[LA] Animal

[canucklehead]

I was eating my way through LA a few weeks ago - and probably my favorite was Animal on Fairfax. Though their menu read like it could have been stunt eating - the food it self was prepared with a lot of honesty, focus, and brightness. I had read in the LA Times that there was no respite from rich and salty foods on the menu - but I found it quite easy to put together a balanced and extremely enjoyable meal. Certainly when I was there in the fall - it felt like it was firing on all pistons.

I have some friends who are thinking about going soon - so I wanted to see what others felt about the dining experience there.

Edited December 15, 2009 by canucklehead (log)

[christinajun]

I recently dined at Animal as well, and loved it! Definitely not the lightest meal I've ever had, but very good. My girlfriend and I shared:

chicken liver toast-very simply prepared, smooth chicken liver pate over a crostini toast with pickled onions.

barbeque pork belly sandwiches with slaw-crispy slices of braised pork belly with house-made bbq sauce and slaw on toasted mini brioche buns

duck confit with dates, arugula, sherry vinaigrette, pecans and apple-one of my favorites of the night. crispy duck leg confit balanced very well with the sweetness of the dates and the tart/crispness of apples, spiciness of arugula

sweetbreads, creamed spinach, capers, hen of the woods-least favorite of the night. the sweetbreads were well cooked and extremely crispy, but due to the fact that they were deep fried, they tasted like everything else that was fried that night too...

fois gras with biscuit and maple bacon gravy-super fatty and absolutely delicious. the fois was perfetly seared and sat on top of a cream biscuit that had been smothered in maple bacon gravy

flat iron, sunchoke hash, truffle parmesan fondue-not bad, not great either. the steak was at least cooked correctly, which I give them much credit for. the sunchoke hash was lacking a bit in flavor, while the parmesan fondue overpowered everything.

balsamic pork ribs, delicata squash, cippolini onion vinaigrette-amazing! a full rack of bbq ribs which made for a great snack the next day...

we ate at the bar, as we did not expect to eat out that night to make a reservation. the bar tender was very nice and helped us chose wines with our meal. other than the annoying, stuck-up person we were sitting next to, the meal was great.

[psiweaver]

I have been to Animal once and had a great meal there. I look forward to going back in the near future. I love their pork belly with kimchi and toasted peanuts. I also highly enjoy their quail fry with grits, bacon and maple syrup. I found the wine list to be a little odd though and felt that next time I would bring wine with me.

[Honkman]

Full review with pics: Animal

Animal (Los Angeles) – Two Dudes – One Restaurant

Many restaurant names often have a meaning, like names of the owner or their place of origin but rarely does a restaurant name so clearly reflect the food you will experience: Animal in West Hollywood is one of these exceptions. From the very beginning this name makes it very clear that all kinds of animal protein will be the main focus of every dish – but everything else on the plate won’t disappoint either.

Animal was started in the spring of 2008 by chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo. Both met in 1999 at culinary school at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and decided from there on to tackle the challenges of the culinary world together. After finishing their culinary education they worked together in numerous restaurants in Florida such as The Strand, Mark’s and The River House before moving to the Wildflower restaurant at the Lodge in Vail. They then finally decided to move to Los Angeles to work under chefs Govind Armstrong and Ben Ford at the Chadwick Restaurant before opening their own catering service – Caramelized Productions. The catering service was also part of the short-lived Food Network series “Two Dudes Catering”. Having experienced once how it is to work as their own bosses they decided to open their own restaurant – Animal.

Animal is located on Fairfax Ave. in a non-descriptive building next to the Schwartz Bakery and a few buildings up from Canters.

The interior has a very rustic, bare-bones and minimalistic look. It is a single large room with a bar at one end and several wooden tables. But similar to the food at Animal the first look might indicate a very bold and straight feel but if you look at bit closer you will find many small details like bare filament light bulbs and few pictures which make everything comfy and welcoming. The service at Animal is always professional but at the same time personal – at which restaurants do you experience waiters who recognize you and greet you with a handshake when you come into the restaurant?

Animal has an interesting list of wines with some more unusual finds like some Italians, e.g. Negramoro or Coste della Sesia. At a recent visit we decided to order a few beers including a Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale which had a malty start with a long sweet finish and an Abita Amber which is a nice smooth beer pairs nicely with the food at Animal.

You can easily only just focus on several of the small plates of Animal to get a full meal but we tend to share a few of them before switching to the entrees (but not forgetting the desserts either).

Small Plate 1: Chicken liver toast

We really like chicken liver in all of its renditions. The night before we had the chicken liver toast at Pizzeria Mozza which has a more coarse structure whereas the Animal variation is very smooth with balsamic drippings on top.

Small Plate 2: Rabbit loin, parsnip, pear mostarda and benton’s bacon

This plate has some ingredients you unfortunately don’t see often on menus – rabbit which had a delicate taste between chicken and game wrapped in bacon which helped to keep it moist and parsnip which has a nice earth flavor. The pear mostarda (an Italian condiment made out of candies fruit and mustard flavored syrup) gave a good balance with its mix of sweetness and slight spicyness from the mustard oil.

Small Plate 3: Duck confit, apple, pecans, dates and arugula

Rather classic version of duck confit with carefully chosen sides – bitter greens, sweet dates, sour apples - which helped to cut through the richness of the meat. Perhaps not the best version of duck confit we ever had but definitely a very enjoyable one.

Small Plate 4: Barbeque pork belly sandwiches and slaw.

As certified pork belly addicts it is hard for us to see pork belly on a menu and not order it. Animal has several dishes on rotation and this time we chose the pork belly sandwiches – wonderfully tender meat with a not too overwhelming sauce and slaw on a tasty bun. Unfortunately only one sandwich for each of us.

Entrée 1: Flat iron steak, sunchoke hash and truffle parmesan fondue

Very tender and perfectly cooked steak with an unusual but balanced sauce of truffles and parmesan which is quite addicting. The potatoes and sunchokes had a good smooth consistency.

Entrée 2: Veal breast, polenta, savoy cabbage and prosciutto

An Italian inspired dish which worked best if you tried to taste all the components at the same time.

Dessert 1: Tres leches and dulce de leche

Animal has only a few desserts and we tend to end up with the same two desserts – An outstanding tres leches cake which even though it is quite rich is at the same time very light. The dulce de leche adds a interesting caramel-like flavor.

Dessert 2: Bacon chocolate crunch bar and s&p anglaise

Animal’s signature dessert – not unlike a Kit-Kat bar but with added saltiness from the bacon which could have been a bit more pronounced. You mainly taste the good chocolate-nut combination.

We have yet to have a disappointing evening at Animal. The restaurant is a great addition to the many restaurants in this area with a very strong focus on excellent food and less formality. The ever changing menu – even dishes which are on the menu for a longer time often get different sides or flavor changing variations – makes every visit an unique experience.