1.25.2008

The Hungry Cat (Hollywood)

The Hungry Cat
1535 Vine Street, Los Angeles
323-462-2155

We were driving up and down Vine Street, looking for an address, storefront sign of the restaurant, or at least any restaurant. We finally saw a courtyard and decided to venture in and found the restaurant tucked away behind nicely-trimmed bushes.

We were greeted by a friendly hostess and were able to be seated at the bar after 10 minutes of waiting. The setting very casual, relaxed, and fun. Our server (and bartender) prepared a refreshing organic tangerine margarita, freshly squeezed and crushed right into my glass (rinds and everything). Her final touch was a garnish of a slice of lime on a skewer.

I started with some raw oysters, both from the east and west coast. I topped each oyster with vinegar and red onion dipping sauce. I enjoyed the east coast oysters more because it was sweeter and had a more delicate taste.

This is my seafood stew with scallops, squid, mussels, clams, and fish, with black kale in white wine sauce and garlic toast with aioli sauce. The squid was amazing. I never had squid cooked to perfection. It was soft, yet not too chewy. I just wanted to lick every morsel off my bowl!

Tony order the Pug Burger with blue cheese, avocado, nueskes (applewood smoked bacon) on brioche bun.
The patrons were really friendly and loved to chat. Tony overheard a woman talking about how her favorite food is uni and he mentioned to here that there was fresh uni and she absolutely adored him and thanked him from the bottom of her heart. Next time, I will try this $16 fresh uni, which is served right out of the sea urchin shell.

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