| rev:text
| - After dining at Lola twice, I decided that for my birthday dinner, it was time to give her "little sister" a try. The table started with the big board of charcuterie--easily the most spectacular thing I've eaten in quite some time. The board featured sopressata, copa, lardo, pate with duck confit and currants, chicken liver and pancetta mousse, tasso style duck, cured pork tenderloin, and accompaniments (pickled carrots and onions, apriot and cherry jams, crostini). Immediately after the board was served, the manager approached our table and apologized profusely for forgetting prosciutto. It was an error we likely wouldn't have otherwise noticed given the mountain of meat before us. He went above and beyond and gave us what could only be described as a bowl of prosciutto to make up for leaving it off. All the meat except for the prosciutto is cured in-house and they were nothing short of sublime. The board was perfect for three people; I think it might be a bit much for two if you plan on ordering entrees after though.
I had the duck confit--served with romesco sauce, grilled onions, slivered almonds, and kumquats. I chose the fried brussel sprouts as my side. Another person at the table ordered the duck confit as well with corn on the cob. And finally, the last member of our party ordered the pork chops served over canellini beans with a bright citrus sauce and the potato torta side. They were grilled perfectly and the beans were flavorful. The torta was custardy and light. I was stunned when my entree arrived with not one but TWO duck legs. The meat was so tender and juicy, complemented by the Spanish style onions, almonds, and romesco. While I did enjoy the kumquats, as I ate more of the dish, the more I found the sweetness to be slightly overpowering, and I wound up leaving quite a bit of it behind. My brussel sprouts served as a perfect counterpoint to those sweet notes; they weren't breaded, but rather pan fried, tossed in anchovies, capers, and walnuts which made them perfectly salty, crunchy, and addictive. The portion was massive.
By that point, we were too stuffed for dessert, but they looked tasty. Our friendly waitress was more than happy to box a leftover duck leg and the rest of my brussel sprouts.
What I like about Lolita is that you can choose how upscale you want your meal to be. While we elected to have some of the 'fancier' entrees (still a great value at around $25), we could have just as easily split the pizzas, which at around 15 dollars are affordable, and from what we saw at other tables--huge and good for sharing.
Lolita is more laid back than Lola and the prices reflect this. I was pleased that the more casual atmosphere didn't mean a diminished quality of food. Everything was up to the impressive precedent Lola set (in fact, we actually think the charcuterie board at Lolita is better than what we've had at Lola!) If Lola is the place you go for a once-a-year blowout, Lolita is where you can hang out with your friends and indulge on a more regular basis. The bar happy hour specials seem like a real boon, featuring wine and cocktail specials and $5 appetizers.
For an excellent fine dining experience without all of the fussiness some upscale restaurants might have, visit Lolita. The service, the menu's range, and most imporantly, the food, were a delight.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)