Lala's Argentine Grill

Entraña al Ajo

To set the stage for the awesomeness of this place, before pulling up, I admit to being past borderline hangry. A problem easily solved at a restaurant (and possibly a contribution to higher final reviews), but an absolute roadblock to a good first impression. Yet, the moment we walked in, I stopped pouting and began to enjoy myself – a feat only previously achieved by some sort of foodstuff. This place just radiated a good time! I imagined celebrating something there without even tasting Lala’s food.

Though the outdoor seating encapsulates optimum ambiance (flush with heat lamps), to avoid the said 30-minute wait, Tyler and I were happy to sit near the action of the open face kitchen (Lala's does not offer reservations). However, even if your not extremely hungry, I would still recommend valet as parking spots are tricky to come by and the cost is only $5 with hostess validation.

Okay now to the meat of the review (a pun possibly not appreciated by those less fond of meat, but there it is), the hustle and bustle of this place just added the restaurant’s atmosphere. Our cheery, hipster waiter (a surprisingly pleasant combination) appeared a little over his head with shear tasks, but always seemed to offer perfect advice and make sure we had everything we needed, just as we didn’t. And even better, within 10 minutes of being seated we were enjoying a pitcher of Lala’s signature Clerico, assorted fruits soaked in white wine $18.95, and fresh bread with Chimichuri dipping sauce.

The Chimichurri was such spicy-deliciousness that I went to the farmers market the next day for means of recreation. The chimichurri link above is a good recipe, but I recommend dicing the fresh cayenne peppers instead of using pepper flakes. Lala’s chimichurri is a little oily, but how bad can olive oil be? I am an absolute lightweight and the Clerico went down maybe a little too easy. Upon further research, I learned it was not that chimichurri enhanced my drinking powers, it was that Lala’s almost certainly cut the wine with something like club soda. No matter, it was a great hangover/driving saver and proved super fun to share.

The food also came without much waiting. When ordering, I followed Tyler’s lead (I think to his surprise, as our pallets are generally quite polar), as I am not too schooled in steak eating. We ordered the Entraña al Ajo, grilled Angus Beef skirt steak piled high with sautéed parsley and garlic. The meal also comes with a choice of greens, french fries, rice or mashed potatoes. And to my surprise, we both opted for the greens – which was a good decision on both fronts as portion sizes are hearty. I ordered my steak medium and was thoroughly happy with the result. The only complaint I can think of was that like the chimichurri, the meat was a bit oily.

Overall, this place rocked, I have never seen Tyler so excited about food and admittedly it was damn good (even if I had not started out hangry). The only down side was that we had so much fun and ate so much that, once home, all we could do was take a nap on the floor.

Fork Rating for Lala’s Argentine Grill:

Accessibility: 1 Fork

Ambiance: 4 Forks

Authenticity: 3.5 Forks

Service: 4 Forks

Taste Factor: 3.5 Forks

Why eat at Ethnic Restaurants through Los Angeles?

My boyfriend Tyler and I want to travel and experience more than our jobs/budgets currently allow. Thus, we have haphazardly constructed an odyssey to ethnauthentically eat our way through Los Angeles.

In an effort to "hash" each experience over in an organized fashion, we have also designed a rating method which I like to call, The Fork System. Under this system there are 5 categories that we have deemed - all important - to our overall "worldy" experience. And finally for a sense of accomplishment, we have also nailed a map to my wall with pins telling us which countries have been successfully eaten from.

The Fork Rating System:

1 to 5 forks will be given in the following areas: Accessibility (an important one here in LA), Ambiance, Authenticity, Service, and the all Important Taste Factor. I realize that two judges from Portland, OR and San Luis Obispo, CA have no business rating the "authenticity" of our experiences with food and ambiance of proceeding ethnic restaurants. However, the best we can do is acknowledge our limitations/self righteousness as judges and explain our scores within reviews.

Fork Scale:

1 Fork = Bad Experience

2 Forks = Moderately Unpleasant

3 Forks = Run of the Mill

4 Forks = Pretty Excellent

5 Forks = Euphorically Awesome