I first heard of Animal , the restaurant by the dynamic duo Dotolo and Shook, from one of potatomato's posts. Since then, it's been on my short list of places to go. I went there last Friday with a friend hoping to bag some seats at the bar. They have seven seats at the bar for walk-ins and everything in the menu is served there.
La Fin Du Monde, 9% ABV, a Golden Ale Tripel. We got this beer to start while waiting for a seat at the bar. The beer pours golden orange and the head is billowy white and huge with exellent retention and good lacing. The nose is yeasty lemony with hints of spices. The mouthfeel has a champagne-like effervescence when the beer first hits your tongue and tingles as it goes down you throat, light-medium creaminess, and a little tart with dryness at the end. The taste is malty sweetness with citrussy tartness and some hints of spices. Not something you would expect coming from Canada. I could drink this beer all night. If it was the "End of the World" as the name translates I'd be a happy cow drinking this beer. If only I could get that REM song out of my head while drinking this beer.
Burrata, olive oil, sea salt, crostini 10 . Burrata is now officially my favorite cheese, the creamy subtle buttery taste that melts on your tongue is exquisite. Mmmm. The olive oil and sea salt drizzled over the burrata only enhanced the flavors. The dish is served cold with some nice thin crostini.
Melted petit basque, chorizo, garlic bread 10. In contrast to the burrata, the petit basque has a more robust punch-in-the-face cheesy flavor, salty and nutty, and served baked and piping hot with chorizo. I think the chorizo pushed this dish to the saltier side. I'm glad I had some La Fin Du Monde to wash down the saltiness.
Rabbit & kale stuffed ravioli, truffle butter, parmesan 22. This was absolutely delicious, I love the creamy truffle butter and parmesan combination. The rabbit was subtle in taste adding a savory meaty component to the dish. I could eat another plate of this. This and the burrata was my favorite dishes of the night.
Quail fry, grits, maple jus, long cooked chard, slab bacon 24. We wanted to try the pig trotters but they ran out so we chose this instead. There is a downside to eating quail and it is dealing with the minute bones of the bird. If you can get over this, you can truly enjoy this dish. The bird was cooked well, light, crunchy and delicious. The slab bacon was thick, smoky, and went well with the grits, chard and maple jus.
We should have stopped after the main entree. We worked up such an appetite and were still hungry for more. So we pushed through and got some more food and of course beer.
St. Peter's English Ale 4.5% ABV, an English Pale Ale. My friend had this beer I only had a taste of it. The beer is served in an unusual oval green bottle. It pours orange amber color with a small head that quickly dissipates leaving minimal lacing. The nose is slightly fruity and slightly malty very little hop aroma. The mouthfeel is light medium creaminess with good crisp carbonation. The taste is not what I would expect of an English ale, it is mild smoky, lemony and yeasty with some hopiness and bitter in the end. Very drinkable.
Flying Dog Doggie Style Pale Ale 5.5 % ABV, an American Pale Ale. The beer pours amber with an average creamy pale flesh colored head with good lacing and medium retention. The smell is definitely hops, citrusy, and piney with malty caramels. The mouthfeel is medium creaminess with some carbonation. The taste is hoppy, piney, with grapefruit-like citrus taste and bitterness which stays on your tongue throughout, there's also a hint of malty sweetness.
Pork belly, kimchi, peanuts, chili soy, scallion 10. This is an asian fusion dish, Thai-Korean. The kimchi topping was not made of the traditional cabbage, I think it was a mix of long papaya juliennes and some other vegetables. The pork belly was crunchy outside and melt in your mouth good.
Poutine, oxtail gravy, vermont cheddar 14. Poutine is a Canadian comfort food made with French fries topped with cheese curds and brown gravy. This variation was made with oxtail gravy and Vermont cheddar. Deliciously filling.
Joe’s doughnuts, apple, caramel 8. The donuts didn't live up to the hype for me. We ordered this because almost all of the staff were raving about it. We had the last serving. The couple next to us was almost angry because they ran out of this and after all of the hype, they really wanted to try it. These were small round donuts covered in crunchy brown sugar and and cinnamon and soaked in apple caramel sauce.
We left the restaurant stuffed to the brim. Since their menu changes daily, I don't know when we will be able to try the pig trotters. I hope the next time they will be on the menu.
435 N. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 782-9225
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