The Must / ©Giammario Villa
By Tara de Lis
For dineLA.com
A bar bite is the antithesis of fancy-schmancy restaurant food, but it’s also much more than your typical sliders and onion rings. Call this the (mostly) anti-fried guide. Bar bites can be enjoyed in a relatively casual hotel lounge or at the counter of a nice bistro. They can also be found in the small plates offerings of wine bars or on the updated menus of gastropubs. Happy hour deals and weekly specials are always a bonus.
BLT Steak on the Sunset Strip might normally be price-prohibitive for the average Angeleno, but the bar menu won’t break the bank. Brace yourself for one of the best steak tartars around, made with freshly broken down filet mignon filets and elegantly topped with a quail egg. And the piping-hot popovers, served complimentary to all diners, are a major bonus.
Talk about fine dining made more accessible, Ludovic Lefebvre, who formerly helmed the highest of high-end LA restaurants (L’Orangerie, Bastide), has brought his “LudoBites” dinner series back to West Third Street’s Breadbar bakery through August 22. Its rotating menu is based on his whims, from a chorizo soup to tuna and watermelon crudo. Ludo shares, “I call this ‘bistro-nomie,’ a bistro setting serving gastronomic food.”
From unfettered access to a great chef to just plain access, sitting at the bar might be the only way Type B’s will ever see the inside of the four-star Bazaar. Reservations are notoriously hard to snag, even six weeks out. Its Bar Centro, however, accepts walk-ins. Sample Spanish classics like pa amb tomaquet or fanciful items like a sea urchin sandwich.
Dining in the lounge at The Foundry on Melrose comes with perks, including live music and special menu selections, from creamy tater tots with violet mustard to a spicy, texturally fascinating scallop ceviche with jalapeno and jicama.
The Langham resort typically conjures images of English refinement, but a new bar menu is putting an unusual—and very American—spin on things. Case in point: “Buffalo rings” calamari with celery root slaw and Valdeon blue cheese aioli. Garde Manger Chef Erik Schuster explains, “I wanted to take the flavors of Buffalo wings and marry it with another popular bar menu item—fried calamari—but do it in an interesting way."
Buffalo-style might just be the next big thing. The preparation was also witnessed in the playful Buffalo tempura shrimp and cheddar cheese grits starter at The Must, one of a trio of new Downtown wine bars. There’s also a deconstructed chicken pot pie painted with addictive Humboldt Fog crème fraiche.
Also Downtown, BottleRock takes advantage of its full kitchen, a luxury absent at the original outpost in Culver City. A standout dish is the pork belly risotto, which actually features three cuts of meat: confit belly, pig ear terrine and crispy shredded pork fu.
Nearby Corkbar has introduced “Test Kitchen Tuesdays,” where patrons play guinea pig by sampling $2 tastes of off-menu dishes like stuffed skate wing with summer squash and tarragon-lemon butter. Major crowd-pleasers, like the ricotta and Parmesan-Asiago “raviolo,” are promoted from guest star to series regular. Citing his varied inspiration, Executive Chef Albert Aviles says, “Sometimes it's the weather, a song, emotion, life, people, or something I have been craving for the last couple of days.”
At the Fairmont Santa Monica’s Fig, the market-fresh fare is spurred by the season, but the stock at the corner cheese bar is on par with carts in top-tier restaurants. Special “flights” categories include “progressive,” “challenging,” “rare” and “local.” Several are offered for only $5 on the “Fig at Five” happy hour menu.
A few blocks away, the bustling bar at French brasserie Anisette is a popular spot for raw bar selections and spectacular seafood platters.
Charcuterie has been a focus at Lou wine bar since day one. Niman Ranch pork is utilized to create everything from house-made bacon and sausage to patés and rilettes; Armandino Batali’s salumi is thrown in for good measure.
Two very different gastropubs about 25 miles apart are offering some great nibbles. The York in Highland Park serves a mean grilled truffle-cheese sandwich; lemony ginger-garlic sautéed kale is an excellent accompaniment.
Hudson House in Redondo Beach features tender ground-lamb sugar cane skewers with tangy honey-yogurt harissa.
Henry’s Hat in Studio City is getting in on the action, too. The menu is a mash-up of classic Americana: think spicy popcorn to “Longhorn’s” chili.
Anisette, 225 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, 310.395.3200
BLT Steak, 8720 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, 310.360.1950
BottleRock 1050 Flower St, Downtown Los Angeles, 213.747.1100
Corkbar, 403 W. 12th St, Downtown Los Angeles, 213.746.0050
Fig, 101 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, 310.576.7777
Henry’s Hat, 3413 Cahuenga Blvd West, Studio City, 323.512.2500
Hudson House, 514 N. Pacific Coast Hwy, Redondo Beach, 310.798.9183
Lou, 724 Vine St, Hollywood, 323.962.6369
Ludo Bites @ Breadbar, 8718 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, 310.205.0124
The Bazaar, 465 S La Cienega Blvd, Beverly Hills, 310.246.5555
The Foundry on Melrose, 7465 Melrose Ave. Los Angeles, 323.651.0915
The Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa, 1401 South Oak Knoll Ave, Pasadena, 626.568.3900
The Must, 118 W 5th St, Downtown Los Angeles, 213.627.1162
The York, 5018 York Blvd, Highland Park, 323.255.9675
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BLT Steak
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The Langham
The Must
BottleRock
Corkbar
Fig
Anisette
Lou
The York
Hudson House
Henry's Hat
