Been wanting to try out the restaurant ANIMAL for about a year, and I finally tried it. I've been hearing several contrasting comments for the place, some said that the food were excellent, while some said it was overrated. Nevertheless, I was not disappointed. The place has an extensive menu range and the food served were unique and tasty. The portions are small so we do it family style, sharing everything among us. As the name suggests, everything on the menu is from animals, no veggie dishes at all. Also, all parts of the animal such as brains, ears, tails, were included in the menu. We ordered 9 dishes, some which are quite normal, but some consist of weird ingredients that I tried for the first time in my life.
The menu changes daily and the place is so small that reservations are necessary. They only allow a max number of 8 people per reservation and even with a reservation, you could be waiting outside the restaurant waiting for the previous guests at your table to leave.
Hamachi Tostada. Quite the ordinary, but the thai peanut sauce on the veggies makes it quite a refreshing dish to enjoy.
Guess what? It is...uhum...*gulps*...Veal Brains, with apple sauce and carrot. It has quite a similar texture with oysters i guess, but knowing that it is a brain...from a cow...I only ate a bit and it's actually not that bad. It is sweet and has a light cinnamon taste.
Foei Gras biscuit! Yummy, but quite ordinary.
Braised short rib. I like it, despite it being ordinary compared to the other exotic dishes we had. It came out together with the rabbit and the brain, so I enjoy this dish more than ever compared to the other two. Sweet, tender, and the honey topping on top makes a good compliment.
Poutine with oxtail gravy and cheddar. Ahh I love poutine! It is one of my favorite dish back when I was visiting Toronto, and I really like the oxtail topping on this one.
The highlight of the meal, one of the best foei gras I've ever tasted. Foei Gras Loco Moco, with quail egg, spam, hamburger and rice. A unique and yummy combination.
Bone Marrow. Very flavorful.
Tres Leches, Dulce de Leche.
sticky toffee pudding
berries, vanilla custard, lavender crumble
Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar. The perfect combination and my favorite dessert item here.
Overall, I was very pleased with the dinner experience here at Animal. It is very unique and delicious. I greatly recommend trying the Pork Belly Sandwich and Foei Gras Loco Moco, as well as the Bacon Chocolate crunch bar. Order more for a large party cause as you can see, the portion is really small. The food are reasonably priced as well! starting as low as $3 for a chicken liver toast up to $35 for a foei gras loco moco. It is not your typical fine dining and the place looks really simple (with no restaurant name in front so you might have trouble finding it) and not dressy at all.
Animal Restaurant, 435 N. Fairfax Ave, LA
