Red O

My brother-in-law’s birthday was cause for celebration, and since he’s so dramatic, it’s fitting that finding a reservation for a table of 14 on a Sunday night in LA proved to be less than easy. The first two restaurants we tried were inexplicably closed, and a third was catering a private party. Everything else was either too “unique” to be appropriate for a crowd spanning from 23-74 years old (I can’t even IMAGINE my father-in-law’s reaction to anything at The Bazzar, including the decor). So, we took a chance, and when Rick Bayless’s new Red O told us they had a table at 9, we slept in on Sunday morning, and afternoon, and headed out around 8. Boy am I glad we did.

In MY humble opinion, service was great. Guy, our waiter, was perfect. A few in our crowd were more than irked when the bar shut down service at 11:30, but for me, it was a confirmation that God himself was listening to my whisperd prayers (pleasenomoretequila, pleasenomoretequila, pleasenomoretequila…) I mean, it was SUNDAY at 11:30 PM and I have to wake up at SIX!!! sheesh…

I enjoyed the food completely, but my husband still thinks Javier’s is better. Maybe I just like LA so much more than the OC that to me, food tastes better out here. Either way, we’ll be going back.

Shredded Creekstone Beef Short Rib Sope with roasted tomato-green chile sauce – $9

Gleason Ranch Pork Belly Sope with black beans, salsa negra, sesame – $8

Mazatlan Blue Shrimp Cevice with mango, red onion, chipotle chile- $13.50

Bacon Tomato Queso Fundito, with  serrano chile, cilantro, tequila – $7.50

Smoked Mary’s Chicken Taquitos with avocado-tomatillo salsa, watercress – $8

Slow-Cooked Sonoma Duck Taquitos with tomato-arbol chile sauce, arugula -$8.50

Pollo en Mole Poblano with
grilled Mary’s young chicken, homemade mole poblano, black beans, watercress salad
$23

Cochinita Pibil
tortilla-fed, Gleason Ranch suckling pig, achiote-marinated & slow-roasted in banana leaves,
black beans, pickled red onions, roasted habanero salsa
$26