ANIMAL - LOS ANGELES

There are restaurants that sometimes generate so much buzz, that no matter where you are, you put it on your 'to go' list. Animal, in Los Angeles, was one of those places. The name itself serves as a good disclaimer - generally every dish on the menu has meat in it. We are not talking just about "ham" or "chicken" - think more along the lines of liver, marrow, tongue... you get the idea.

Leah and I walked in with an open mind and some reservations - as a person that didn't eat any meat that wasn't swimming in the ocean for 4 1/2 years, I can say this was a bit of a leap.  I couldn't help but feel a bit like I was paying to be on Fear Factor before I got to the restaurant.

Right away, the room knocked my socks off. LA restaurants have a panache for design and making an overall experience for the client - the long, narrow room was very minimalistic, with natural wood furniture and floors, and neutral colouring throughout the room. Fabric soundboard installments were placed along the walls, as otherwise I'm assuming the room would have quite an echo to it.

Grazing over the menu, Leah and I decided we would order half veggie dishes and half meat dishes - we were determined to try something out of our comfort zone.  Our server recommended anywhere from 5-6 dishes to share.  We started by looking at what we were comfortable with.

"Pig head?"
Scratch that.
"Oh! Salads!!"
Two salads ordered -
1. baby kale, pecorino, lemon chili vinaigrette, breadcrumbs 10
2. radicchio, cara cara, pistachio, ginger buttermilk dressing 10
"Sweetbreads - that sounds good, right?"
"Oh - not what it sounds like. Maybe not."

After quite a few eliminations (including marrow bone, pig tails and veal brains), we had the remainder of our choices:

3. shrimp & rabbit sausage spring roll, eggplant, sprouts, green curry 14
4. poutine, oxtail gravy, cheddar 18
5. flat iron, artichoke hash, truffle parmesan fondue 28

All feelings of reservation melted away as we dove into our salads - the flavor of each was so intense and the ingredients so fresh, it was like a gentle hint that if we were going to eat something out of the ordinary, this would be the place to do it. Every bite of the salads was better than the last - the kale salad, packed with sharp pecorino and strong lemony citrus flavor, started out cool and fresh and had end notes of heat from the chili flakes.

We realized quickly, that 5 dishes was likely going to be pushing our limits. Both salads were by no means a "starter" - if a person got one to themselves, they would be close to full.  However - it was clear that we would want to be consuming every morsel of food brought to our table, as everything tasted so good.

Next, came our "leap of faith" dish: the shrimp and rabbit spring roll.  This was a delicious little treat - a much smaller portion than the salads that came beforehand.  All the flavors melded together, and it created something that could not be identified; you did not taste the shrimp, or the rabbit. As an avid foodie, it was very refreshing to come across a dish that could not be easily explained.

The poutine and flat iron steak put us close the edge - these rich dishes were modestly proportioned (luckily), and were delicious. The star of the poutine was not necessarily the oxtail gravy - the Yukon Gold fries were perfectly crisp, and piping hot. The flat iron steak was doused in a rich cheese fondue, but the flavors complemented each other and were not overpowering.

At this point, Leah and I were about to call someone to roll us out of the building. But - the desserts were too tempting. To top it all off, we shared a dish of dulce de leche - which, to be honest, I can barely remember in the heat of my food coma.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY:

Our choices were relatively safe - and incredibly enjoyable. I would recommend this restaurant as a place you hit more than once. Ease yourself in, and then perhaps be willing to take it a step further the next time. You are in good hands.
Now, I need to go lay down. I still feel full and it's been almost a month.