Extreme DineLA’ing

I’m splitting out of my fat jeans right now.

To be clear:
– Yes, I have fat jeans.
– Yes, I’m wearing them.
– And yes, the button has snapped open repeatedly this morning as I sit at my computer and write this.

I’m disgusting. But I’m also giddy and glowing because I am one happy, satisfied food-lover.

DineLA just ended, and I feel like I just completed – and WON – a mighty food marathon.

What is DineLA? It’s a 2-week dining event where restaurants from all over the city offer a specially priced 3-course meal. It’s meant to promote the local restaurant community by bringing people out for a nice meal at a reduced price. I think it happens a couple times a year. This one began January 22nd and just ended February 3rd.

This was my first and most certainly not my last DineLA experience.

I took this seriously, man. There were 300 participating restaurants and I was determined to try the best. I spent hours poring over the prix fixe menus. I explored restaurant options in neighborhoods I don’t often go to. I read a lot of online reviews. I went so far as to make a SPREADSHEET. Oh yes I did.

And now I’m splitting out of my fat jeans.

I did 12 DineLA restaurants in those two weeks. For six of them I did the official prix fixe, the others I opted to try other items on the regular menus instead.

My favorites:
– Petrossian Restaurant and Boutique
– Gordon Ramsay at The London
– Comme Ca

When I say favorites, I mean the food there made me forget my existence.

Me losing myself in my first bite of something delicious generally goes like this (quietly and in slow motion): I stop chewing. I lay down my fork. I put my hands in my lap. I close my eyes. I say, “Oh! [pause]. MY gawd.” And then I sit silently and slowly shake my head for about 4 seconds.

One time I actually waved down my server simply so I could stare him directly in the eyes and tell him, “I love you.” This happened at Petrossian. Would you like to know why? Their DineLA prix fixe menu had a FOIE GRAS option for every course. This place is known for its caviar but I love me my foie gras and that is precisely what I would have.

Foie Gras Ravioli

 

Prime Flatiron Steak With Foie Gras & Truffle Topped Puff Pastry

 

Steak Tartar, Layer of Foie Gras, Layer of Fig Chutney

 

And yes folks, there was foie gras ice cream for dessert

 

If you object to me enjoying foie gras, I kindly ask you to please not bother me with any political rants about it. I wholly understand the controversy, and to assuage your rage, it’s being banned in California later this year (in other words – you win). Perhaps I was French in a previous life, but whatever the case, I have great love for this longstanding delicacy.

And the amount of it that I ate in the last 2 weeks may have something to do with my pants bursting at the seams and me being perfectly ok with it.

This Gordon Ramsay dish might also have a little something to do with it:

Braised Pork Belly and Sautéed Scallop at Gordon Ramsay

 

Perhaps this David Myers masterpiece contributed as well:

Roasted Beef Marrow and Oxtail Jam at Comme Ca

 

I confess that I did not take this photo, as my girlfriends and I devoured this delectable goodness before any of us could even think to whip out the camera. It was SO! GOOD!

And it made me split my pants. Thank you, David Myers.

It’s such a nice experience to do DineLA. It makes good food accessible to everyone. Although I have to admit, going to a nice restaurant during DineLA is a bit like going to a Hollywood club on a Saturday night – it brings out the riff raff who think they know what they’re doing and what they’re talking about when really they don’t have a clue at all. They show up at a top-rated restaurant wearing a flannel shirt and jeans, and rave about the bed of ‘noodles’ under their shrimp when in fact it’s sliced fennel (true story), and then they tangle their napkin at their feet because they didn’t remove it from their lap when they stood up to leave the table.

While I do mostly avoid Hollywood on Saturday nights, I couldn’t possibly avoid restaurants during DineLA. I suppose I have a soft spot for riff raff when it comes to food, and I, myself am often among the riff. I really do like that DineLA provides the opportunity for me and others to enjoy a quality meal at a reduced price. Everyone deserves to eat good food and indulge in fine dining experiences now and then. It was a bit extreme of me to do so many restaurants, but I absolutely loved it.

I can’t wait til the next DineLA! Until then, I’m ditching my busted fat jeans and looking for fatter jeans. Woo!