Marcus and I had a date night! Doesn’t that sound exciting? I can confirm this for you. It was exciting. We went to Little Dom’s on Hillhurst. Marcus made the comment that it looked like a seaside East coast Italian restaurant. It reminded him of Providence. We sat at the bar because they had reservations booked through 10 pm but I think we both enjoyed the casualness of the seating arrangement so that worked out just fine. Marcus made friendly loose chat with the people on both sides of us. His aptness for social situations never fails to amaze me. While my reaction to overly cozy seating arrangements would be to keep more contained, to be even more conscious of the barriers of personal space, Marcus sees it as polite to create a more communal environment. I think it is safe to say that Marcus is a much warmer person than me.
We shared a bottle of wine.
Appetizer: Fish Crudo with lemon and rosemary
My Entree: Salmon with fennel
Marcus’ Entree: Pappardelle with peas and ricotta
I’m sorry for the terrible photo. It doesn’t do the food justice.
It was an enormously enjoyable evening, partially for the meal and partially for the company.
I’m curious about places that claim to be “the best”. What does this mean? I’m am naturally suspicious and generally avoid “bests”. Saeyoung and I had been craving fish tacos and for whatever reason we decided to take up Ensenada’s Best Fish Tacos claim to bestness.
The menu is very straightforward. Fish Taco: $1. Shrimp Taco $2. Drinks: $1. We had one of each. I liked that the fish wasn’t coated in some oil soaked inch thick batter. Very lightly fried actually. I can appreciate that. Their salsa bar is also impressive.
Best? I don’t know. But delicious? Quite.
Ensenada’s Best Fish Tacos
1650 Hillhurst Ave
Los Feliz, Ca 90027
323.887.1980
As my dad grows older, he enjoys being outdoors more and more. When we see each other he wants to do things like hike or go to the beach, or go on wandering walks. And more recently he’s been very insistent on dining outdoors whenever possible. He wanted to take me out for a birthday dinner and choosing the restaurant became something of a ridiculous stressor. I really wanted things to be perfect though and I wanted my dad to have a good time and I wanted everything to be just so.
I’ve often passed by Home on Hillhurst and thought the patio looked adorable and, as Saeyoung pointed out, like a treehouse. So I picked Home, almost entirely for the reason of dining outdoors on their very sweet looking patio.
I have to say, the food was not so impressive. I had a chicken sandwich and Saeyoung had a veggie burger and my dad had meatloaf (of course!). Everything was barely scraping mediocre. But this is the thing, my dad loved it. I don’t think it really mattered what we were eating because he liked the patio so much and that made me enormously happy. I like seeing my dad enjoy himself.
Home
1760 Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles, Ca 90027
323.669.0211
Brazilian Ceviche
Vegetarian Combo
Brazilian Quesadilla
ehh…
The shrimp that Nancy ordered last time was a lot better. The Brazilian quesadilla was just a quesadilla. The ceviche was pretty good but will give you onion breath that will last a whole day. Also, the restaurant smells a little funny. But you know what? the rice, plantains, yucca, and pao de queso are pretty delicious. I feel like the sides are better than the entrees.
Tropicalia
1966 Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 644-1798
