Friday, February 19, 2010

Short rib (sandwich) for lunch @ Larchmont Larder

We decided to head over to Larchmont Larder in Hancock Park for lunch. It's a cute little house that holds a cafe, marketplace and even offers cooking classes. They have a small parking lot but I was able to get metered parking on the street, although I think the meter gypped me. It's supposed to be $1/hr but I ended up dropping in 8 quarters for an hour. Humph...

They have an open kitchen with a rotisserie chicken oven at the back.

You can choose to sit at the cute little cafe area or outside.

They offer relatively healthy and organic food. There is an array of salads on display which are not your boring Caesar or garden salads. Choices include wheat berry salad, Thai chicken and albacore tuna salad among others. You can opt for a duo of salad for $9 or a trio for $12. I like the option of sampling different salads. They also offer entrees including miso salmon, meatloaf, meatballs and sandwiches. On Wednesdays, they have a Humpday menu that changes weekly and serves 4.

I decided to go for the half sandwich and soup. I mean, who can resist that selection of sandwiches that include meatloaf, grilled steak and pulled short ribs?!?

The soup was Swiss barley with pancetta and chives and was cream based. The soup was hearty yet didn't feel too heavy on the tummy. I loved the barley that reminded me of sago/tapioca pearls. My half sandwich was the pulled short rib which came with caramelized onions, gruyere cheese & whole grained mustard on brioche bread. The brioche was airy and buttery, kind of like a grilled cheese that is buttered up and grilled. Nice touch over regular bread. The pork was shredded, tender and juicy. I also enjoyed the caramelized onions. The half sandwich and soup is a great combo because I think a full sandwich might have been overkill for lunch. This way, you can also get a flavor of two dishes for the price of one.

This is definitely a place that I would return to. It's a great lunch option especially for days when you are looking for something healthy but yet appetizing. The salads look so great that I'd be willing to give up my meat cravings on occasion.

Hits: sandwich, salad choices, healthy options
Misses: parking lot is tiny
Rating: ***

The Larchmont Larder
626 N. Larchmont Blvd.,
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(323) 962-9900
http://www.larchmontlarder.com/

1 comment:

bagnatic said...

the sammich sounds lovely and i love, love gruyere cheese! bad parking is thumbs down though :(