(EXPERIENCE MAGAZINE) — DineLA — Los Angeles, CA — DineLA Restaurant Week 2020 was held from January 17-31st. It was a 14 day event featuring some of Los Angeles’ best restaurants. There were 140 restaurants that participated. DineLA features a prix-fixed menu that highlights the particular restaurants signature dishes. The Experience Magazine was able to stop by seven locations participating in the city wide event.
Nic’s on Beverly
This is a great vegan place with tasty drinks and a beautiful interior. Nic’s on Beverly is a plant-based restaurant and cocktail bar that features California cuisine with a casual-yet-fun setting. Nic’s on Beverly is a place to get away from the busy side of Beverly Boulevard. They invite you to work remotely here. Relax and take your time. The bar has a must-try cocktail list by Jason Eisner and an impressive wine list curated by Troy Trusciante. Executive chef Ryan Foley had an awesome vegan dineLA menu for Restaurant Week 2020. We started the dineLA sampling with the Baby Iceberg Wedge. This item was delicious. It had raisins, walnuts, ranch dressing and a creme fraiche.
For our entree, we had the Vegan Spaghetti. This dish blended the flavors of truffled almond ricotta and basil. The Spaghetti was full of flavor. A real treat. The bolognese is made with eggplant and the noodles were super tasty. The dessert at Nic’s for dineLA was a root beer float. The float had vanilla, sassafras ice cream and a double chocolate chip cookie. This was a very gourmet treat. Were looking forward to trying some more vegan fare at Nic’s on Beverly
Double Take at Hotel Palomar in Beverly Hills
Chef Paul Gregory came up with a $39 dineLA menu for Restaurant Week 2020. Double Take is in the Kimpton Hotel Palomar in Beverly Hills. Its on Wilshire Boulevard between Beverly Hills and the UCLA campus. Double Take offers delicious, market-inspired snacks, salads and entrées that are made with Southern California ingredients. We started our dineLA experience with Tomato Bisque. Served with cheese and croutons, the soup was a great way start our meal.
For the Main Course, we had the Pan Seared Salmon with roasted beets. You could taste the fresh ingredients like fennel, grilled endive and a blood orange emulsion. For dessert, we had the lemon Mascarpone Cheesecake and a wild berry compote. Double Take was a big hit for our dineLA Restaurant Week 2020.
Westdrift Manhattan Beach, Autograph Collection
JUTE COASTAL BAR AND KITCHEN
Jute is a South Bay restaurant serving American Bistro cuisine and a full bar. Jute is close to the beach, businesses and LAX, the 4-star hotel is an East Coast meets West Coast vibe.
The dineLA menu at Jute was $49.00 and it was really good deal. We started with the Tomato Soup. The soup was hot and the service was really good. The location of Jute is amazing. The server did a great job of making recommendations. We tried a craft cocktail from the bar and had a Thai and Spiced. This beverage starts with Calyx Gin, a bit of Thai chili peppers, lime and passion fruit. Very smooth taste.
For our main dish, we tried the Gnocchi Alla Genovese. This blended Sun-dried tomato, olives, parmesan and olive oil. This was a delicious Gnocchi. You MUST try it when you visit Jute.
For dessert, we had the Coconut Leces. This dish mixed toasted coconut and berries. This was a great end to our meal. Stop by Jute when you’re in Manhattan Beach!
Plant Food + Wine
Plant Food + Wine is known for great vegetarian food in Venice and its right on Abbot Kenny. There’s a reason they’re called Plant Food + Wine. Matthew Kenney makes wine in the Willamette Valley, OR.
There’s a Rosé and a Pinot Noir that are organic, biodynamic and plant-based. Before I gush about the dineLA menu that we sampled ( I wanted to try new things at Plant) I have to tell you about something that Plant Food + Wine are famous for. It’s the Tomato and Zucchini Lasagna.
The Tomato and Zucchini Lasagna at Plant is just off the charts. Chef Matt combines the textures and the flavors of the heirloom tomatoes and zucchini with a pistachio pesto that you have to try to believe. Chef Matt expertly creates a macadamia nut ricotta. Matthew is an expert at making sauces from all kinds of ingredients. Finally with this lasagne dish, a sun-dried tomato ricotta.
Matthew Kenny planned an incredible $49 dineLA menu. He makes vegan food that is extraordinary.
We started with the Spiraling Blue which had Pear Butter. This dish had an excellent taste. The condensed flavors were there. You could taste everything.
The next dish we tried was the Winter Vegetable Soup. This dish had Black Truffle. Truffle is so rare. The flavors of the vegetables were subtle. You could really taste each flavor. The cuisine with Matthew Kenny is always of the highest quality. The veggies were cooked perfectly. Next up was the Abalone Mushrooms. Compost Kimchi and Champagne Vinaigrette were the other ingredients in this tasty vegan dish.
Finally for dessert, we had Chocolate Maca with Goji Berry and Cacao. This dish was so delicious. Plant Food + Wine is an exceptional restaurant. Were so glad that Plant Food + Wine took part in dineLA Winter 2020.
Weho Bistro
A French bistro and cocktail bar, had an incredible $49 prix fixe menu. Weho Bistro is chance to have French inspired meals in the heart of West Hollywood right on La Cienega. The restaurant itself, was recently renovated and it has a Parisian feel to it with cozy outdoor seating. They serve crepes, quiche and french style sandwiches here. The quiche is delicious. Weho Bistro just got their liquor license in March of 2019 and are now amazing making craft cocktails. The cocktails are really tasty and they are very Instagrammable. Owner Jeff Douek pours his life and his passion in We Ho Bistro. He’s known for being a good boss. We wanted to try the dineLA menu and got right down to business with the mushroom soup. You have to try it when you come here. They are known for the mushroom soup and it was delicious.
Next from the dineLA menu, we had the Avocado Burrata Toast. This featured burrata cheese and avocado on toasted multigrain bread, tomatoes, arugula, pesto and a balsamic reduction. There was a great blend of flavors and the toast was nice and crispy.
For the Main Course, we had the Chicken Dijonnaise. This dish featured a Dijon mustard sauce with potatoes Dauphinoise and a Tomato Provencal. This was a Dijon mustard chicken dish and the flavors were gourmet. I could taste the ingredients in each bite.
Barcito
Barcito is a cafe and late-night bar on 12th and Grand in downtown LA’s South Park. It’s a few blocks from Staples Center. The dineLA Dinner Menu was $29. It was a really good deal.
We chowed down on the Veggie Burger. The Veggie Burger has black beans, quinoa, red bell pepper, red onion, parsley, cilantro and an in house spice blend that has salon and adobo. The dressing featured Cashew aoli, cashews, roasted garlic, Dijon, oil, salt and pepper. This was a really delicious dressing. The Dijon made this dish pop. We tried the Broccoli and it was full of flavor. The Broccoli dressing mixed flavors of lemon juice, garlic,olive oil and chili flakes. Finally for dessert, we had the Churos.
Sweet and expertly prepared. This was a great way to sample Barcito’s menu. We look forward to visiting Barcito and trying the cocktails!
The Farm in Beverly Hills
The Farm in Beverly Hills is a great local place thats located near Rodeo drive. DineLA in Beverly Hills at the Farm is an excellent place to try American Bistro fare Beverly Hills style.
The Farm offered a $29 dineLA menu. We started with the Roasted Cauliflower. It was a tasty dish and paired well with the Malbec wine. The real star of the meal was the Roasted Chicken. The Malbec wine was a perfect pairing.
For dessert, we had the Dark Chocolate Cheesecake. The Farm has vegan and vegetarian items that are really tasty. They have a great Avocado Toast. The Farm does a great home cooked meal with a Californian spin on classic dishes.
Restaurant Week for DineLA Winter 2020 was such a hit. The restaurants that participated were eager to show off their prix fixe menus. The Experience Magazine looks forward to the next DineLA!
