DineLA Dinner at FIG

The DineLA deals have received some flack lately with keen-eyed diners noticing no-so-special deals and suspicious menu swapping aimed to match the discounted prices. With over 200 participating restaurants and hundreds of menus to look through, finding the best deals can be hit and miss, but after a little investigative research I was able to narrow my picks down to a select few, and FIG was at the top. FIG's DineLA menus bestowed an impressive selection of appetizers and mains and there appeared to be no cheap substitutions; all DineLA menu items appeared to be clear and present on the regular menus. In fact, depending on the dishes chosen, a savings of over $10 could be had, and this is at a highly-regarded restaurant located in the ritzy Fairmont Hotel in downtown Santa Monica.

Last Wednesday I met up with my wife and some friends for a 6:30pm reservation. As I mentioned, the restaurant is situated in the 4.5-star Fairmont Hotel; upon arrival guests are treated to a massive tree in the valet circle:

Straight from Avatar's Pandora.

The restaurant was packed with plenty of well-dressed Angelinos filling the seductive bar and spacious dining room. It's a dimly lit and beautifully decorated scene; a two-sided fireplace sits off to the side, and back tables overlook the hotel's pool area, which was nicely lit up at night. FIG's scene exudes romance and class. We're led to a table by the fireplace and begin looking through the menus.



Individually wrapped personal-size baguettes are brought to us along with a jar of tasty arugula spread:



Warm and crusty on the outside, the baguette was especially good with a soft, chewy interior. Paired with a healthy dollop of the arugula spread and a little coarse salt, the doughy bread becomes appetizer-like; it's a great start to our dinner.

FIG has a full bar with a decent wine and beer selection to go with a dozen or so specialty cocktails. I decide to try the mojito and it arrives in short order, served in a heavy, thick-rimmed glass:


While the taste is refreshing and sweet with bright flavors of lime, the drink is sorely lacking in rum and it was deceivingly large in size. I managed maybe six to eight slurps before seeing the bottom. I later ordered a Dewar's Scotch on the rocks, but the bartender added so much ice that my drink became diluted long before I could finish it. Drink fail :(.

An amuse-bouche is brought to us but the server didn't fully explain the preparation. I managed a bite of blood orange and some red onions, and found this to be utterly forgettable.


Minutes later our first-course dishes arrive, and I went with a plate of blistered romaine with white anchovy, served warm on a warm plate and sprinkled with Parmigiano-Reggiano:


I was debating between this and a warm quinoa salad with butternut squash, but I was very pleased with my fanciful plate of charred Romaine. A lone anchovy sits atop and adds a nice savoriness to the romaine, which were drizzled with a light olive-oil and lemon dressing.

Entree selections include mushroom risotto, pasta-less lasagna (what?!), vegetable curry, squid Basquaise, braised lamb, pancetta meatloaf, and one of FIG's signature dishes, steak frites. The Yelpers and bloggers have all touted the steak frites with much praise and so for me it was the obvious entree choice. FIG's version boasts a California prime, 32-day aged hunk of bovine goodness in form of bavette--or flap--steak. It's topped with blue-cheese butter and is paired with shoe-string fries and a half-piece of roasted garlic, skin on.


Magical. Awe-inspiring. And just damn good. I've had many a steak frites and this one ranks among the elite. Beefy, savory, nicely-marbled and cooked to a textbook medium-rare, my steak was velvety soft and required practically nil effort with knife-slicing motions. And one might expect the frites in a steak frites to be a mere afterthought of so-so French fries, but FIG's deep-fried shoe-strings had a nice crispy exterior and pillowy-soft interior, and were seasoned with a day's harvest of aromatic parsley. I've sampled Thomas Keller's version at his much ballyhooed Bouchon establishment in Beverly Hills, and I've thoroughly convinced myself that FIG's version comes out on top. I would have easily plunked down the full DineLA dinner price of $34 for this dreamy meat and potatoes plate, and looking at the regular dinner menu, this steak frites retails for $27 on its own so this is indeed a fantastic deal. It was so good that I'm going to show you another picture:


For desserts, diners have a choice between fig bars with Greek yogurt ice cream, chocolate pot au creme, and rice pudding with preserved cherry compote. Since I'm at a restaurant named FIG, I thought it'd be appropriate to go with the house-made fig bars.


Fig Newtons these are not, but of course you are paying a premium for FIG's handcrafted fruit bars. A little less chewy and a little less sweet is about how I'd describe this dessert when comparing with the packaged variety, and to be truthful I was expecting more in terms of texture and fresh-fruit flavor that one would uncover in a house-made dessert of this type. Each bite was less memorable than the prior, and with great desserts, it should be the other way around. Luckily my palate experience relief with the Greek yogurt ice cream, which had almost rice ice-cream consistency and taste, which is to say it had a very crisp texture augmented with a bright, fresh flavor. In fact eating this brought back vivid memories of the rice ice cream I savored at LudoBites Royal/T.

Fonda scoops her chocolate pot au creme and is rather stealth in doing so, which is to say she was enjoying it.


After a few big scoops, we swap dessert plates and I begin my attack on the pot of chocolate. It's creamy, rich, and visually pleasing, especially with the bright berries scattered on the surface. The chocolate creme is a little more dense than chocolate mousse and about as sweet as a Ghirardelli bar of semi-sweet chocolate. Let's just say her dessert far surpassed my fig bar selection.

Our friends ordered the rice pudding and they both love it. I'll be sure to order this next time.


Base price of this DineLA meal was $34, and with my two (fail) drinks and tax and tip, the total came out to $60. If you were to compare this DineLA deal with the regular dinner menu prices, my food total would have been $13 (romaine) + $27 (steak frites) + $8 (fig bars) for a summation of $48. If my six semesters of college math serves me right, I saved $14 with the DineLA $34 deal. Not bad! Service was very good with our plates being cleared appropriately and our waters getting the occasional top-off. We never felt hurried or "discounted" in any way, and the prompt valet parking was gratis with our restaurant validation. Despite the two weak drinks and the lackluster fig bars, I am definitely set on coming back to FIG to try other dishes and desserts, knowing to steer clear of their mixed drinks.


FIG
101 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica CA
90401