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Eating Out...Nook, The Neighborhood Bistro
BY Erin Landsberg FOR LA2DAY.COM Sep 12, 2008
Wait, turn around, I think we missed it! These are the words I uttered more than once while trying to find the mysterious location of Nook Bistro. The name isn't lying because this Westside favorite is literally tucked away in the corner of an outdoor mall complex. This local haunt relies on word of mouth for its patrons, and thanks to its ultra-hip setting and creative menu, that's all it needs.
Chef James Richardson is quite the hot, young thing in the cooking world at the moment (just voted a rising star by Star Chefs), got his start in Florida before making his LA leap in 2001. With friends and co-owners Jeffrey Stuppler and Brian Frith-Smith, he's brought Nook, a modern, affordable, and unique American bistro, to a very loyal and appreciative neighborhood.
Lovin' the Booze !
These guys are true wine lovers...or just really good drunks! The wine list is small, boutique-style, and perfectly paired with the menu. You'll see smaller wineries represented here and a few not so common grape selections (i.e. pinotage, petite syrah, chenin blanc, gruner veltliner). Also, enjoy a very impressive menu of local and international breweries for all you beer aficionados!
What's for dinner?
Forget bread and butter! As an opening palette cleanser, we were served boiled peanuts (still in the shell), and they were quite tasty little protein packers...if not a little messy and mushy to crack open with your hands. I followed that with the Nook Burger, served with Gruyere cheese, red onion jam, and baby arugula; and while the meat quality and the condiments were great, the overall dish as a whole was a little dry and just needed a good spread. I also tried the Steak Frites, a classic dish, which came with the yummiest mint pesto that I had to smother over everything...which I've got to say helped out the slightly-dry burger! Throw in some thin, crispy fries, a garden-fresh mixed green salad in rosemary beet vinaigrette, and end it all with homemade Key Lime Pie in blueberry compote, and I'd say it was a satisfying meal. I may not live in Nook's neighborhood, but I'd make the trip back there.
Best Picks:
Start with the Kurobuta Pork Belly, with tomatillo sauce, black-eyed peas, and shitake mushrooms...this is truly the most delicate part of the pig and it melts in your mouth. For lunch, try the Catfish Burrito; you'd never think this delicious, flaky fish was a bottom-feeder. Also, their Mac & Cheese is the guiltiest pleasure I've come across in way too long.
THE DETAILS: Nook Bistro
11628 Santa Monica Blvd #9
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310.207.5160
www.nookbistro.com
11:30am to 3pm & 5pm-10pm Monday thru Friday,
5pm to 10pm on Saturday
Closed on Sunday
Story by Erin Landsberg.
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