A.O.C.

good wine and good cheese!
damn… i love cheese!

small plates eating, my personal favorite way of eating, is like designing your own tasting menu, which can be an adventure. at AOC comfort food is taken to flights of gourmet fancy without pretension. there’s nothing extreme or experimental, but everything is flavorful, and in the end, i leave with a deep sense of pleasure and satisfaction. it feels like my heart is in my stomach.

right away, you feel the warmth from simple and earthy interiors, the plump black olives at first smooth, then salty bitterness, and the smoky chili paste you spread on thick slices of crusty bread. there’s a moment of tension when i had to whittle down to the 5 or so courses for 2 people, but that was soothed by wine and brief pause before our first plate arrived, glistening in olive oil.

this is one of my favorite places to eat in LA.

wine + cheese = heaven.

full wine bar, and interesting cheese bar. amazing service & food. try it!

asparagus, w/slow cooked egg
skirt steak
morsels, w/ricotta gnocchi.

dessert: lemon & blueberry something w/butter cookies.

wine: pinot noir/syrah, dessert wine

=)

Buddy and I have an annual tradition of having our holiday feast at A.O.C. on 3rd Street. We finally got around to meeting there this week and it felt like Christmas all over again. I just love the place (and Buddy). Good food with a good friend, it’s a recipe for a lovely evening.

We started with the Goat Cheese, Dried Figs and Saba, a creamy goat that we spread on the delicious bread. We ate that with the Assorted Fra’mani Salumi, two types, both good. It reminded Buddy of Italy. They sell it at most cheese shops around the city.

The Hamachi “Crudo”, Avocado and Pomegranate- fab-u-lous!!!! The fish was so fresh, seasoned to perfection; the combination of the three worked marvelously. It was the star dish of the evening, just as good as the scallop and mango dish I had at The Bazaar.

The Sweetbreads, Sunchokes and Truffle Butter were cooked crispy to perfection. Buddy was in heaven. The Sweet Potatoes with Bacon and Romesco, WOW! The down home portion had a full bodied, earthy taste. It went really well with the 2006 Flowers Wine.

By the time we finished our meal I was stuffed. We shared the Mexican Chocolate Pot de Creme with Caramel Cream and Spiced Almonds and were a bit disappointed. The chocolate was very light and the cream quite rich. After a couple tastes we stopped eating it. We’d decided we didn’t want to waste the calories on it (as if we were counting calories).

OK, so here’s the thing, ordering here is really important. I’ve been here a number of times and have tried some dishes I would not recommend. Those are the Fried Tetilla, Quince Paste and Romesco as well as the Arroz Negro with Squid and Saffron Aioli.

On the other hand, the Roasted Dates, Parmesan and Bacon is out of-this-world. We didn’t order it this time because we already were ordering other pork dishes. I do highly recommend ordering it though. It is simply sublime. For photos go to www.alli411.com.

This one is in my top five. I have never had a bad meal here. I prefer to sit downstairs, it feels very NY, not LA, but it’s rather trendy so you’ll never forget you are in LA. Small plates, all pretty mind blowing, and drawn from whatever is in season, fresh and interesting. Great selection of cheese and chacuterie and over 50 bottles of wine by the glass, good bottles. Not for the thread bare wallet by any means. Romantic to festive. Call well ahead of your date, it is not always easy to get a reservation. Be prepared to be there for a couple hours, best to meander.

Fun restaurant to go to for a grown up meal. Great place to share lots of small dishes. Very diverse cheese menu.