Dine LA Happy Hour Week

For the last week in April, Dine LA did a Happy Hour week with a bunch of bars and restaurants for a special Happy Hour menu that featured all sorts of different appetizers, entrees, and drinks at a discounted price.  I always love when Dine LA comes to town so this made me so excited because I love Happy Hour too!  Jamie and I were able to check out two different Happy Hours that week!

Salmon Ceviche at Corner Door for
Dine LA Happy Hour Week

We started our Happy Hour week experience at Corner Door which we also did for Dine LA back at the end of January.  We ordered a bunch of food, including the Avocado Toast with Burrata cheese, Salmon Ceviche with a pineapple salsa, French Fries 'Carbonade' which meant they were covered in braised beef, garlic ailoi, and cheese (so yummy and savory), and also the Spicy Pork Belly Sliders.  I'm not a huge Pork Belly fan but these were delicious.  The Avocado Toast and Ceviche were really light and fresh but the Ceviche really hit a home run with all the incredible flavors!  Our meal wasn't complete without the Sticky Toffee Pudding, reminiscent of one of my favorite restaurants, Waterloo & City, which is right down the street on Washington Blvd.

Later on that week we went to Bouchon in Beverly Hills.  Ashley and I had gone in March for dessert and drinks so I was really excited to get to try some of the food.  Their deal was incredible!  A glass of wine and an entree with a side for $20.  To get a steak from a Thomas Keller restaurant for $20 was mind-blowing.  Matt, our Bartender, took good care of us and on top of the Oysters we ordered, he sent out some King Snow Crab Legs which were fantastic.  My steak came perfectly prepared at medium rare and was so juicy and flavorful!  Unfortunately, we were rushing through Dinner because Bouchon was so busy we had to wait for over an hour to seat, and the kitchen was slammed, and I had to be at work, so we wrapped up our fries and dessert and had to eat everything else at Gabe's.  We got four different Macaroon's to try, all light and airy, and a great dessert to finish the meal.  Jamie had me try Cynar, which was actually really nice once she had her way with it, but I still prefer my Sambuca.

Ladies at Bouchon in Beverly Hills and the amazing King Snow Crab Legs!

Needless to say, we ate really well that week, and even though I've been to both of the restaurants this past year, I was able to explore more of their menu and try some new things.  I still need to get my tour of Bouchon's kitchen, and I'm looking forward to trying more off both menu's!  Jamie, let's go :)

Corner Door for Dine LA

I was able to check out three new spots during the two weeks of Dine LA.  I'm very excited to go back to Bacari in Playa Del Rey and Upstairs 2 in West LA and try more off of their menus.  On Wednesday before Karaoke, Jamie and I decided to check out Corner Door, as she knew the bar manager (even though we weren't drinking) and it's always nice to visit friends at work!

We both ended up order the Mushroom Ricotta Agnolotti as it was a special dish just for Dine LA customers.  I started with the Basil & Beet Salad with almonds, a citrus vinaigrette and Pecorino cheese (also just offered during Dine LA) and Jamie got the Pan Seared Octopus.  Definitely something that scared me!  We shared dessert getting both the Chocolate Pudding and the Bread Pudding.  

Ricotta Agnolotti at Corner Door in West LA

Originally I was going to get the Brussels Sprouts since I'm such a huge fan of them but because they're on their normal menu I wanted to try something that was seasonal and I also love beets.  The salad portion was small, as in there were probably about five or six pieces of basil lettuce and a few chunks of beets.  I was a little bummed about that but the dressing and the way everything worked together was delicious!  It was supposed to come with Ricotta Cheese but I figured since I was having that in my next course I should go for something different; having a scoop of the Ricotta might have filled me up more than the shaved Pecorino.  Jamie and I agreed that the Agnolotti for our Dinner course was amazing!  Once again it was a smaller portion but the creaminess of the Ricotta, the flavorful mushrooms and delicious sauce was so good we both wanted more of it!  Next up was dessert, two bigger than bite-size pieces of Bread Pudding and a small cup of Chocolate Pudding with maple cream.  They were both delicious just small.

I definitely want to go back to Corner Door and check out their Happy Hour and regular menu.  I'm hoping when you get food off the regular menu the portions are a little bigger.  I was actually still hungry after we got done with Dinner that I almost stopped at In & Out for a burger!  I can say though that all the flavors went really well together and it was definitely a balanced meal :)