Love Life, Hate Kittens

[squid ink risotto via fifi l of yelp.]

me: I’m taking you somewhere nice for your birthday.
him: Does it start with A and end with OC?
me: I hate you.

For our group birthday dinner, AOC was a no brainer. We probably drive by AOC twice a week. Pored over the menu a dozen times yet never stepped foot in. Too pricey? Too ritzy? Too special for a weekday dinner? Whatever the reason, I was happy for an excuse.

Crowd and decor: I always thought that AOC had high ceilings. Very misleading windows. Always assumed that it was dressy. Not quite I must say and compared to other ‘high end’ restaurants, there were quite a few tables with younger children. Interesting. The tables are a bit close together but we had a side booth close to the entrance. Can’t really tell if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. Good because the other tables looked a bit close together. Bad because it felt detached from the main room.

Service, drinks and bread: We started off with bread and spicy tapanade (tomato chili paste?) and some iced tea and wine. I ordered a flight of sparkling wine cuz I love the bubbly. Strangely enough, the wine flight was brought out all at once with stickers numbering 1, 2 and 3. Odd. Maybe I expected the flight to be like Joe’s where he gave them to me during my meal and kindly paired it. Having so many glasses on the table made me feel forced to drink faster to clear space (it was a small table). Service was a bit odd. Our waitress showed up sparingly but the bus boys really cleaned up her act. Bread was refilled many, many times and plates were cleared quickly.

Which brings me to another point. At Tasca, I’m used to the waiters pacing our food. Maybe two items would come at once but usually its pretty well sequenced. At AOC, we got our meat plate and asparagus first. Then 15 minutes later received our fish, chicken, squid ink risotto, and duck all together. Before long, our steak, beef cheeks, and potatos came. All at once. We had a table full of plates. Did I mention it was a small table?

Not only did we have to eat fast to maximize space, we also didn’t want anything to get cold.

Food: The waitress recommended that we order 2-3 items per person.

Favorites - Arroz Negro with Squid and Saffron Aioli, Charred Grouper, Hangar Steak, and Beef Cheeks. Everything was well flavored and cooked to perfection. The risotto was unique - nice, salty and crunchy with tender pieces of squid. The fish was surprisingly flavorful with yummy fennel and veggies. The steak was a perfect medium rare and the beef cheeks was tender and fall off the bone.
Good - Meat plate and asparagus. It was good but there’s no way you can fuck up prosciutto. The asparagus had a nice char. Just wish there was more!
Meh - Duck Confit, Roasted Chicken, Fingerling Potato. The duck needed salt. Flavor. It was served with kale and roasted grapes. Not memorable. The chicken was… chicken. The chicken at Bouchon was so much better. The potatos are a throwaway. We didn’t even finish.

Dessert and Happy Birthdays: So after seeing another couple tables get a nice birthday dessert, we told the waitress that we also had a birthday boy at our table. She gave us a knowing smile after taking our dessert order (I ordered the Banana Choux with Chocolate) even making sure whose birthday it was. So a couple minutes later she came out with a birthday surprise! A lovely candle in a pile of what looked like cream puffs. Mmmm.

Dude. Halfway through our desert, we noticed the banana and the chocolate and said. Wait. Did she just give you the dessert I ordered as your birthday dessert? or better yet… did she just put a candle in MY dessert?

It’s like re-gifting only way more awesome. Well done.

The bill was pretty fair for three.. think it was 215 including tip. We’ve done much, much worse.

I’m conflicted. Now that I know it’s pretty casual, I’m open to coming back yet nothing really stood out so that negates the first statement. Tasca is still my #1 favorite tapas place and unfortunately no one has been able to snatch the crown… yet.

AOC
8022 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 653-6359
www.aocwinebar.com