Food at a Wine Shop? YES! –at Upstairs 2
Thursday, September 28, 2006 9:45
OMG.
I love love love the Wine House in West LA. Not only for their huge diverse selections of wines, but because of the food. A wine shop that has real food, you ask? Why yes, yes it does. At Upstairs 2 to be more exact. Just make your way up the stairs from the wine shop and be welcomed to a small, but inviting restaurant where you can eat and drink to your heart’s content. Although the restaurant is only open Thursday thru Saturday, it’s definitely a place I would set a day out of my week to dine at. The last two times that I’ve gone, my group and I opted to sit at the bar. It’s a great way to have a comfortable meal, while the super cool bartender mixes and serves your drinks. I keep forgetting her name, but she’s awesome–she’ll pour you a taste of whatever you want AND make some great recommendations on food/wine if you’re at a complete loss. The food at Upstairs 2 leans toward Mediterranean with a Californian flair. So now I’ll try to keep the verbiage to a minimum and let the Bee-Yoo-Tee-Full pictures speak for themselves. Here we go!
First up not so pretty pictures… the menu. Notice the wine pairing suggestions for each dish in bold. How helpful is that?
Which wine to choose from? Each column lists the prices for 2.5 oz pours, 6 oz pours, and for a 375 mL carafe. They have affordable choices and some more expensive ones.
Well, what better way to whet our appetites with a nice carafe of a 2005 Chateau Revelette Rose ($12 for the carafe). This French wine went down really easy with a hint of berry sweetness. Cool and refreshing it was.
Amuse bouche of the day. Shrimp and caper ceviche. The shrimp were fresh and sweet and the capers added a nice tang. I wish there were more… well, my dining partner is allergic to shellfish so I hate hers too! haha Advice for people who like seafood–go with people that can’t eat it. =)
BREAD! I really like their dipping oil–it’s been infused with rosemary (and perhaps garlic?). The bread alone isn’t the best in the world. It kind of has that airy, hole-y, chewy quality to it, which makes the bread PERFECT for dipping into the oil.
Persian Cucumber Boat filled with Bonito Tuna ($6). Very light and crunchy. It wasn’t my favorite dish, but it was a nice replacement to the normal first course salad. It also paired pretty well with the rose we were sipping.
Blurry photo of the 2005 Enrique Foster “Ique” Malbec ($10.50 for the carafe). This was my first taste of Malbec and I’m now a huge fan! My friend even liked it so much that she bought two bottles of it after dinner. It has the character of a Spanish red wine with a deep earthiness to it. FaH-bulous
Pan Seared Scallops w/Lemon Risotto Cakes & Sherry Glaze ($11). Can I tell you how tasty this was? The scallops were cooked perfectly and the risotto cakes were oh so good! I was surprised with the sweetness the lemon imparted on the cakes, but it was a great addition to the creamy innards and crispy outtards… er… outsides. You know what I mean! This dish is highly recommended.
Coriander & Fennel-Crusted Tuna, Wilted Arugula, Jasmine Rice and Rose Reduction ($13). I think this might have been the biggest “miss” of the night. We both agreed that the tuna just did not go well with the coriander and fennel. The spices just over-powered the natural flavor of the tuna. Oh well. At least our next dish made up for it:
Sticky Toffee Pudding ($6 I think). SO DAMN GOOD. This dish was the melt-in-your mouth, mind-blowing, send you to the moon type good! And this is not just the alcohol talking (we had finished 3 carafes at this point… they’re each only 375 mL though!). The warm gooey pudding and cold smooth vanilla ice cream was the perfect pair!
Last up, a great port. I’m not sure of the price (sorry!), but I took a small sip and it went down smooth. Aromas of raisins and oak were prominent. Very nice way to end the meal.
I definitely give this place two thumbs up. Heck, I would give them all my other fingers up (but not my middles haha) if I could! I only wished Upstairs 2 were open for operation all the other days of the week, but beggars can’t be choosers I guess. I heard they might try to open one more weekday, but that is yet to be seen. I’ve heard some complaints before about the host and reservations, but I can overlook that. If you want a comfortable neighborhood joint to have a nice dinner and a glass of wine (or two… or three!), go upstairs! Upstairs 2 is on my list of regular haunts. It should be yours too!
Upstairs 2
2311 Cotner Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90064
www.upstairs2.com
By Manja Manja (see more of her posts).
duckduckgoose says:
September 28th, 2006 at 12:10 pm
I find there isn’t a whole lot of consistency. For example sometimes those scallops come out and there are 3 very large ones and the next order might contain one tiny one that should never have been served. Other times dishes are forgotten, but it’s cheap enough so I cut them a lot of slack.
Janice says:
September 28th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
Duckduckgoose: Yeah, I sometimes feel that way too. I am a little more lenient because of the bang for your buck ratio. Have you tried sitting at the bar? It’s a lot more comfy/enjoyable I’ve found. The bartender is really cool.