Animal

My incredible experience at Animal took place about a month ago, but I couldn't quite find the time to whip out my review, at least not one that wouldn't put you to sleep...until now =). You restaurant followers know about Animal and the "two dudes" who run this place, and I'm sure you know about the menu which is heavily fortified with protein-rich items like bone marrow, foie gras, and chocolate bars--with bacon no less. Those "two dudes" happen to be Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, who bestow an impressive culinary background that includes having worked alongside Ben Ford and Govind Armstrong, starting a successful catering company, and graduating with culinary degrees from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. The two talented chefs opened Animal on Fairfax in late 2008 and soon after released their first cook book - "Two Dudes, One Pan: Maximum Flavor From a Minimalist Kitchen." Both the restaurant and the book have received high praises from bloggers and food critics alike, and so it shouldn't surprise anyone that I've had my heart set on dining at Animal for some time.

I met up on a Thursday night in early October (edit: early November, thanks Mr. Rayner!) with five friends, and with that size of a group I knew I would be able to sink my teeth into a variety of dishes to experience much of what Animal has to offer. Upon our arrival at around 7:30pm, the place wasn't exactly busy with just a few tables occupied. The dining room is very compact and plain looking as there is not much going on with the decor, though I did notice cool fossil on display near the entrance. The simple room and decor make me believe that chefs Shook and Dotolo have their emphasis set on great food, and not on a dining room fit for Zagat's best-decor category. Fine by me :)

Look closely and you'll notice Top Chef Master's judge Jay Rayner.

After a few minutes of mingling and arm-wrestling over what to order, we agree on plan of attack that included 9 different appetizers (several orders of some), 2 orders of 1 entree, and 4 different desserts. You might think that's an excessive amount of food for 6 people, and you're probably correct but we're a hungry pack of carnivores. Here are the dishes:

Pork belly with kimchi, peanuts, chili soy, and scallions. Thick slabs of buttery-soft pork belly are things of beauty and here they're cooked perfectly and presented nicely. The contrast from the kimchi and scallions helped tame the richness of the pork belly, though I would have liked a stronger presence from the kimchi. Overall it was a great way to start the night.

Ricotta and goat cheese gnocchi, sage butter, pumpkin. My wife couldn't join us for our Animal dinner but I asked her to pick an item from the menu (listed online) and she went with this plate of gnocchi. She'll be happy to know that we all loved it. The gnocchi was soft and pillowy, and the sauce was--as expected--very rich with just a slight hint of pumpkin. Delicious and a must-order if you plan on visiting.

Baby broccoli, pancetta, parmesan, soft egg, bread crumbs. Our "healthy" dish of the night, if you can call it that. I only got to try a small portion of this, but what few bites I consumed were very nice. The egg was cooked to a perfect soft boil, and it lightly draped over the broccoli when the egg was cut apart. Crunchy bread crumbs added some contrast to each bite; I could see myself eating this appetizer for breakfast. Some of you might think of this veggie dish as more of a speed bump en route to more meat =), but it was a very satisfying dish and I'd order it again.

Pork belly sliders with slaw. The hit of the night. Tender pork belly and toasted buns with tangy slaw made for one of the best burgers I've had in recent memory. Just about everyone at our table claimed this dish to be the favorite of the night. We ordered two plates of these and I wanted to order a third, but with so many other dishes yet to arrive, I had to hold back my bottomless appetite.

Pig ear, chili, lime, fried egg. From the favorite dish of the night to probably the least favorite, the pig ear was somewhat of a miss. The taste of the crispy pieces of pig ear resembled crispy bacon, which is not a bad thing, but the chili and lime sauce almost completely overpowered that taste. A fried egg served on top added some interesting texture, but ultimately I could not get past the spicy sauce. Daniel K., sitting next to me, made a similar comment. To tell you the truth, I'm not even sure we finished it :(. I've read that Church and State has an incredible pig ear appetizer; hopefully I'll be hitting that place up soon.

Sweetbreads with creamed spinach, capers, hen of the woods. If you don't know what sweetbreads are then you might not want to know. (This is your cue to Google it--allow me to do that for you.). The taste is something like a semi-sweet chicken nugget, and with a similar texture, too. Animal's version of this dish was quite good and I liked the pairing with the creamy spinach and earthy mushrooms, which helped cut in to the richness of the sweetbreads.

Foie gras, biscuit, maple sausage gravy. Talk about a heavy dish! The foie gras was rich and buttery with earthy undertones, but the real standout here was the maple sausage gravy. It was so good that we asked for extra bread to soak up every last bit of it. The biscuit was somewhat lost both in presentation and in taste--I mean how in the world can it compete with fatty duck liver and sausage gravy? A good dish nonetheless. Pair this with the broccoli and soft-boiled egg for the ultimate breakfast of champions.

Poutine, oxtail gravy, cheddar. Think of this as a gourmet chili cheese fries. Tender pieces of pulled beef, French fries, and sharp cheddar cheese all mingled together for a meaty, comfort food experience. The broth was especially nice and went well with the extra bread. It's a messy dish; good to know I'm in my setting with this one.

Roasted marrow bone, parsley salad. Delicious and fatty, just the way bone marrow should be. By itself it's overly rich, but eaten with toasted bread allows the marrow's flavor to shine through. Our server wrapped up the leftover bones so that my danieleats.com staff member at home could partake in some delicious noms. See pic at the end of this review.

Foie gras loco moco, quail egg, spam, hamburger. Wow, Animal certainly didn't hold back any punches with this heart-stopping dish of fat, fat, and more fat. That's a fried quail egg over foie gras over spam over hamburger, served with some rice and a meaty broth. Did I miss anything? As good as it looks and sounds, it was actually just OK and I thought it was a bit overkill with so many flavors and textures packed in a single plate. Usually foie gras is paired with something sweet or mild to help offset the richness, but Animal clearly had other plans in mind with its version of a popular Hawaiian entree. Trying to spit this looks to be a losing proposition, but Linda did a textbook job of slicing it three ways, cleanly, and she performed the delicate operation twice as we had two orders of this.

Food artist in action.

With our savories completely consumed, it's time for a round of desserts. By now the dining room was packed and bustling with activity. Other bloggers have penned complaints about the noise levels at Animal, and while it was somewhat loud, it wasn't unbearable by any means. Just don't come here expecting a subdued dinner conversation with your date.

Animal's dessert menu listed four items--bacon chocolate crunch bar, panna cotta, house-made donuts, and tres leches cake with dulce de leche. With our size of a group it only made sense to order one of each. Our favorite by far was the tres leches cake, which is easily one of the better restaurant desserts I've come across. The incredibly moist and rich cake was paired with a little caramel sauce to heighten each bite. Animal's take on this classic Mexican dessert was nothing less than spectacular.

The bacon chocolate crunch bar--which by the way made an appearance on Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate--was a miss for me. It was good, but not out-of-this-world good as I had hoped. The chocolate (flour less?) cake/mousse was rich and dense, and the bacon was cooked to a crunchy, almost burnt finish. The mingling of the two just didn't work for me. With softer cooked bacon and a little more coarse salt on top and my take on this would have been more favorable. Like the pig ear, this had trouble disappearing from its plate.

The house-made donuts were delicious with a crispy exterior and soft, doughy interior. I think I actually liked these better than the ones at Grace, which is saying a lot. Gourmet, house-made donuts are becoming more common at fine eateries, but I still prefer my glazed twists and buttermilk bars from Primos in Palms.

Our last dessert, the panna cotta, was merely average. Sour notes from the saba (a type of vinegar) drowned out the delicate, creamy taste of the panna cotta. I would have preferred to see this served with a fruit-based sauce such as a nice blackberry and sugar reduction.

Tres leches cake with dulce de leche.

Bacon chocolate crunch bar.

House-made donuts.

Panna cota with saba.

To wrap things up, I'll add that our dinner at Animal was one of the best meals I've had in recent history. Service was excellent, platings were superb, and the timing of the dishes was just about right. I left very satisfied but I couldn't resist the urge to pick up a treat from the neighboring Canter's Deli.

I grabbed an apple strudel (pictured in the center) and ate half when I got home. Delicious. To say that I was full would be understatement, and you can bet I hit the gym hard the next morning.


Animal
435 N Fairfax Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90048