Parmer

Since the Husband doesn’t do sushi, we sat at a table.  Cocktails were ordered first.  I opted to try a peach sochu cocktail as well as their “Asian Parmer” (green tea and lemonade).  Husband had some sort of cosmo drink.  The Asian Parmer (hahahaaa…) was actually pretty good, with more lemonade than green tea.  I liked my peach drink as well and had a slight buzz going.  What can I say?  I’m a bit of a lightweight…

First thing I noticed when looking at the sushi form and the menu were the prices.  The cheapest nigiri on the list was the Gyoku (egg) and the smelt roe at $4/2 pieces.  Most of the common types like salmon, tuna (maguro), yellowtail (hamachi) and freshwater eel (unagi) were $5-6.  A little bit more than what I am used to paying…  The standard menu is comprised of salads, appetizers and what they called “small plates”.  Think Japanese style tapas.  There are 2 prix fixe options at $58 or $78/pp – hors d’oeuvres, sashimi salad, entree, sushi, dessert and premium tea/coffee.

Salmon, Hamachi, Monkfish liver

I ordered some salmon, hamachi, scallop and monkfish liver (ankimo) nigiri while the other half went with the braised pork belly and popcorn shrimp “small plates”.  The salmon was okay but came out warmer than it should have been…almost as if the rice hadn’t quite cooled down enough.  The hamachi slices looked somewhat mangled and one piece was heavy on the wasabi.

Monkfish liver (ankimo) nigiri

I had never had monkfish liver before; this was my first time seeing it on a menu so I had to try it.  The liver is cooked via steaming.  Layered on a bed of rice and wrapped with seaweed, the ankimo was topped with a little ponzu and scallions.  It was very light flavor-wise and had a velvety smooth texture, sort of like tofu.  Overall, this was a very lovely piece of nigiri…  Not sure if I would order it again, though, due to the endangered nature of monkfish but I had to try it at least once since ankimo is considered a delicacy.

Braised pork belly

As for Husband’s dishes, I found the braised pork belly a little on the dry side.  This piece was chopped up into smaller pieces and the ones more towards the inside were a little juicier.  The flavor was okay, maybe could have benefitted from a touch more salt.  I think what I had at Wa Okan in San Diego was better and easier on the wallet.  The Husband liked it, though, and protested when I took more than one bite.   Hasn’t he heard that what’s his is mine?  Hehehe…

Popcorn shrimp

The popcorn shrimp ($8.50) was great.  The batter was light and really let the shrimpy taste shine thru.  The coating could have been crispier but otherwise, this was awesome.  I didn’t even bother using the aoili dressing they served along side since the nuggets alone were had a lot of flavor.  There was a good amount of shrimp in this basket, also, making it worth the price.

I do not think "fondant" means what you think it means...

Since we were still hungry, we opted to get dessert.  Husband went for the chocolate fondant – a chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.  I selected the K-Zo purple potato specialty dessert thingy, a glass with ice cream, sweet purple potato puree, red bean, mochi, almonds and 2 strawberry Pocky sticks.

Husband liked his chocolate fondant (odd name for a pudding-like cake dessert since fondant is something else in the pastry world).  The bite I had was okay.  It was chocolate-y and slightly bitter.  But overall, it was really just an average chocolate dessert.

Purple people eater

I enjoyed my dessert as it definitely had an Asian flare to it with the red beans and mochi…sort of reminded me of the ices you find at the tea shops.

Service was great and our food arrived quickly, though I could see that potentially slowing down the more crowded the restaurant is, especially for sushi orders.

For what we got, quality-wise, I thought K-Zo was overpriced.  While everything tasted okay, I didn’t think it was worth the $100 bill we were handed.  I think I’ll explore other sushi options in the area first before coming back here.

3 NOMs for K-Zo.

K-Zo
9240 Culver Blvd.
Culver City CA 90232
(310) 202-8890

Korean bbq on the west side…finally!

Manna Korean BBQ just opened up a second location in Culver City at the Westfield mall (formally known as Fox Hills Mall).  West side, rejoice!

Manna Korean BBQ - bar

Manna Korean BBQ - dining area

Manna Korean BBQ - grill

I’ve been here twice since it opened and have to say, while the food isn’t any different than the Koreatown location (read my review here), the setting is MUCH better.  Instead of sitting in a covered outdoor patio, you’re in a nice space with abstract paper mache art, high ceilings and clubby music.  It’s better ventilated so you don’t come out smelling like greasy smoke as much.

They still offer up their all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ for $16.99.  It’s a great deal if you have a large party or are hungry and want variety.  The only catch is that if one person orders it, the whole table has to as well.  I recommend going with the Jumulroc (marinated boneless shortrib, the bulgogi – chicken, beef or pork- and the samgyupsal (pork belly).  Marinated meats mean more flavor and pork belly…well…it’s like thick cuts of bacon!  It’s not the best-tasting Korean BBQ but it’s decent and for the price, awesome.

They give a nice variety of banchan.  Salad, kimchi, japchae, sliced daikon, rice paper and boiled egg seem to be the common fair.  I’ve also been served potato salad and seaweed on different occassions.  While the flavors aren’t anything to rave about, the variety and abundance is nice.

The menu also offers up some non-bbq items like dumplings, bibimbap and soondubu jigae but I haven’t tried any of this.  Based on reviews on Yelp, the soondubu is to be skipped.  I did see plates of dumplings go by on the last visit and they are quite large.  I’ll have to order up a plate next time to see if the taste is as big.

The space is large and they can easily accommodate big parties.  However, call ahead for reservations if you do bring the gang or go early.  I think the service here is also better.  They seem more attentive though be prepared to use the call button when they are super busy.  Also, it can get quite loud during peak dining hours.

The nice thing about being located at a mall is that there is plenty of parking.  Also, you can window shop to walk off the full stomach.

This location gets 4NOMS because of the nicer space and better service as well as the cost for the quantity and the okay quality of the food.

Manna Korean BBQ
6000 Sepulveda Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 397-9901

P.S.  Poor iPhone pics FTW…

I love Tito’s Tacos…no I don’t

I’m still on what is turning into a never-ending quest to find a good Mexican place in LA near me.  My latest attempt landed me at Tito’s Tacos.  Some people, including LA natives, swear Tito’s is the place to go.  And they have this wonderful commercial:

When I got there, the building looked sufficiently “hole-in-the-wall”-ish and there was a line.  The set up was like a large taco stand.  You went up to a window, placed your order and sat at one of the few picnic style tables outside.  Promising…  I looked around for the menu which turned out to be a large board behind the counter with only a few listings.  Hrm…  I see “burrito” and the only options were beans, meat w/ beans and…that’s it?  What sort of meat?  Shredded beef?  No carne asada?!?!?!  Well, damn…there goes my hopes and dreams.

I ordered a meat burrito but without the beans; I’m a believer in the carne asada + guacamole + cheese + pico de gallo burrito.  None of that rice n’ beans filler stuff.  I want MEAT!   I also ordered 2 tacos for my husband, plain with just meat n’ cheese.  Since they only accept cash at Tito’s Tacos, I had to make use of the atm machine on the side of the building.   I waited for about 5 minutes before my order was called.  I paid ($9 + change) and got my food which was packaged in a box (think In-n-Out) with a cover.

Tito's Tacos

Tito's Tacos - Inside of their meat burrito sans beans

When I got home and opened up the box, I saw a fairly plump burrito, two very sad looking tacos, chips and a cup of salsa.

I didn’t try the tacos but the husband said they weren’t very good and that he would be fine if he never ate them again.  Taco Bell is better.

As for the burrito, it was stuffed full of shredded beef and some cheese but it was bland.  I kept throwing more and more Tapatio just to get some flavor.  It really was unappetizing and I had to force myself to finish it (“Thou shalt not waste food…”).  The amount of meat in it was…heavy, almost bordering on too much.  It is a filling burrito and if there was something for my taste buds to latch on to, it would have been okay.

I guess the best part of the meal were the chips which were a little stale and the very mild salsa.  I should have dumped the salsa into the burrito…

I don’t understand how people think Tito’s Tacos is great.  What am I missing?  This was probably the worst Mexican food I’ve ever had and I doubt I will return. The fact that I dished out almost $10 for it just adds salt to the wound.

For the first time ever, the Catty Critic gives out a hairball rating.

Now to convince the husband that, no, we really should move back to San Diego, if only so I can get GOOD Mexican food…

Tito’s Tacos
11222 Washington Pl
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 391-5780
http://www.titostacos.com

Tender Greens

While the food is pretty and tasty, I just can’t get over the feeling that I overpaid for what I got. They use really good quality ingredients but the portions, especially for the meat, is a little skimpy for the price which usually ends up being around $15/pp (including tax) with a drink.

I usually get something involving the seared tuna. They always get this right and the fish is never fishy-tasting…very fresh. They have great mashed potatoes, creamy and buttery.

Even though I always enjoy my meal here, I can’t get inspired. I never have a craving for this place and we usually end up eating here because someone else makes an executive decision.

The line is usually out the door so go early or late to avoid the lunch crowd rush.

It’s a salad joint; what else am I supposed to say?  ;P

Tender Greens gets 3 NOMs.  This cat prefers to spend her money on food that’s probably not really good for her.  Wait, I think I hear my waistline complaining…

Tender Greens
9523 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 842-8300
www.tendergreensfood.com

Honey’s where it’s at for finger-licking goodness

Forget Kentucky Fried Chicken…KFC stands for Kettle Fried Chicken!  I’ve been here twice and so far, mmm mmm finger lickin’ good.

First time around, I opted for their chicken strips meal. They don’t make these until you order so be prepared to wait a while. The 2nd time around, I opted for their 2-piece meal which was served up a lot faster since the chicken pieces are already cooked and sitting under a heat lamp. The strips are super juicy and have a great crunchy coating. For chicken that’s been tanning, the 2-piece was still crispy n’ moist. I wouldn’t mind a little more kick to their batter mixture but overall, I would say these were definitely better than what you get at the Colonel’s. The fried chicken here is greasier, though, which just makes it all the more better. I mean, if you’re gonna eat fried chicken, you mind as well eat FRIED chicken, y’know?

The 2-piece meal (choice of breast, leg, thigh, drumstick…though isn’t the leg and drumstick the same? Ask them. *shrug*) comes with fries and a biscuit as well as a side of sweet pickles. It’s $8.change which is on the pricier side but considering how much food you get, it’s actually worth it.  The pieces are HUGE.  It’s hard to finish the entire thing.  For $9, you can get the 2 breasts option.  Split the fries and order an extra biscuit and you have a meal fit for 2 people.

The fries are not quite steak fries but are meatier than regular fries and are coated with a nice spice (paprika?). The biscuits here are bigger than KFC’s and are fluffy with a nicely browned exterior. Drizzle on some honey and OMG… Biscuits like how Mama used to make them.  That is, I imagine that they would be like that if I were from the South and had a “Mama” that made biscuits…  My mama makes rice instead.

They have a pump station with honey, hot sauce and secret sauce. The secret sauce seems to be a blend of sweet n’ spicy and it’s oh so good for adding a little kick to the chicken.

There’s no fountain soda service; you order bottles. They have some sort of cola, Bubble Up, grape soda…

There’s an array of other stuff on the menu including sweet potato pie.  I have yet to try anything else beyond that…yet.  Stay tuned for an update cuz I’m sure I’ll be going back there again.

Honey’s KFC gets 4 NOMs and a lot of finger-licking…and used napkins.

Honey’s Kettle Fried Chicken
9537 Culver Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 202-5453

Royal/T – a maid experience

A while ago, I met up with the husband and M. again for lunch in Culver City.  We walked over to Royal/T which is themed after the maid cafés in the Akihabara district in Japan.

Royal/T is in a space that can be described as part eatery, part store and part art gallery.  There’s a store off to the side that sells shirts, dolls (the collectible expensive kind), and other random items, including a giant stuffed squid and its smaller leather twin.  All over the place is artwork – sculptures and paintings mostly from the Superflat movement.  There was even some naughty sushi.  And based on flyers, artists use Royal/T to show off their work and hold gallery events.

When we walked in, we were greeted right away by a waitress dressed in a brown and white French maid uniform.  Sorry boys, they weren’t the super itty bitty kind made by Leg Avenue.  We perused the menu which isn’t huge but offers a nice variety.  There’s about 12 different types of teas offered in hot or cold form as well as coffees, sodas and juices.  As for food, they have a selection of salads, sandwiches and rice bowls.  They also offer breakfast items in the morning.

M. opted for the Wagyu Beef Burger lunch set.  Dan went for the Grilled Flank Steak Sandwich sans tomato and I ordered the Spicy Tuna Tar Tar (tartare?) lunch set.  The lunch set came with a side dish and we both went with the cucumber salad.  Since it was a Japanese eatery, we thought the cucumber salad  would be more like sunomono.  Instead, we got something that was more Greek – cucumbers with red onion and feta cheese with an olive oil dressing.  It was good but out of place.  As for the entrees, Dan liked his sandwich.  M thought the burger was a little dry.  My Spicy Tuna was quite good and I was happy with it.  It wasn’t particularly spicy but the fish was fresh, the tuna to avocado ratio was decent and the baguette was nice and crunchy.

As for drinks, I went with the Marocco Mint (I think they mean Morocco?) iced.  Instead of the sugar packets, they bring you simple syrup, which I loved.  It’s just an easier way of sweetening up your drink without having to deal with paper packets n’ grainy bits.  There’s also a container of sugar cubes on the table if you don’t want simple syrup.

Obviously, there was some Engrish items on the menu.  And our waitress was definitely not American and had a little trouble with her English.  Also, I don’t know if she was new but service was a little slow and hard to flag down.  But overall, the experience was nice.  It wasn’t very crowded, the food and drinks were good and reasonably priced and there were interesting things to keep our eyes occupied.

I don’t think we had quite the same experience as we would have if we were in a true Akihabara maid café, though.  From what I understand, there’s definitely more cosplay involved at those joints.

I give Royal/T 3 NOMs.

Royal/T
8910 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 559-6300
http://www.royal-t.org/

Gyenari redux

The Friday before Superbowl, Dan and I, along with M went to lunch at Gyenari.  This was our 2nd visit back and we were seated at the same booth as last time.

They’ve done some redecorating since then, turning the tables in the center of the room into booths. They were also putting up plasma TVs in their bar/lounge area at the front of the restaurant.  A flyer on the table advertising a Superbowl event explained why.

The kinks in service seemed to have been smoothed out and we had an excellent and attentive waitress.  We never had to ask for refills on water.

I was surprised by how empty the restaurant was when we arrived but soon the lunch crowd hit and it was no longer so lonely.  I guess they go to lunch later in Culver City.

The food is still excellent and the prices are still the same.  I think they may have added a few items to their menu and it looks less strictly Asian and more fusion-y.

Gyenari - Bacon & Cheddar Jeon Jeon

One of the new items I noticed was an appetizer dish, Jeon Jeon, which is sort of like a savory Korean pancake.  There were two options – applewood-smoked bacon and cheddar or shrimp, calamari and kimchee.  Intrigued, I had to try the bacon n’ cheese.  What came out was a plate of a quartered Jeon Jeon and a side of ranch dressing.  (I forgot to grab a pix before 2 pieces were consumed).  The chef was quite generous with the cheese and the portion of bacon sprinkled around was decent.  The edges of the Jeon Jeon were crispy while the inside was nicely soft.  It wasn’t overly greasy which was a nice surprise given how much cheese was on it.  It was a great dish and one I would definitely have again.

Gyenari - Ox-tail broth

Gyenari - banchan

Along with the “banchan”, came bowls of delicious ox tail broth with slivers of daikon in it.  The side dishes consisted of spicy pickled shredded daikon, steamed broccoli, cucumber (“oi”) kimchee, bean sprouts, a potato-egg salad and, of course, kimchee.  Nothing uncommon or out of the ordinary and what you would find if you went to a regular Korean restaurant.

Gyenari - Spicy Pork Bulgogi lunch special

Like last time, Dan went with the lunch plate but opted for the braised beef – a chunk of beef that’s been braised in a soy sauce mixture.  It was tender, flaky and full of flavor.  I opted for a lunch plate as well, going with the Spicy Pork Bulgogi.  Like before, rice, salad, japchae, fruit and tempura accompanied the meat.  I like how Gyenari uses mixed greens instead of plain iceberg lettuce.  The tempura is light and not greasy and they include a green bean, asparagus, sweet potato slice and shrimp.  The spicy pork bulgogi had quite a bit of heat to it, surprisingly.  Between 2 slices of the Jeon Jeon and half my main course, I was pretty stuffed and required a to-go box.  The leftover meat, tempura and japchae heated up quite nicely for dinner, by the way.

Gyenari - Bibimbap

M opted to try the “Gyenari Bibimbap” which ended up being Dolsot Bibimbap – bibimbap in a hot stone pot.  For those not familiar with “bibimbap”, it is rice with various vegetables, beef and an egg.  You add in a flavorful, sometimes spicy, red paste and mix everything together.

Gyenari’s version of toppings consisted of beef, cooked spinach, shitake mushroms, cucumbers, carrots and a sunny-side egg.  The bibimbap sauce proved to be too spicy for M so he did without.  He liked it quite a bit.

I only get Dolsot Bibimbop from one place, a Korean restaurant down in San Diego.  I’m going to have to give Gyenari’s a try one day to see how it compares.

The Catty critic gives Gyenari an upgrade to 4 NOMs.

Gyenari
9450 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 838-3131
http://www.gyenari.com/

Rush Street – leisurely dining

As I mentioned before in the previous post, another restaurant, Rush Street, opened in the same stretch as Gyenari.  Dan and I have stopped in here for lunch a few times since they started serving.

Rush Street is styled after the hip eateries of Chicago – serving as a restaurant and a bar hang-out.  The two-story space has a dining room and a large bar downstairs while the upstairs hosts another bar and lounge area.  The alcohol list is impressive.  The shelves are fully stocked with all the usual culprits plus some of their lesser known relatives.  The wine list offers a nice selection and as for beers, there’s an impressive array of bottled offerings as well as a few draft selections.  And their specialty cocktails…mmmm.  It’s no surprise that everytime we pass Rush Street, we see a crowd.

The food on the menu is pretty good as well.  On my first visit, I tried the white pie & truffle oil pizza.  This was delicious.  Styled after Italian pizza (I’m talking about real Italian pizza, not American), the crust was thin with a little bit of crisp to it.  Since it’s been a long time, I don’t quite remember what came on it… ricotta, spinach and instead of marinara sauce, it had pesto?  I just remember rich flavor and creamy cheese.

Dan always orders the Rush Street burger ($11) sans onion strings and veggies – just meat, cheese, bacon and sauce.  Usually, the burger is well flavored and moist though on our last trip, it was a little dry and  bland.  It comes witha a side of seasoned shoe string fries.  I love the seasoning but wish they used a fatter fry than shoe string.

I’ve tried the mac n’ cheese ($6) here, too and it was definitely one of the better ones I’ve had.  It’s listed as a side dish.  The smoked duck breast salad ($12) is a real winner.  The salad – spinach, chestnuts, dried cranberries, cherries and currants and a cider vinaigrette was delicious and flavorful.  The smoked duck breast, served sliced and on the side of the salad was cooked perfectly.  Moist and with just the right amount of fatty skin, it went really well with the components of the salad.

As for pricing, it isn’t that bad…unless you order a lot of drinks. 

I recently discovered that they started serving brunch so I will definitely have to go check that out.

Rush Street gets 4 NOMs.

Rush Street
9546 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 837-9546

http://www.rushstreetculvercity.com