DineLA happens at least twice a year in Los Angeles; once in the summer and again in the “winter”. A nice selection of restaurants from all neighborhoods have a prix fixe lunch and/or dinner menu selection ranging from $15-25 for lunch and $29-99 for dinner. Dinners are usually 3 to 5 course meals so definitely worth the price. I normally try to make it to at least one of the restaurants during this time. Luckily, this year I was able to try two places.
I created a list of all the restaurants that peaked my interest to try for both lunch and dinner. For lunch, I decided to try Nick + Stef’s Steakhouse. This hidden gem is tucked away in Downtown Los Angeles. Upon arriving, I immediately thought this place would be a good recommendation for the summertime. There’s a bit of construction going on around the vicinity but the outside dining area gives a nice, unobstructed view of downtown and a cute little garden area nearby. There was a good selection for the lunch menu. For the appetizer, I went with the caesar salad. For my main entree, I tried the oak grilled salmon atop marinated kale with a nice chimichurri sauce and my husband went with the short rib (my initial choice but I didn’t want to get the same thing). Neither meal disappointed although I will say the short rib was the better option to me. It is a heavier meal for lunch so maybe it caters to a late lunch goer like myself. The flavors were great and overall I’m glad I was able to make it over to this place.
For dinner, I tried Fin located in Culver City. It’s an Asian-fusion inspired restaurant that offered a good variety for its dinner entrees. $29 got me salmon sashimi, baked crab rolls and an 8oz ribeye with mashed potatoes. Definitely not bad for the price. I loved the smoked soy ribeye. The marinade went perfectly with the steak and it was cooked quite well. My husband decided to be fancy and ordered the filet mignon (not on the prix fixe) but it was good nonetheless. I fell in love with the plum reduction sauce used a base for his dish. Overall, the ambiance was very nice and the food was very good but I must admit the service was kind of slow. Maybe there were more diners out trying the DineLA options during the time I visited. I will definitely be back to try it out again, especially since there’s a speakeasy located in the back called ‘The Alley’. Looking forward to the DineLA summer edition 🙂 . If you’re in the LA area during the next one, I would definitely recommend trying one of the many restaurant options that cater to every type of cuisine you can think of.
So here we have it. A nice, toasted brioche roll with succulent lobster meat tossed in a melted butter. This sandwich literally melted in my mouth. I mean pure perfection. I was worried about the sandwich not being dressed since I was used to a mayo base but they’ve nailed it over at Frankland’s. The homemade ice cream sandwich was also a hit. Way to top off a cute lunch. As I continue to let you in on my LA food adventures, please mark this one down as a place to try. I will be coming back for sure!
I am a true lover of a good dog; hot dog that is. It’s my go to at the summer BBQ and any sporting event that sells them. So when I saw Dog Haus and they’re specialty hot dogs, I knew I had to give them a try. Not to mention their all beef dogs are served on King’s Hawaiian rolls. This alone should be enough to make you want to try these. Everyone loves that bread!
There are a number of variations to try and I went with the Old Town Haus dog. This one has a smoked bacon wrapped dog with caramelized onions, chipotle aioli, pickled jalapenos and cotija cheese. Take about a specialty! The smoky flavor of the dog mixed with the little extra heat from the jalapenos and sweet yet spicy chipotle sauce was a great combo. I was also able to try one of their burgers. I cannot recall which one exactly by name but it did have a fried egg on it which always works for me. Not forgetting the cheese fries that accompanied this hot dog and burger. Great choice for lunch or dinner and should definitely be adding on your restaurant to do list.
lifeofacitygal 