Cobras & Matadors
Tuesday, December 6, 2005 19:11
Tapas has been long reviled as nouvelle food that reeks of elitism: overpriced, undersized and smug. Tapas has gotten a bad rap. Far from being gauche, tapas has a rich history as Spanish dinner food. Fact is, I like the idea that my entire dinner is comprised of appetizers. The appetizer, at least in haute cuisine, is really where the chef takes the most creative liberties to come up with something fun, tasty and unique. Entrees are usually reserved for the traditional preparations of starch, vegetables and protein.
We go to the C&M on Hollywood Blvd located right next to Wacko (which houses the La Luz de Jesus gallery and where we bought our Shag picture) Nice parenthetical aside. Cobras and Matadors is the brainchild of restaurant heavyweight Steven Arroyo, occupying the space formerly home to Boxer, another Arroyo venture. I never ate at Boxer, but I am thoroughly pleased with C&M. We go there at least once a week, first stopping by Wacko for a little tittilating glance at some of the art rock or fetish books, then hop next door for a table. Usually bustling on the weekends, C&M is quiet during the week, so you can just walk right in and sit down.
The space is not the most inviting, but it is certainly interesting. Made a bit cold by high ceilings, dim lighting and decor that is predominantly black with accents of red, the furniture also lends to an industrial feel as it is contructed from dark metal and wood. No matter, the space does work for atmosphere, but it is certainly far from plush.
We are greeted promptly, and served a bowl of mixed olives accented with sweet roasted almonds, with a cute metal pit spit ramakin on the side. Great contrast in salt/sweet, soft/hard. The menu is a carnival of ecclectic dishes, each distinct and interesting. The lomo emphucado is a slice of raisin bread crowned with dried cured pork with a slice of tres leches cheese. Add to that a forkfull of the accompanying tomato salad, and you have a perfectly complicated Spanish bruchetta. Everything works together, which is the beauty of tapas.
The sweet and spicy prawns are my favorite dish. Served four on the plate (which you’ll never see in an Asian restaurant, four symbolizes death), they are indeed, sweet and spicy, but pleasantly so. Coated to perfection and cooked to the right shade of brown glaze. Nayan ordered the butternut squash, which was vibrant yellow, creamy and sweet, and lent a brightness to the meal.
I’ve had albondigas before, and I always associate it with meatball soup, but in this case, it is spiced turkey meatballs. They are quite dense and a bit salty, and I love the sauce that served as their bed. It helped, again, balance the salt and other flavors.
Whatever you think about tapas being a ripoff for the size, you will re-evaluate your opinion after going to C&M. The portions are smaller than entrees, generally, but they are hearty and satisfying. We ordered a four cheese flatbread with sauteed mushrooms, and it was a nice size ‘pizza.’ In fact, we usually take leftovers home with us, as two dishes per person is a bit much (depending on how hungry you are, that is.)
My last comment and only complaint is the paper tablecloth. This is a tapas restaurant, not a Maryland crab joint, there is no need to use a huge tablecloth made out of the same material as a grocery bag. Each and every time I reach for something, I catch my sleeve on the paper, and it gets annoying as hell after the 16th time. Other than that, Cobras and Matadors is a total hit.
4655 Hollywood Blvd
Right next to Wacko
By Zteve (see more of his posts). You can find more of Zteve's writing at his own website Gastrologica
Jonah says:
December 7th, 2005 at 11:54 am
C&M is on my perputual “to go to” place, and yet I have never been. I did try Cobra Lily though and really enjoyed it. Great write up!
Zteve says:
December 7th, 2005 at 12:01 pm
Thank you! Steven Arroyo must have a phallic fetish, as most of his restaurants seem to include a Cobra in the title (re: the sexual symbolism of a cobra and a lily, dontcha know) Nevertheless, his executive chefs come up with varied and flavorful dishes, if they all reflect the creativity of C&M.
erin says:
December 7th, 2005 at 12:42 pm
Thanks for the reminder about this place–I, too, think it’s a star among the seemingly ever-expanding tapas world. The cinnamon-y almonds are the best!
MaxMillion says:
December 7th, 2005 at 12:56 pm
C&M is one of my favourite places in LA to eat (it’s in my top 5), esp after a 7.30pm movie. Pick up a bottle of Spanish wine from next door and you’re set.
My faves are the socca cakes — little lentil patties — and the cornish game hen with delicious sweet and sour fruity sauce. Mushrooms in sherry make an excellent side and their sweet potato shoestring fries are among the best to be found in town.
I think the restaurant has a fantastic ambience; low key and cool. I love all the mini-mountains of corks lining the walls. Can be noisy, so not recommended for parties bigger than 4.
Only problem is, those orders do vary wildly in portion size and they do add up. Tapas isn’t really an inexpensive way to eat, but I still love it.
I never did make it to Cobra Lily, but I heard it wasn’t quite as good as C&M (not sure why).
MaxMillion says:
December 7th, 2005 at 1:05 pm
Wait — I was talking about the one on Beverly Blvd. I didn’t know about this place on Hollywood.
I forgot to mention that the asparagus with manchego cheese and balsamic dressing is a must have!
Zteve says:
December 7th, 2005 at 1:36 pm
The Beverly location is obviously the popular one, since that is the one most people reference. The one in Hollywood isn’t close to a liquor store, but there is a Vons and Cap’n Cork not too far away on Hillhurst. I have a feeling ours is a bit easier to get into at the last minute, plus it is almost mandatory to take a tour through Wacko, it has the hugest selection of offbeat toys, collectables, art and books I’ve come across. Got my Shag book signed by Josh Agle himself!
Lynda says:
December 10th, 2005 at 4:52 pm
I can’t believe that this place is getting good reviews. C&M is terrible! I suppose that we need to give Arroyo for bringing tapas to our beloved L.A., but anyone who has had tapas in Spain knows that this place is a joke.
Jonah says:
December 10th, 2005 at 5:42 pm
What exactly do you find “terrible” about C&M? That’s a pretty harsh assessment of a place that serves some tasty food. I had tapas in Spain and some were great and some were the most bland dishes I have ever not tasted.
I have a hard time accepting someone trashing a place and making an elitist statement as if the only place tapas could be good is in Spain.
Zteve says:
December 10th, 2005 at 6:54 pm
Haven’t had the privilege of going to Spain, so C&M is my baseline.
benediction says:
November 30th, 2006 at 9:50 pm
to taste is no travesty, cobras and matadors is the true elegant expierence traversed through the eyes of vision and desire. Now to become something more than a half filled glass of wine that is falling upon deaf ears within a sea of torture los angeles places withn our laps. Many thanks to the rare vareitals of fine wines.
-blue x gold euqls cub scout diner
le lion says:
December 4th, 2006 at 12:17 pm
loved my experience there a few weeks ago. went with a party of 8 and we ordered a wide assortment of tapas, including some mentioned (lomo emphucado, the asparagus, the meatballs). my favorite was a chickpea patty that was similar to a latke, with a honey drizzle, SO GOOD.
we went through 2 pitchers of sangria (its true: if you eat the fruit, you will get very drunk) and i think it all came out to about $30 per person. totally reasonable for a weekend night out.
KayElle says:
March 25th, 2007 at 9:47 am
The food is fabulous, had the meatballs, the chickpea cakes, the mussels and the grilled artichokes.
However, I found the service to be surprisingly bad. While we were promptly seated, there really wasn’t one waiter working the table, and when another couple joined us, not one of the four waiters who waited on us stopped by to see if they wanted an order…the worst was being handed our check while still waiting on an entree (without asking for it). When we told the waiter we were waiting on the paella (which while good, the rice used did little for the dish) his response was “well, we have a reservation that we need a table for”.
Hire some experienced waiters that are a BIT more tactful.
josh says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 3:24 pm
this place was gross…i literally vomitted afterwards
chowcritic says:
October 24th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
BE WARNED - the maitre d’ is a TOTAL jerk and nothing will get me to revisit this place again because of the rude service our party received.
Despite having a reservation for a party of 4, the maitre d’ insisted on seating us at a table for two as we were arriving separately to our guests. When we proceeded to order for the table, the waiter asked where the other two people were going to sit. Our point exactly. He went to speak to the maitre d’ but returned shaking his head and apologizing that the maitre d’s rudeness has been costing them a lot of return business.
When our guests arrived shortly behind us, rather than seating us at the table for four right next to our table, the maitre d’ made us all wait whilst he had a crappy, noisy table right by the front door set up to seat four just to make his point. He didn’t even have our food and drinks brought over so we had to do that ourselves too.
I will never go back there again! Please do yourselves a favor, go to Dennys , they probably have hostesses with better manners.
Very unpleasant experience.
govinda says:
November 26th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
I’m way late to the game, but the star of this place for me and many others is the carmelized lentils with jambon and onions. It’s truly a marvel of a little dish. In general this holds for the Hollywood Blvd location; the location on Beverly Boulevard has grown tired and lost its edge.