Went to Tom Colicchio's venture in LA, Craft restaurant, last night, and I have to say I was pleased.
I was a little skeptical after reading some of the reviews, and while it didn't make it to #1 on my list of favorite places to eat (that award still goes to a fabulous bed and breakfast in Chablis, France), I was not disappointed, and it exceeded my expectations.
The one thing of note is sharing is encouraged here. All the food is served family style. Of course you could just put what you ordered in front of you, and dispense with sharing, but then you'd might miss out, as I will describe later. The only problem with that [as I see it] is you miss out on the presentation aspect of the meal, which is something I look forward to when I go out to eat. But what you lose in presentation is easily made up in flavor.
Edie ordered the braised beef short rib, and I ordered the Alaskan Halibut, which I have to say was one of the most perfectly cooked pieces of Halibut I have ever eaten. Unfortunately [for me] Edie ended up eating most of that, but the short rib was still very good as well. [I'm such a wonderful husband.]
The wine list was very extensive (lot's of Pinot Noir's to choose from), the service impeccable, and the cheese plate was perfect for finishing off the wine. We couldn't have expected much better anywhere else.
There were a couple of flaws though. The Wild Arugula and Parmesan salad was a little bland, the Garlic Risotto side dish didn't have enough garlic, and it isn't inexpensive (but I have spent more), but none of that was enough to warrant taking away a favorable recommendation.
I give it


's
Oh, and I almost forgot (actually I did forget and this is a later update), as we were about to leave they handed us two blueberry muffins to take home. I thought it was a nice little touch to finish off the evening, despite them not being the greatest muffins.
I was a little skeptical after reading some of the reviews, and while it didn't make it to #1 on my list of favorite places to eat (that award still goes to a fabulous bed and breakfast in Chablis, France), I was not disappointed, and it exceeded my expectations.
The one thing of note is sharing is encouraged here. All the food is served family style. Of course you could just put what you ordered in front of you, and dispense with sharing, but then you'd might miss out, as I will describe later. The only problem with that [as I see it] is you miss out on the presentation aspect of the meal, which is something I look forward to when I go out to eat. But what you lose in presentation is easily made up in flavor.
Edie ordered the braised beef short rib, and I ordered the Alaskan Halibut, which I have to say was one of the most perfectly cooked pieces of Halibut I have ever eaten. Unfortunately [for me] Edie ended up eating most of that, but the short rib was still very good as well. [I'm such a wonderful husband.]
The wine list was very extensive (lot's of Pinot Noir's to choose from), the service impeccable, and the cheese plate was perfect for finishing off the wine. We couldn't have expected much better anywhere else.
There were a couple of flaws though. The Wild Arugula and Parmesan salad was a little bland, the Garlic Risotto side dish didn't have enough garlic, and it isn't inexpensive (but I have spent more), but none of that was enough to warrant taking away a favorable recommendation.
I give it
Oh, and I almost forgot (actually I did forget and this is a later update), as we were about to leave they handed us two blueberry muffins to take home. I thought it was a nice little touch to finish off the evening, despite them not being the greatest muffins.
Comments
We did have a plate of 3 cheeses afterwards, which was really good, and helped to finish off the wine. (I just modified the post to reflect that).