American
The Border Grill
The Border Grill has some history with me. It is the first place I ate when I rolled into Los Angeles, literally the first night. I had watched the Two Hot Tamales on Food TV (back when it was still interesting), and they really had the best show out there. I love Mary Sue and Susan’s on-air personalities. I had the privilege of attending a benefit dinner created by Michael Shafer, owner/chef of The Depot and Chez Melange. Among his guest chefs was Susan Feniger, and she was an absolute hoot.
I don’t watch much Food TV anymore, and the Two Hot Tamales have relocated their show to a local AM station here in Los Angeles. The world’s loss is our gain! LA is also the home to both of their original restaurants: The Border Grill and Ciudad. Their original City no longer exists.
One thing I love about their restaurants is how fun they are. There is nothing regal or sedate about either place, but Border Grill is the pinnacle of loud and active. Eating at the Border Grill is like eating a meal in the middle of a stadium. Frantic activity swirls around you, conversations are loud, laughter echoes off the walls. Even the internal contruction and decoration is designed to increase, not dampen, the fury.
Last time I was there, I ran into Kevin Bacon and his family, and I now had the responsibility of informing all my friends they were now two degrees from Kevin. So I got that going for me.
So, Sunday or Saturday afternoon is a great time to go. The crowd was even crazier on this Sunday, and it turns out later they were watching the George Mason/ UConn game. I didn’t know this at the time, figuring nobody on the west coast would get that fired up about a couple of east coast teams.
I did not want to pay attention. I was Tivoing the game for later, so we could hang out at my place and watch the game. If I didn’t mention, George Mason is my alma mater. Go Patriots!
Like any good Mexican restaurant, they start off with a bowl of tortilla chips, but the salsas are something special. They have a blaze neon green tomatillo, with just the right pucker, a tomato base that almost reminds me of a seasoned marinara and a smoky chipotle sauce right a nice roundhouse kick to your tongue. They puree all the salsas, so they are smooth like a sauce.
Everything about The Border Grill is about whimsey. And so is the food. This next playful dish is ceviche three ways.
The plated ceviche was a strong hot and sour melange with an equally strong fish taste. Not in a bad way, but in an unapologetic way, and I can respect that. Each of the shot glasses of ceviche were topped with creamy quacamole. One ceviche offering a thai flavor by accenting with coconut milk, the last, a traditional ceviche. You know, it was a bit deceptive. I thought I was getting full shot glasses of ceviche, but halfway down my fork hit slaw. It was good, and I was a bit relieved since I wasn’t incredibly hungry.
It gave us a break to look around and desperately hope Mason would pull out a win. Because it was Sunday brunch time, she ordered banana pancakes. They looked real good on the menu, but I’m not much of a breakfast eater, so I stuck with real meat.
However, the syrup was a perfect balance of maple and coconut. Rich and buttery, it make a perfect accompaniment to a tropical enlightened pancake. I just wasn’t too hip on the coconut flakes, I’m averse to the texture. I would have prefered coconut milk but a) people probably like the texture difference and b) it wasn’t my meal. It was accompanied by a side of fresh cut fruit and a mild chicken sausage.
I ordered the Cochinita Pibil. Why even try to describe it? Here’s the menu description, ripped right from their menu.
achiote marinated pork slow roasted in banana leaf with grilled onions, orange, and cinnamon served with white rice, black beans, and roasted plantains
Mmmm. The rich, crimson-walnut hue of the sauce was overflowing with a resounding punch of spicy, sour flavor. It was really a unique clash of flavors that got my attention. Not overly spicy, but rich with a dizzying gallery of spices. A fantastic head turner.
I always leave here stuffed, or in this case, with a doggy bad. Don’t know if they’ll actually get to taste any of the food, but I’m the one who pays the bills around here, so they can just have a bit of rice.
If you like quiet restaurant to reflect on your sappy love, or look longingly into his eyes for your three year anniversary, go somewhere else. If you want a brash environment that is fun and unique, go to Border Grill. The food is fantastic, the room lively. Just bring some earplugs, it’s as loud as a tarmac.
Yeah, all this writing about food, so we shouldn’t forget who makes it for us.
The Border Grill
1445 4th. St.
Santa Monica
By Zteve (see more of his posts). You can find more of Zteve's writing at his own website Gastrologica
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I recently (during the Sunday of the 1st week of the NCAA) ate there as well. I also had the Cochinita Pibil. Terrific!
I agree that it’s a fun scene and the food is good, but the service is painfully slow.
Hmmm. I wasn’t going to say anything, but it was. I haven’t been there in about a year, so I figured they were just slammed with a few big parties, but maybe the service has slowed a bit…
I have found the service to be a total crapshoot. It seems to be either very good or totally inattentive, not a whole lot of middle ground.
On the day I was there, the service was quite good.
Actually, now that I think about it, the service has been a little hit or miss. Back after the events of 9/11, Michael Delmonico organized Eat Out America on October 11. Restaurants across the US participated in a donation program where 10% of your tab would be donated to victim’s families. We ate at Border Grill and I ordered a Mahi and Rock shrimp entree. They didn’t give me the mahi. I thought that was odd, leaving of 1/2 of the entree. but they made good on the Mahi, and gave us a free dessert…and it was for a good cause. For some reason I like the atomosphere so much, I never really notice any lag.
My husband and I went back to Border Grill after about a year absence. The drinks were superb, but I had a complaint about the appetiser. We order guacamole. Don’t get me wrong — it was very good guacamole. However, it was served on a skinny boat-shaped dish. There were about 3 tablespoons of guacamole (I’m not kidding). The rest of the dish was taken up with two huge romaine lettace leaves, 2 slices of tomato and about a third of a cup of bean dip. Our server informed us “the bean dip is complimentary.” That’s very nice — but it’s taking up room on my guacamole plate and there’s only 3 tablespoons of guacamole. Maybe if you hadn’t put the bean dip on the plate, there would be room for more guacamole. When you’re paying the prices that you pay at this restaurant, I would appreciate an appetiser sized portion of whatever of order.