HATFIELD'S, Los Angeles

Friday, May 30, 2008 - 8:30pm

Aki & I arrived 12 minutes early due to light traffic but figured we could wait at the bar. I was excited to give Hatfield's a try, once I'd look them up, but wasn't sure how I could have missed the place when I've driven down Beverly Blvd. a million times. Upon arrival, it finally made sense. The entire restaurant is elevated above street level.

We were greeted warmly and allowed to sit at our table to wait. Surprisingly, there was no bar and only a 3 seater area outside on their raised patio which was already full, so the option of waiting at our table was a warm welcome. Our server came by promptly to offer us waters, a cocktail menu and the full menu to peruse while we waited for our friends, but he never came back to take our cocktail order. It was ok. While I would have liked to nurse one while waiting, in the overall picture, it was a minor gaff.

Our friends arrived and we were set with the Rhubarb Bellinis and a Cucumber Gimlet for Aki. The bellini was the best I've had since the Peach Bellini at Cipriani Downtown (3 years ago).

We shared a really nice bottle of pinot noir (no, I don't know the name and wish I did. Gee, should I really start taking notes at dinners?) that carried us through our meal:

Amuse of Asparagus Soup and Deviled Quail's Egg were two very tasty bits. The quail egg was darling to look at, served on a delicate spoon but it was delicious, as was the extremely hot soup.

First course of Dungeoness crab salad and the Croque Madame with Hamachi. Both were delicious but the Croque Madame was really well done and having the hamachi with the toasted brioche and the prosciutto and egg was brilliant.

Main course was Slow Cooked Beef Rib and the Rack of Lamb. The beef, while it had the annoying "scent" of meat (it's this odd flavor I really don't like that I call beef when it tastes "too beefy" and not in the good sense), the tenderness along with the accompanying sauces really paired well and filled me up.

Dessert memories are fuzzier for me after my cocktail, pinot noir, and fresh glass of shiraz, but I know I had the Beignets which were incredibly well fried and blows away the offering from Fraiche. Is it so hard to properly fry up some dough? Apparently, the answer is yes, when you compare Hatfield's to Fraiche.

A final dessert Amuse of tiny chocolate cupcakes with a dab of chocolate mousse was too good for me to pass up the orphaned bit at the table as we were leaving. I usually do not want to seem so uncouth, but this was a good piece of cake.

While I miss having the convenience of making a reservation online, I doubt this will stop me from visiting Hatfield's again. And I am hoping for sooner than later.