“It smells great in here!” Jessie exclaimed as we walked through the front doors of Animal on Fairfax. Truth be told, it shouldn’t have taken me this long to hit up the neighborhood MEAT-ery…it’s been on my “To Eat Here” list for as long as I’ve lived in LA. Everyone has good things to say about this place…including our fellow diners tonight.
Jessie, armed with a list of must-eats from Robby, was intent on finding any dish that included kimchi (the Korean fermented vegetable dish). Chris, a friend of Jessie’s visiting from NYC, had been told this was the place to try for some unique LA eats. Greg, who hadn’t visited in a year, was praying (despite being Jewish) the Foie Gras Biscuits and Gravy were still on the menu. And me…well, I’m down for ANY restaurant that shares a name with a Muppet.
Animal is located on Fairfax just south of Melrose. It is somewhat hard to find due to the fact that there is no sign on the front of the building. “Ooohhh,” I exclaimed, “No sign…always a sign that the place is really good”…or snobby.
“Changes and modifications politely declined”
That is Snobby Strike #2.
“$20.00 corkage fee”
Three Snobby Strikes and you're out! Come on…a $20 corkage fee! Half the dishes on the menu are less than that!
But here is the thing about Snobby Strikes (bear with me, I’m making up these rules as I go along)…if the food is good, it wouldn’t matter if they tarred and feathered you (I’m currently reading John Adams so tarring and feathering is in vogue) for splitting the bill on 2 credit cards. Good food will always supersede the Snobby Strikes.
Like any good television agent, Greg intently listened to our suggestions and ideas on what to order and then told us what to actually order. To be fair…Greg has been to Animal before, he is our resident food-a-holic, and he always smells good. And if I’ve learned anything about the business…always trust a man that smells like the misty ocean breeze flowing in from Santa Barbara.
The batting lineup (in order of how the plates were presented) for the night follows below – complete with a sound bite about the dish. Pictures are included for your viewing pleasure. Let it be noted that Greg did an excellent job presenting each dish (ala Vanna White) for the camera. From here on out we will refer to him exclusively as Vanna.
Chicken Liver Toast
“This is so good and only three dollars! We should order like ten of them.” - Jessie
Hamachi Tostada
“It’s like several holidays in one bite.” –Jessie
(Unsure what holidays she was referring to, let’s say Christmas and Arbor Day)
BBQ Pork Belly Sandwiches, Slaw
“I could pop like…several more of those” – Chris
Let it be noted Chris also mentioned he was in the market for a dark red (Chris interjects “No No…more like burnt orange) leather jacket. Paging Nash Bridges!
Grilled Octopus with chorizo and chow chow
“WTF is chowchow, but it tastes amazing” – Mike
“Shit” – Vanna
Upon further review chow chow is not only a breed of dog, but also a Chinese pickled relish. Phew!
Poutine with oxtail gravy and Cheddar
“mmmmm….yyyummm….ughhhh” – Everyone
(Side Note: Nobody really spoke during this because the combination of French fries, cheese and gravy is enough to render anyone speechless)
…and finally the highly-touted (and reason we actually came)...
pLAte #5 - Foie Gras with Biscuits and Maple Sausage Gravy
“It’s like rich, sweet, salty and savory all at the SAME TIME” – Jessie.
The Foie Gras was undeniably the richest pLAte I have had to date. The dish brilliantly combines your favorite maple syrup flavors from breakfast AND creamy, salty, fulfilling flavors from dinner. Forget brunch, I say we start a new mealtime called Brinner of Dickfast…on second thought, let’s just stick with brunch.
Six dishes in and you’d think this group of four would be satisfied…wrong-o! Come on it’s ANIMAL, “let’s eat like there’s no tomorrow” said Vanna.
We polished things off with an order of Balsamic Pork Ribs (the meat fell off the bone…and onto the table in my case) and for dessert a Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar, which coincidently tasted nothing like a Nestle Chocolate Crunch Bar.
You can file ANIMAL under the “Places I Should Have Been Going to A Long Time Ago” category because the food is just that good. Another plus is that the menu is always changing…sort of like a Choose Your Own Adventure book!
We all agreed a return visit was definitely in order….after all, we passed on the rabbit legs, pig tails and chicken hearts.
Hmmm…wonder if Animal is gonna be pissed when we eat all his friends.
Animal
435 N Fairfax Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 782-9225
www.animalrestaurant.com
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