Lala's Argentine Grill...party of 20 please.

7229 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323)934-6838
Sun-Thu 11AM-11PM
Sat-Sun 11AM-12AM

It's odd... when summertime comes around, I find myself compelled to buy more clothes and spend more than I'm actually worth. Maybe it's seeing all the beautiful people we have in LA and going wow... I need to dress better. Not that I'm a slouch, but I just feel the need to step up my apparel. This will often bring me (and of course my lovely wife) over to Melrose which is where the "I'm not rich but I want to dress like I am" people go to. Melrose has great shopping and some great spots for food such as my pick today, Lala's Argentine Grill.

Located at the La Brea end of the trendy Melrose bazarre, this corner establishment has been blessing me and my friends for years now. Let me back up and say that is because off and on for the past couple of years I've gone there with sometimes 20+ people for lunch on Sunday and they have never had any qualms about it (they have a great size outside patio area that is perfect). This is a super rarity in LA...heck maybe even in the US.

Argentinean food is wonderful for people who are bashful about trying new foods, and yet want to get their feet wet. It has familiar enough plates, but the twist of the Argentinean spices makes it a refreshing change of pace from the standard Central American or Carribean flavors we've grown accustomed to here in the States(or at least in SoCal). What many people don't know is that Argentine cuisine is more heavily influenced by European countries than the surrounding flavors of South American countries, which really brings in a whole new concept of how food can be done. You taste and see a great deal of French and Italian in their dishes with an emphasis on meat.

If you haven't been introduced to chimichurri sauce here it is. The four big flavors consist of garlic, olive oil, parsley and red pepper(though it's generally not spicy). It is absolutely addicting. Now, I know I've said this before, but the tendency when you're really hungry is to put this stuff on the bread that they bring out and keep on doing that until your food has shown up. This unfortunately has the nasty side effect of ruining your meal by stuffing yourself on bread and chimichurri sauce. I kid you not, you have to consciously make an effort to not do it. But, it doesn't stop there, because it's perfect on almost any meat or chicken they serve. I feel like they should just leave me a vat of this stuff so I can put it on everything. For the adventurous, or for those wanting to see what it's typically made of, here's a link to peruse the typlical contents.

We grabbed one of their beef empanadas, as we always get at LEAST one. You may recall when I wrote about Empanadas Place a while back and the extreme love I have for the pastry meat pockets. This is no different. A fine example of ground beef, olives, egg whites and savory spices in a light dough pocket. Not too spice heavy, but it's good that way as it doesn't hinder the true flavor of the meat interacting with the olive .

While I could go on and on about the many meat plates that they have, I'll be brief. Their chorizo rocks, their chicken is tender and quite juicy, but their beef especially kicks butt. Shown below is their milanesa plate, my standard when I can't decide out of all their goodness what to get. Think of a spanish version of chicken fried steak in appearance, but make it a thinner steak and not as breaded. The meat even peers through the breading sometimes cause it's so light. The breading, with it's egg, parsley and flour, makes this a standout simple plate. Add to effect the fresh pico de gallo and it's a no brainer. Hence why I get it when my brain is fighting about what to get.

The also do a particularly good job on the few seafood based entrees they have. I believe the popular phase to describe their fish is "grilled to perfection". The salmon specifically is a favorite of Celeste's, never dry and always flavorful. And, though you can't fully see it in the picture, the fillet of salmon spans the entire length of the oblong plate they served this salad on. Again, a very simple.... grilled salmon covered with a creamy mustard sauce served over greens, tomato and red onion with their light as air house dressing... but balanced with each detail just right.

The beauty about this place is it's simplicity and attention to those simplicities. I congratulate them on their second location that opened in Studio City. While you shop and decide whether you really want to go to Pinkberry, just go here and fill up on a huge hunk of beef. There's nothing like it on a Sunday afternoon, especially if you want 15 to 20 of your closest friends to break bread with you.

Free Drink Refills: Yes
Entree Price Range: $8 to $17

Danny's Venice Deli...agreeing with LA Times

23 Windward Ave.
Venice, CA 90291
(310)566-5610
Mon-Fri 10:30AM-10PM:
Breakfast available until 3pm / lunch until 5pm
Happy hour from 4pm-6pm / Dinner starts at 5pm

Saturday, Sunday 10am-10pm:
Brunch available until 3pm / Lunch until 5pm
Dinner starts at 5pm

Hearing about the hype and seeing the beautiful pics online of Danny's Venice Deli(via LA Times), which I now deem the gastronomical savior of the Venice walk, I was slightly intrigued. What with it's summery look inside and the kind of timeless quality shop-front, I felt like I needed to at least pop by cause I also hear the food is pretty killer. I thought to myself... a deli on the beach? Thoughts of spoiled mayonnaise and huge floppy pickles while walking on the boardwalk crept into my brain. This was not the case at all.

Housed in what looks like building that is left from the Coney Island era you're instantly taken back to old school charm. Lots of seating for the rush crowd anytime of day, and lots to see on the walls to keep you preoccupied while you wait (shortly) for the food to arrive.


Love the artwork on the walls depicting icons from stage and screen heroes of the past. It's definitely a defining memorable thing about their overall vibe.

As with any deli you have sandwiches as a feature and various assorted sides that compose about 90% of the menu. What you may not know about them is that all their beef (including their pastrami and corned beef) is certified Angus Beef and all their fowl is hormone free(but if it's available they use organic). Knowing these factors I saw something on the menu that said "You'd be a fool not to eat me". That monster was their famous "Original Plunge" named after the the world's largest indoor saltwater pool(once right by Danny's of course). It's a 9oz. dip sandwich with their pastrami inside (you have an option to do turkey pastrami, corned beef, or roast beef). Let me ask you... have you ever had something which exceeded your expectations so drastically that you were beside more and more with each bite? That's was this sandwich. After each bite I was like, "Man...this is really good"..."How did they do this?"..."I have to come back and get this again!". The meat was elegantly tender, the au jus not too salty or too heavy, and the french roll was crunchy but didn't rip the roof of your mouth either. For my side, I got their potato salad which would be a welcome addition at any picnic I'd ever go on. As an oath to my readers, I will be going back and getting this exact order again.

Celeste ordered the falafel burger out of mere curiosity and was pleasantly surprised. Falafels can be a tricky thing... in fact anything deep fried can be very tricky for that matter. The beauty of this sandwich was how hearty it was for a meatless burger(whether you consider that a real burger of not is your deal). The falafel, was just that... falafel, and good falafel at that. That, together with the jack cheese, grilled onions, zippy tomato, avocado and sprouts made an excellently well balanced sandwich. Not too much or too little of anything... and on that note very low grease factor, it was ALMOST dry actually, but not. Depending on how you like your food, it's great the way it was, but for someone like Celeste a little extra mayo made it just right. And that side of seasonal fruit she got cause she felt guilty for the fried food just happened to be in season(and sweet at that).

To finish up we grabbed a slice of their (signature) very creamy, lush cheese cake. Wow. Best way to describe it was imagine a pound cakes consistency but cheese cake. It intensely moist to the point of wondering how the heck did they do that. I loved it cause it really wasn't trying too hard to be this amazing thing. It was a smooth and creamy piece of top notch cheese cake. Though I felt it was pricey at $7 a slice when I ordered it, I'd say it's a dessert made for a date night before you stroll on the boardwalk... and worth every penny.

While I admit that I have rarely been particularly impressed with delis(cause a good deli's a good deli right?), this one for me has an edge on all the others. Quality of food and charm go miles in my book. Not to mention the location scores mega points due to the fact that on the boardwalk there just isn't that much good food... let alone food that's GOOD for you. And as always with the boardwalk, you have the bummer issue of parking. Not so with this place. Literally next door is a reduced rate parking lot (validation required) if you don't feel like circling the area for those pesky spots.

I love this spot...it reminds me to be romantic when I'm near the water.

Free Drink Refills: No but let me explain. They only have specialty sodas. Oh yeah...try their root beer float...it's epic!
Entree Price Range:$6.50 to $19