For our last dinner in LA we headed west to the second incarnation of AOC from Chef Suzanne Goings after enjoying a thrilled matinee of Lucia at the opera. I had been to the AOC West Hollywood location years ago and her restaurants here have always been consistently excellent. The food at AOC Brentwood was just as good, although I have to say that at times the service was a tad slow. The concept here is to share many plates, tapas style, and we decided to order starters first then consider the heavier options and the timing over the entire meal with our dear friends, Raul & Matt, and our son, Sam, was timed perfectly.
The drinks here are fun, and we arrived early to sit at the bar with the excellent bartender, Randy, who customized our Campesino on the less sweet side with Mezcal, Alejandro's Honeydew, Basil and Jalapeno. At the table we started with Etna Bianco from Barone di Villagrande 2019 which was ideal with the many flavors in the dishes and so good, we had a second bottle. Our red was a yummy Crianza from Bodegas Ontanon 2018 in Rioja, Spain.
Our server Chris helped us to navigate the menu and choose which dishes would work best. The Farmer's Plate was the ideal veggie starter for Sam with roasted veggies, muhamarra and chickpea puree(a spicy take on hummus), burrata and grilled toast. They actually charged $1 for an extra piece of toast!! We tried both focaccia on the menu and they were really more like mini pizzas: Milliken's Young Leeks with Point Reyes Cheese, Pea tendrils and Walnuts was nowhere near as fluffy and decadent as my Potato/Leek focaccia, but the Spicy Sopressata with Roasted Tomato, Caper Bagna and Senorio de vaca was a treat. The Stone Fruit salad with Triple Creme cheese, Arugula & Santa Barbara Pistachios was nice, but simple. Clams were cooked in the oven with Sherry, tons of fresh sliced garlic & sherry and were a true treat, especially to mop up the sauce with the grilled bread.
White Bass came with Linda's Greens, Jamon Piperade, Chickpeas & Black Olives and was a divine fish dish, while the Liberty Duck Breast was cooked perfectly with Fennel-Potato Gratin(not too fennel-y) & roasted peach. Sam adored his rich Weiser Farm fingerling Potatoes with creme fraiche & chives while we finished with the Arroz Negro with quid and saffron aioli.
The place filled up quickly and got very noisy and then the a/c went up full blast and we began to freeze. It was hard to get someone to turn it down as I was worried I was going to get sick!
We ordered some yummy desserts to share: Butterscotch Pot au Creme with Creme fraiche came with Salted Cashew cookies and the yummy Beignets were served with Raspberry Jam and Vanilla Ice Cream.
A truly wonderful night to celebrate our anniversary and then take Sam back home to enjoy his new apartment as we head back east today.
