Monday, June 13, 2011

LA Edition: Waterloo + City & Nic's

Went to a work dinner at Waterloo + City which really opened my eyes to what a "Gastropub" is meant to be. That term gets tossed around a lot in the restaurant world, but I never really understood the beauty of it until visiting this fine establishment. A gastropub is what happens when you take the best bits of a bar and mash them up with the great food of an upscale restaurant. Fantastic food, but in a more laid back setting and all paired with some fantastic draught beer.

We started with a selection of cheese and then moved on to the beet salad which featured burrata, panini, walnuts, horseradish, and bresaola. So amazing to get such wonderful and fresh ingredients paired together, but without the snootiness of a high end restaurant!

For the main course there was a pasta dish where the server shaved fresh truffle on top right in front of you. You better believe that's what I ordered. It was so incredible that I felt guilty eating it knowing that The Mr was back home in NYC where he couldn't taste it. Crazy thoughts of getting it in a doggie bag and putting it in a cooler with some dry ice back on the plane with me to NYC rushed through my head. In the end though, I simply vowed to bring him back with me and cross my fingers that they have another truffle based special dish when we return.

Waterloo & City on Urbanspoon

I didn't drink much at Waterloo + City (a shame, I know!) because I was nervous about having to drive around in unfamiliar LA. Our coworker suggested that we take a cab to Beverly Hills and have a martini at Nic's. Now usually when I peruse a specialty cocktail menu, one or two drinks jump out to me immediately. At Nic's, they all sounded so good that I had a really hard time choosing! In the end, I went with one that featured lemon and watermelon which was served with a frozen watermelon plank. It was light, fruity, and refreshing. We also decided to satisfy our chocolate craving with the Chocolate Caramel Torte- rich and delicious!

Overall, an incredibly successful day of eating in sunny LA!

Nic's of Beverly Hills on Urbanspoon

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