It wasn't that long ago that I waxed poetic about The Village Idiot’s smoked cheddar burger, kvelled over its mussels steamed in ale or lauded its brussel sprouts with bacon, but I’m here to praise this gourmet pub again… not the fish & chips with its malt vinegar dipping sauce or its oak grilled bangers & mash (been there - done that – still yummy), but their duck eggs. Yup – duck eggs.
Recently The Idiot (its affectionate nickname) started serving brunch and, of course, I had to find out what gourmet delights I would find at a pub. I’m thinking fancy hash & eggs or a twist on steak & eggs, but that would be taking the easy way out. Food-wise that is. Instead, I found a menu filled with wonderful culinary concoctions. Everything from homemade breakfast bread to cherry-cashew granola… from whiskey cured ocean trout with toasted brioche, crème fraiche and pickled beets to fried duck eggs, chorizo, tomato, chiles & yellow corn grits… from tomato ricotta tart with poached eggs and herb salad to lemon ricotta pancakes with sliced bananas and honeycomb butter. Blimey!
The Richard and I sampled was the large, wonderfully gooey sticky bun. I wanted to take a dozen home, but if did, I’d have gained a dozen pounds.
Then came my order of cinnamon orange French toast with bacon and maple syrup… thick slices of toast that were sweet, yet tangy, mixed with the smokey, salty flavors of bacon…. a taste combination made, if not in heaven, at least in Lindsay Kennedy’s heavenly kitchen.
Richard ordered the full English breakfast which included eggs (he had his scrambled) & beans on toast (again a nice thick slice of homemade bread), rasher & banger, roasted tomatoes and mushrooms. The rasher was not your ordinary ‘rasher’ of plain smoked bacon, but a ‘bacon’ made of thinly sliced pork loin. Of course, I had to taste everything and everything was divinely, deliciously English – gourmet style.
The Idiot’s brunch menu also has, among other items, a selection of English pies; sandwiches, including “Breaux & Sheftell” filet-o-fish, butter lettuce, house tartar sauce & slaw; my favorite burger; salads; stuffed bacon wrapped dates with a roasted pepper tomato sauce and those incredible steamed mussels.
To top things off, the rich ‘intelligentsia’ expresso, coffee and tea are served in adorable mugs that would go so well with my collection of Buffalo china…
So, if you’re looking for a place for brunch – I, once again, heartily recommend The Idiot. Why? A duck! Or at least duck eggs. You’d be an Idiot not to try it.
The Village Idiot
7383 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA
323-655-3331
Showing posts with label LA pub/restaurant review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LA pub/restaurant review. Show all posts
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
THE VILLAGE IDIOT... IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO PLEASE A FOOD IDIOT LIKE ME
I love hamburgers. Not skimpy, fast food hamburgers, though they have their place… not even those so-called ‘six dollar’ burgers at Carl’s Jr. that drip more sauce than meat juice. When I lived in Manhattan, my non-fast food choices were numerous – each with its own signature ‘taste.’ One favorite was the landmark tavern, PJ Clarke’s burger… but my personal favorite was at Prime Burger, the coffee shop featured in the movie “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” on E. 5lst, directly across the street from St. Pat’s… I salivate just thinking about them.
When Richard and I moved to LA I searched for a comparable culinary burger experience, but never found one until a little over a year ago when The Village Idiot opened on trendy Melrose Ave at the corner of Martel. When I walked through its doors, I immediately fell in love with the room with its high-beamed ceiling, a substantial bar smack in the center of the restaurant, the exposed brick, the raised booths along a wall of expansive windows, dark wooden floors, dark wooden tables and chairs and open kitchen… OK, not everyone would care about all these things – but I love it when I find a space that’s as beautifully designed as this large room. The place was jumping and I said a little prayer that the burger wouldn’t disappoint. To cheese or not to cheese was now my big question. Should I have my burger plain or with melted gruyere? Or should I try the maytag blue… or the smoked cheddar? I decided to cheese with the cheddar. And when I bit into my thick, juicy burger it was cooked to perfection, dripping with ‘real’ beef juices… and the smoked cheddar just punched up the smoky grilled flavor. I tried my next bite with the fresh balsamic red onion relish that comes with the burger. More perfection.
But I soon discovered that The Village Idiot isn’t just about burgers – this 21st century take on an English pub serves a rock shrimp and scallion fritter that I’d write songs about if I could write songs. The mussels steamed in ale are mussels I dream about, and an order of Brussels sprouts with bacon is a must every time I eat there. Among its other dishes, the menu includes fish and chips with a malt vinegar dipping sauce, miso-glazed salmon, an angus rib eye, braised pork shank, cornmeal crusted catfish, steak and potato pie (a personal favorite of Richard’s), a leek and goat cheese tart, savory oak grilled half-chicken, and, of course, bangers and mash - well, not just your ordinary bangers and mash – but oak grilled pork sausage and Yukon mash with carmelized onions and a port sauce… delicious! As you would suspect, the bartenders make a helluva martini and the ale list is impressive. But, what you might not expect is its short but intriguing wine list.
The Village Idiot is a great neighborhood place where you can drop in for lunch (no reservations), bring a book, your baby or your computer and hang out, then stay for dinner (again, no reservations). Or drop in and have a drink, maybe some fritters or a three course meal at the bar. It’s all cool.
When Richard and I moved to LA I searched for a comparable culinary burger experience, but never found one until a little over a year ago when The Village Idiot opened on trendy Melrose Ave at the corner of Martel. When I walked through its doors, I immediately fell in love with the room with its high-beamed ceiling, a substantial bar smack in the center of the restaurant, the exposed brick, the raised booths along a wall of expansive windows, dark wooden floors, dark wooden tables and chairs and open kitchen… OK, not everyone would care about all these things – but I love it when I find a space that’s as beautifully designed as this large room. The place was jumping and I said a little prayer that the burger wouldn’t disappoint. To cheese or not to cheese was now my big question. Should I have my burger plain or with melted gruyere? Or should I try the maytag blue… or the smoked cheddar? I decided to cheese with the cheddar. And when I bit into my thick, juicy burger it was cooked to perfection, dripping with ‘real’ beef juices… and the smoked cheddar just punched up the smoky grilled flavor. I tried my next bite with the fresh balsamic red onion relish that comes with the burger. More perfection.
But I soon discovered that The Village Idiot isn’t just about burgers – this 21st century take on an English pub serves a rock shrimp and scallion fritter that I’d write songs about if I could write songs. The mussels steamed in ale are mussels I dream about, and an order of Brussels sprouts with bacon is a must every time I eat there. Among its other dishes, the menu includes fish and chips with a malt vinegar dipping sauce, miso-glazed salmon, an angus rib eye, braised pork shank, cornmeal crusted catfish, steak and potato pie (a personal favorite of Richard’s), a leek and goat cheese tart, savory oak grilled half-chicken, and, of course, bangers and mash - well, not just your ordinary bangers and mash – but oak grilled pork sausage and Yukon mash with carmelized onions and a port sauce… delicious! As you would suspect, the bartenders make a helluva martini and the ale list is impressive. But, what you might not expect is its short but intriguing wine list.
The Village Idiot is a great neighborhood place where you can drop in for lunch (no reservations), bring a book, your baby or your computer and hang out, then stay for dinner (again, no reservations). Or drop in and have a drink, maybe some fritters or a three course meal at the bar. It’s all cool.
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