TBA
Fig and Olive
dineLA Restaurant Week for January 2013's second meal is at Fig and Olive.
Crostinis-- bits of meat, veggies, and spread on tiny bread-- are pretty good, and great for variety. Other appetizers looked good, but the beef carpaccio was covered in so much cheese, it hid the taste. Bread and olives were pretty, but disappointing compared to what was had on my last trip to Greece a few years ago. The iberioco ham looked damned good though, although I managed to resist...
That said, disappointing may be a bit harsh-- it was still good! Friends devoured their filet mignon, the grilled flouder atop mushrooms and mashed potato were light and tasty; the paella del mar didn't seem to go quite as fast. Dessert "crostini"-- chocolate covered cherries atop a cookie?-- were pretty damned good, much better than the chocolate pot with creme, which ended up a little overwhelming.
Drinks seemed to go well, whatever had pear puree in it was quite good. And the decor is neat, with the olive tree casting a massive shadow on the ceiling.
A bit noisy for large groups, next time go with 6 or less so you can hear everyone. Overall, a much more consistent experience than Scarpetta, but the food was somewhat less amazing.