Thursday, November 18, 2010

Hatfield's

The best lunch deal in town right now is at Hatfield's. Simple as that.

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$29 gets you the Session Prix-Fixe and $19 gets you the ridiculously well-priced Studio Prix-Fixe. Both are three course menus, and both are pretty amazing. During our lunch last Thursday, I ordered the Session and Darin ordered the Studio. My roommate Denise had the lobster roll which I jealously coveted throughout the meal.

Hatfield's
6703 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
tel: 323-935-2977

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Lobster Club [$18]
Creamy lobster with pickled shallots on house-made toasted brioche, curry onion rings

I had a delicious bite of the sandwich which consisted of perfectly cooked, sweet lobster, and fluffy brioche. Next time I need one of these to myself.


STUDIO PRIX-FIXE
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Today's Piping Hot Soup
Butternut Squash

Advertised as "piping hot" soup, it was indeed piping hot. It was so hot, in fact, that Darin's first bite burned him. I loved that it was warm. Lukewarm soup is the worst. I was worried that the soup would be too sweet because of the butternut squash but it actually very well balanced.


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Pan Roasted Flank Steak
Braised radish, fingerling potato, balsamic jus

I kept wanting to stab more little potatoes off Darin's plate but I refrained. The piece of steak that I had was cooked to a good temperature, but I felt like it could've been a little more heavily seasoned. It could just be because I didn't get enough of the components on the plate in one bite though.


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Scoop of Today's Sorbet
Cantaloupe

We were able to switch our scoop of sorbet from mission fig to cantaloupe. Cantaloupe was very good. It was icy and tasted just like cantaloupe.


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Chocolate-Peanut Butter Truffle Cake [$11]
Vanilla ice cream, baked to order

Once broken into, warm chocolate and peanut butter oozed out of the cake. The peanut butter portion was rather tame. There was a definite peanut taste but it wasn't overwhelming, just a little nutty. The entire dessert also wasn't as sweet as I was expecting it to be.


SESSION PRIX-FIXE
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Butter Lettuce Salad
Toasted walnut, fresh goat cheese, strawberry vinaigrette

I won't say this is the best salad I've ever had but all the ingredients were as fresh as they could be. The strawberry vinaigrette mixed with the goat cheese made it a little creamy and the walnuts were nice and crunchy.


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Pan Roasted Salmon
caramelized fennel, oven-dried tomato, Kalamata olive, sautéed pea tendrils

This, on the other hand, is one of the best salmon dishes I've ever had. It was so good I was inspired to make my own fennel salmon dish a few days later (will blog about it soon). I'm STILL going through my fennel phase so this was the perfect dish for me. The caramelized fennel was sweet and the oven-dried tomatoes provided the acidity I'm always looking for in fish dishes. The salmon was moist and just cooked-through inside with a deliciously crisped skin. Oh and I've always loved pea tendrils. Man I want this dish again.


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Caramelized Goat's Milk Cheesecake
hazelnut shortbread, citrus compote, Grapefruit Lillet sorbet

The set menu had indicated that the dessert course was to be a Carrot Parsnip Cake. I'm sure it must've also been delicious, but I'm so glad they let me switch it to this cheesecake. I LOVED this cheesecake. The hazelnut shortbread crust is better than any crust you've ever had on a cheesecake, trust me. The grapefruit Lillet sorbet was so refreshing and the bitterness of the grapefruit actually went really well with the creamy cheesecake. The caramel on top only made it that much more decadent. Karen Hatfield is a genius.

I definitely plan on returning to Hatfield's sometime soon. If it wasn't a little far from me, I'd love to have a weekly lunch there. I can't wait to go in for dinner!

6 comments:

  1. Now, that's a great lunch deal! Hatfield's has always been one of my favorite spots. And yes, Karen IS a genius :-)

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  2. Wow! That does look lovely - and truly a great value. Still haven't been back since they've moved locations. Thanks for this!

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  3. I think yours is the first Hatfield's lunch post I've seen. Goat's milk + cheesecake sounds really interesting, I've got to try their food soon (especially her desserts!).

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  4. $19 is such a steal!! Thanks for the heads up :)

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