One of the reasons I am so excited to have Mama T in town this summer is because her birthday coincides with her visit here! Its been a mighty long time since I've gotten to celebrate a birthday with either of my parents. "Perks" of living in a foreign country I guess.
Last Tuesday, my awesome beyond awesome mom turned 21(wink wink) and to celebrate, I took her to Waterloo & City for some birthday grub.
I've been meaning to check out Waterloo for ages and ages, not because it's the latest foodie hot spot, but more because the it came highly recommended by both of my bosses. Needless to say, Waterloo & City has been on my radar for a while now.
Named after the shortest underground railway line in London, Waterloo & City was designed by Thoreen&Ritter. The restaurant is their modern interpretation of an English gastropub, and offers a variety of seating options-- from a 30-foot cooper-top bar, to church pews upcycled as banquettes (painted in colors of pink, brown and orange), to bar height communal tables, to dramatic high-back wooden chairs. Personally, I love the whimsy in the space, reflected in the Toile wallpaper, burlap window treatments and antique mirrors peppering the walls.
Next, we split a half order of their hand rolled tubes of pasta, with lobster, fried pork belly and asparagus. When I suggested ordering this dish, mama T was very doubtful of the dubious pairing of lobster and pork belly (and to be honest, so was I) but boy, oh, boy were we proven wrong!
The fried pork belly, while beautifully unctuous and crisp, was not in the least overpowering and worked harmoniously to showcase the fresh seafood-ness of the lobster. Once again, my favorite thing about this dish was the sauce. Deliciously rich, it had such a good depth of flavor and sang beautifully of the sea.
My complaints about this dish would be that the lobster was not that fresh, and that the pasta, like the Santa Barbara Prawns with house made pasta that I had at Grace, was just a little too al dente for me.
While I was craving something rich and heavy for dessert, mama T went the complete opposite route with a light and refreshing limey pie with ginger sorbet and key lime confit. Lemony and tart, I definitely appreciated the heat from the ginger sorbet, as it complimented the sweetness of the pie beautifully.
All in all, Mama T and I both agreed that Waterloo & City was simply scrumptious, and was the perfect place for a birthday meal.
Happy Birthday Ma! I love you!
Details:
Waterloo & City
12517 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90066
310-391-4222
For starters, we ordered their blackboard special of Manchester quail with chopped chicken liver on top of toast. Perfectly seasoned, cooked and portioned, the quail was a delectable start to the meal. What really elevated this dish was the sauce. Flavorful and creamy, the sauce had just the right amount of acidity to it, highlighting the rich chicken liver. The quail egg which topped the dish was also a lovely addition.
Next, we split a half order of their hand rolled tubes of pasta, with lobster, fried pork belly and asparagus. When I suggested ordering this dish, mama T was very doubtful of the dubious pairing of lobster and pork belly (and to be honest, so was I) but boy, oh, boy were we proven wrong!
The fried pork belly, while beautifully unctuous and crisp, was not in the least overpowering and worked harmoniously to showcase the fresh seafood-ness of the lobster. Once again, my favorite thing about this dish was the sauce. Deliciously rich, it had such a good depth of flavor and sang beautifully of the sea.
My complaints about this dish would be that the lobster was not that fresh, and that the pasta, like the Santa Barbara Prawns with house made pasta that I had at Grace, was just a little too al dente for me.
We also split an order of the Confit of Piedmontese Beef shin, served atop potato gratin with bacon and a fennel salad on the side. Seasoned liberally, the beef shin was tender to touch and taste. The potato gratin provided a nice textural contrast to the tender meat, but everything, and I mean everything was way way wa-ay too salty. Such a pity because it would have been a successful dish otherwise.
For dessert, mama T and I decided to splurge and each get a dessert-- we are nothing, if not women with sweet teeth.
For myself, I ordered the sticky toffee pudding, with milk ice cream and salted caramel. Mmmmmm. Thick and creamy, sweet and salty, hot and cold; the toffee pudding was simply melt in your mouth good. I've had toffee pudding at other restaurants and Waterloo's surpasses them all because it manages to walk the fine line between being thick but not too dense and brick-like. The one thing that upset me was that my milk ice cream melted all too soon, and found myself with a bowl full of pudding and no ice cream.
For dessert, mama T and I decided to splurge and each get a dessert-- we are nothing, if not women with sweet teeth.
For myself, I ordered the sticky toffee pudding, with milk ice cream and salted caramel. Mmmmmm. Thick and creamy, sweet and salty, hot and cold; the toffee pudding was simply melt in your mouth good. I've had toffee pudding at other restaurants and Waterloo's surpasses them all because it manages to walk the fine line between being thick but not too dense and brick-like. The one thing that upset me was that my milk ice cream melted all too soon, and found myself with a bowl full of pudding and no ice cream.
While I was craving something rich and heavy for dessert, mama T went the complete opposite route with a light and refreshing limey pie with ginger sorbet and key lime confit. Lemony and tart, I definitely appreciated the heat from the ginger sorbet, as it complimented the sweetness of the pie beautifully.
All in all, Mama T and I both agreed that Waterloo & City was simply scrumptious, and was the perfect place for a birthday meal.
Happy Birthday Ma! I love you!
Details:
Waterloo & City
12517 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90066
310-391-4222
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment