6.09.2009

Shoring Up at Reservoir

Does that title even make sense? I'm grasping at straws here. I'm referring to another lovely dinner I had with an old LL coworker, this time at Reservoir in Silverlake. Slowly but surely I'm working through the ols list o' restaurants that's been accumulating in my work browser Bookmarks...

I met Miss Elisa at her enviable home overlooking the city under the pretense of picking up my copy of her awesome new book. She suggested we walk down the hill to the restaurant--I was a little reticent, knowing the narrow streets and frequent twists in the road would be dangerous for pedestrians with all those Priae (plural of Prius, silly. Keep up.) that live in Silverlake, but was more reticent about valet and so agreed. I quickly realized that we would actually be using a couple of the amazing hidden stairways that dot the city. Using this book D and I have discovered a bunch, but these were new. We wound down, past gated backyard paradises and a home that looked like it was owned by the Laker's biggest fan (Think lots of bright yellow, with purple trim. Yeah.) and quickly arrived at the restaurant. Once I got my bearings, I realized we were right across from 
Spaceland. Next time we'll make a night of it! 

Let's to the food now, shall we?

Fried tetilla cheese with prosciutto and caramelized onions, served with slices of toasted bread. Like a grown-up's dream mozzarella stick, this app was a rich, sodium-arific party in my mouth. 

The entrees are each listed individually, and you get to choose your own side from a listing of "set-ups"--all vegetarian, all super yummy sounding. Basically, you can't go wrong.
I had decided before dinner that I would get the tofu for my entree. How boring!  I changed my mind and went for the Grill Salmon. She did not disappoint! My choice of setup, the parmesan polenta with balsamic roasted cipollini onions, fresh English peas and sauteed chanterelles, offset the tender fish beautifully. 
It was a bit salty, but then, I like salt. 

"I don't remember the rule about shellfish," Elisa proclaimed before happily ordering, and subsequently loving, the scallops, with roasted potato gratin, fava bean and beluga lentil hash. 

The appetizer was scrumptious, our dinners lovely...how could we say no to dessert? Can I just say that it's so nice hanging out with pregnant ladies, because they are always down for dessert. Our waitress listed off a slew of tempting sweets, but I couldn't get my mind away from the very first one--the chocolate plate. "It's really MEANT for two people," she warned (promised?) us. What did it consist of? Two pieces of bark--milk chocolate toffee and white chocolate peppermint; a mini molten chocolate cake; a small mug of spicy hot chocolate; anise pot de creme (which was truly spectacular!); and rounded off with some macerated strawberries and a dish of--wait for it--Guinness ice cream. Boys and girls, beer and ice cream really DO belong together! And here I was doubting Jonathan Gold salivating about it on Good Food-how could I??

Just looking at the plate when she brought it out was gratifying enough. 

Eating it was even better.

Going...

going...

gone.

Sugar high and happy, we headed out. The bill was reasonable considering the appetizer and dessert. Be forewarned if you want to drink more than soda, though--unlike Barbrix, glasses of wine here often run around $12.

We took the same set of stairs back to Elisa's, only now our way was lit only by the light of the moon.
It was a little spooky, but mostly just purdy. We were too full to run from any 
vagabonds that we may have run into, so I guess we're just lucky they left us alone!

Cheers! 
Em

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