Rustic Canyon - still solid

You could probably get them delivered. They deliver to DTLA through UberEats.

Just had a big meal Saturday evening also was in in January and gotta say still firing on all cylinders. Nectarine salad was my favorite this visit, nectarines were perfect.
Rib Cap was tasty as well.
I think this may be my favorite place in L.A. at the moment.

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Had a last minute date night to try the open faced sausage sandwich yesterday.

Munak Ranch heirloom tomatoes, burrata, fresh herbs, & ‘tellicherry’ black pepper
Only item from the night I wouldn’t order again. I like less acidic heirloom tomatoes and these were very tomato-y. Nothing against RC, just a taste preference.

Weiser Farms zucchini bread, marinated summer squash, ricotta, & pinenuts
Comforting, great textures.

open face sandwich of andouille sausage, ‘jimmy nardello’ peppers, & ‘sungold’ tomatoes
Too spicy for the wife, but perfect for me. They served it on top of their parker house rolls.

Not pictured:
Andy’s Orchard ‘candy cot’ apricot cake, whey caramel, & whipped crème fraîche
Highly recommend for dessert, not too sweet.

Lots of cocktails
One of my favorite cocktails (that I cannot make at home) is the strawberry clarified punch they’ve been serving the last few years. Justin, the bar manager, was also testing out a couple iterations of a cherry cocktail (vanilla, mint, black pepper, rum). Looking forward to it being added to the menu.

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That strawberry clarified punch (not pictured) packs a wallop. I tasted more orange and caramel - more berry character from the Everyone Cries at Rudy mezcal strawberry cocktail pictured here. Both great. A 2023 Les Beaux Regards sancerre provided robust examples of those salinity/minerality notes you hear about so often - wonderful!

The quinoa and pistachio plasma elements were the strongest parts of the beets and berries dish. Perhaps they were supposed to provide balance to the assertive beet/raspberry combo. But we wound up enjoying these supporting components much more in terms of texture and depth of flavor.

Beets followed by killer parker house rolls (not pictured).

Cool bounce to the sourdough spaghetti alla chitarra though I don’t think the veg sofrito was especially interesting. Some spice, some flavor but a little bland. $40 is steep. Love the cherry tomatoes in there. I would’ve appreciated a saltier counterpoint component in this, like anchovy.

Finished with the duck breast + cherry chamoy + cherries. I’ve been going hard on Roast Duck by Pa Ord recently, so this didn’t really stand a chance. Cherry notes themselves are surprisingly muted, but meat-wise this is a good substitute for a steak. You get the full flavor of the duck on its own, so the accoutrements aren’t particularly necessary. Decent crisp on the skin. Those individual cherries were flabby.

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You missed the duck sandwich by a day, which I think is their winning duck dish. Sorry for the crappy, dark picture.

Parker house roll, duck leg gravy, poached plums, chermoula, and duck skin

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Started with a Domaine Mann Gewürztraminer “L’oiseau Astral Super Dry” ($75) which despite the name was not crazy dry the way Alsatian wines sometimes are. Lovely, fruity, aromatic.

Beets and berries great as usual. The crunchy kasha was a nice addition. So many ingredients that they didn’t mention the crucial avocado on the menu.

Great melon but the lardo was too cold and that made it chewy.

Endive, blue cheese, and dates was unexpected but worked great together.

Nectarines, cucumber, dried olive, and feta was also unexpected but really good. Jeremy Fox is one of the best at this kind of thing.

Fabulous Riesling, good value at $110 which is about twice retail in Germany. Last bottle, sorry.

I had four or five of caprese variations in the past week and this was second only to Leopardo’s.

Excellent duck confit. Deep flavor.

The trout was insanely good, with a rich French-seeming sauce, delicate and subtle despite the sauerkraut and dill. The somm said the chef has her buy good Riesling for the sauce.

Needed some bread ($4) to sop up every drop of that sauce.

I neglected to photograph the plum cake or coconut rice pudding.

Great meal, great wines, excellent service. Is there a better place to enjoy the glories of the Santa Monica farmers market?

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We LOVED that dish, too. I didn’t think about getting more bread. I just took a fork and spoon and ate the sauce “full force.” :slight_smile:

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Went back tonight now that they have the andouille sausage bar special every night (~10 available per day per their insta).

It was empty, which meant we got to chat a lot with the bartenders. They have some fun new cocktails on the menu that are worth trying, favorite was a bourbon and mango-based cocktail served on a BFR. Hope they start getting some more action during the week, they deserve it!

Elijah just got promoted to Chef de Cuisine, excited to see what specials he comes up with. Got some insider information that tomorrow’s Tuesday Supper main will be steak, which means that Wednesday might have steak sandwiches :star_struck:

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another very sold dinner. highlights were the peaches, gnocchi with corn, truffle potatoes, trout, and beef with jimmy nardellos.

review and power rankings forthcoming @TheCookie @CiaoBob @chewchow @LouisianaMouth?

parker house rolls, cultured butter, honey, & bee pollen

the garden of little gems, date vinaigrette, avocado, & white cheddar

‘silver logan’ peaches, ‘japanese’ cucumbers, drake’s feta, dried olive, & oregano

beets & berries…anson mills kasha, quinoa, ‘watermelon’ radish, & pistachio

weiser farms ‘arava’ melon, bay scallops, peruvian black mint, & cashew

farmers cheese gnocchi with dwelley’s ‘brentwood’ corn, & pickled ‘hungarian’ peppers

transparentsea prawns with ‘sungold’ tomatoes, malibu sea fennel, & saffron

crispy weiser farms ‘carola’ potatoes with truffled cheese fonduta

poached mt. lassen trout, sauerkraut, dill, riesling, & smoked trout roe

heritage pork chop scallopine, ‘elegant lady’ peaches, & salsa verde

liberty duck breast, ‘black splendor’ plums, & ‘padron’ pepper chermoula

prime brandt sirloin cap, zuckerman farms ‘jimmy nardello’ peppers, & bone marrow jus

coconut rice pudding with wong farms ‘valencia pride’ mangoes

chocolate cremeaux, toasted marshmallow, andy’s orchard cherries, & hazelnut

‘elegant lady’ peach cake, whey caramel, & whipped crème fraîche

malibu honeycomb ice cream

‘arava’ melon sorbet

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Damn! Jealous you got to try so many things on the menu. Wife and I only get a few dishes at a time and she’s not as adventurous as me. Were the prawns as good as they look? Beautiful dish.

Did y’all have any of the new cocktails on the menu?

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Hi @PorkyBelly

Thanks for putting the dinner together! Bestest time! :hugs:

Favorites: Crispy cheesy not too truffley potatoes, gnocchi w/corn, trout w/bursty roe, saucy prawns (especially the little sungold tomatoes), the melon in the melon scallop dish & parker house rolls. I was too satiated to analyze the desserts properly lol. Your photos are great so no need for my duplicates.

Thanks to @chewchow and @noftcjames we drank like rock stars!

Digestives…

Cheerful Company & Happy Eating! :hearts:

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the prawns were delicious but I think the sungold tomatoes were even better.

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Worth a quarterly visit! Great service at the bar as well. Pork chop was delicious!

Beets and Berries

Pork chop with quince

Pear cake

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