A.O.C., Casual Wine Bar on W. 3rd Street just South of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center - Beverly Grove

[bilrus]

Gonna be in LA for a couple of days and nights. Not sure yet where we're staying or what we're doing during the days, but the focus is on food as usual.

We're looking for some really good restaurants for the two nights we'll be there. I am not interested in hip or trendy, but rather damn fine food that is hopefully inventive and unique as well. These can't both be $500+ nights for two, but I'm not one to cheap out if the food and experience are really really good.

Also, looking for suggestions for interesting lunches and breakfasts. Here we're hoping to explore some authentic mexican and related central american and other cuisines that are probably best represented in the LA part of the country. These can be dives, joints, whatever. I expect to be fairly adventurous here and am willing to try anything.

Thanks

We had a nice, late supper at A.O.C. back in May. Lots of nice small and medium size plates of Mediterranean dishes, good cheese and charcuterie and of course, wines. Picture a not-quite-as-Italian Sonoma with lower lighting and aspiring starlets at the table next to yours.

[JLK]

A.O.C.- I think I've decided this is my favorite restaurant anywhere because it's a "trendy" restaurant that is consistently great (and continues to pop up on the critics' lists after 5 years - it's in Bon Appetit this month). Huge wine selection - many affordable bottles, a couple of flights, carafes, etc. Everything is "small plates" style, and every dish we had was perfect. A salad with baby roasted carrots, yogurt, chickpeas and (I believe) a carrot/chick pea mash; chicken liver crostini with pancetta; toasted farro with pinenuts and currants; peas and pea shoots in a saffron butter with green garlic; sea bass with celery root puree, hazelnuts and sunchokes; le brebiou sheeps milk cheese from France for dessert. The food is straight-forward in focusing on the high quality ingredients and service is friendly. (West 3rd Street in West Hollywood)

We had a nice, late supper at  A.O.C. back in May. Lots of nice small and medium size plates of Mediterranean dishes, good cheese and charcuterie and of course, wines. Picture a not-quite-as-Italian Sonoma with lower lighting and aspiring starlets at the table next to yours.

A.O.C. was everything you guys have mentioned. A college friend living in LA suggested it during my recent work trip there and I thought it sounded familiar. What a great little spot.

Unfortunately the online menu isn't updated so I'm working from memory (and remember: this was the day I arrived so by the time the food came around 9:30/10 PST, I was tempted to take a little nap right at the table).

The hits:

* Excellent cheeses. My friend and I had a sheep, a goat and a cow (selections long forgotten, but definitely enjoyed).

* Really good bread and butter softened to room temp.

* Insanely delicious lamb chop. Think Komi-quality lamb. Even better, it was served with a pilaf of Israeli couscous and pomegranate. I can't say enough good stuff about this dish.

* Fantastic pan-friend chicken breasts served with parmesan pudding. Imagine that: white meat served juicy and a bit spicy. Loved it.

* Kabocha squash with dates and cubes of bacon. Really wonderful combination of sweet and salty.

On the fence:

* The space. Elegant and intimate...perhaps too intimate. Tables are really close together. I felt like the table next to ours was paying too much attention to the meal (and conversation!) I shared with my friend.

The miss:

* Service. Although pleasant, it was slllooooowww and often absent. Our server was very nice and apologetic about the long delays. The restaurant was quite crowded in spite of it being a Tuesday. The yellow tomato salad with vinaigrette never showed up.

Celebrity spotting:

* Very low level. Harry, Charlotte's second husband) from Sex in the City, was at the bar.

Too tired for dessert. IIRC the bill with tip and a glass of wine for each of us was $90.

[DonRocks]

Oct 13, 2015 - "A.O.C. Launched Today's Restaurant Trends and Still Does Them Better than Anyone" by Besha Rodell on laweekly.com

I don't know about the title of this article, but when I spent a month in Los Angeles and Orange County in 2014, A.O.C. was the only restaurant I went to twice.