There were 7 of us so we ordered about 6-7 starters. First came the lamb chops, beets, fresh garbanzo’s, sumac yogurt. The lamb was not gamey at all and was cooked medium rare and seasoned to perfection. The table liked it so much that we ordered a 2nd plate and even got 2 of our non lamb eaters to try a couple bites. I guess it’s all about the quality of the meat and how you prepared it. Hubs was one of the 2 non lamb eaters and he gobbled those bites down.

Beets, feta, sungold tomato, kalamata

arugula, corn, pecans, Japanese tomato, parmesan

Since we were taking friends here for the first time, we were kind of playing “hosts”, making sure that everyone was okay with the food and etc. Hubs and I were also preoccupied with taking pictures as well. So I really don’t remember the lighter dishes such as the 2 above. I guess you can say their meatier dishes stood out more.

Here is the grilled squid, chorizo, chimmi churri. Couldn’t taste the chorizo much but the squid was very fresh.

So here is the groups favorite starter of the night, pig ear, chili, lime, fried egg. So much that we ordered another one within seconds of devouring it. The first bite really surprised me as it was such a tangy surprise. Sour and spicy and chewy and crunchy all up in my mouth. This is a MUST ORDER!

After reading all the reviews about this one, I ordered the poutine, oxtail gravy, cheddar for the beef eaters in the group. One beef eater was rendered speechless after the first bite. He was surprised how light the dish was despite the gravy over fries.

We doubled up on the pork belly, kimchi, peanuts, chili soy, scallion since Hubs and I really enjoyed it in our previous visit. Again, this dish did not disappoint.

Finally we are onto the main course. We decided on 4 of the 5 dishes offered that day.

Halibut, king crab, gold rice succotash, tabasco butter. I really liked this dish as there were so many textures. However, among the 7 of us, we all only got a bite of this. I plan to return very soon to have this all for myself.

grilled shrimp, fresh black eye’s, bacon, curry, creme fraiche.

We ordered the flat iron, artichoke hash, truffle parmesan fondue for the cow lovers and boy they were more in love with the bovine after they took the first bite. They were about to fall off their chairs. The steak was prepared medium well upon the server’s suggestion.

When the balsamic pork ribs came, the table and ooh’ed and ahh’ed . She was a beauty. The meat was succulent and slid right off the bone. Even the bone was succulent, it was cooked so thoroughly that I could bite into the bone. How do they do that anyways?

The ribs came with a side of blistered corn & zucchini, herb butter

Then it’s time for DESSERT! Of course we had to order ALL 5.

tres leches, dulce de leche. This was Hubs favorite. Again, it was not heavy but full of flavor at the same time.

panna cotta, saba

pound cake, strawberries, cream the famous chocolate crunch bar

Strawberry shortcake

Last but not least the apricot tart, pistachio creme fraiche.

I truly madly deeply love this restaurant. They are never afraid to slap you upside the head with flavor and substance but at the same time keeping the texture light. It’s comfort food on steroids, graduating from a liberal arts college. Okay, doesn’t make sense but all in all, the dinner was beyond expectation and had service to match.

We went on an extremely busy night and our table was not yet ready at reservation time because the party before us lingered a bit longer than expected. The hostess Madeline checked in with us often to give us updated news on our seating situation. She offered to take our drink orders first and gave us menus to peruse. Madeline also gave us the bigger table so we can be more comfortable. These are little gestures but make a dramatic impact on hungry diners waiting to be seated. I also noticed how everyone working at the restaurant pitches in to help. If there was a glass that needs to refilled or a table that needs to cleaned up, runners, servers, hostesses jumped right in and took care of it. I don’t care how great the food is or how many Michelin stars it earned or what culinary school the chef graduated from, if a restaurant does not have good service, it might as well be a Denny’s.

14 thumbs ups to Animal for incredible food and stellar service. I will definitely be back soon.

**Thanks for Hubs for helping out with the photography.**

The restaurant is literally doors down from Canter’s in Hollywood. There is no sign outside the restaurant though. We were greeted by the lovely hostess (I think she’s the one that got some Nanciful lovin’ over the phone earlier.) The restaurant only seats around 40 with a small bar in the back. They serve the full menu at the bar as well. I love the lofty feeling of the space and eclectic choice of music from 70′s/80′s/90′s

Our very nice waiter handed us our menus on parchment type paper. The menu changes daily and everything is bought local. They have a extensive list of starters. Hubs and I made a pact to have a dinner of appetizers on our next visit. We end up choosing the pork belly with kimchi, peanuts, chili soy and scallions and the melted petit basque with chorizo and garlic bread.

I’ve had pork belly from various higher end restaurants and Animal has THE best pork belly hands down. The dish was a good crossover between American pork belly and Asian flavoring with the kimchi and scallions.

The melted basque was a good glop of gooey goodness. The garlic bread is made how garlic bread should be made.with chunks of garlic embedded in the bread.

Next are the entrees. Hubs ordered the pork chops and I order the Mexican shrimp.

After a bite of the pork chop, Hubs gasped and claimed: “THIS IS PORK??!”

“Of course this is pork! You ordered pork chops!”

Hubs takes another bite. “IS THIS BEEF?!”

“Let me try! MMM..let me try one more bite to make sure.”

After much discussion, we came to the conclusion that the chefs at the Animal Restaurant are geniuses! And yes it IS pork. Hubs continues to be incredulous at the juicy texture of his entree and proclaims that these are the BEST pork chops ever.

grilled pork chop, farro, apple, cipollini, grainy mustard

Does that look like pork to you?

I’m a seafood fiend. So I had to order the Mexican shrimp with beans. It was a generous dish with a very zangy broth.

By this time, Hubs and I were STUFFED but glowing and happy. We were full. However, we will fight on and do what we came here for originally, the bacon chocolate crunch bar. I had to take a shot with flash since I wanted the bacon to show up in the picture. Isn’t she a beauty? The chocolate bar even looks like a slab of bacon. Love it! I usually do not order anything chocolate as my dessert because chocolate can get too sweet. But the salty bacon counterbalanced the sweetness of the chocolate filing. I wish Animal Restaurant would package it like Snickers.

Hubs chose Joe’s Caramel Donuts. Look, you get 4 donuts! They were lightly coated with caramel sauce and the texture was amazing. Slightly crunchy outside and semi spongy, semi banana bread texture inside.

There are always hits and misses with trying a new restaurant. However, everything at the Animal was a HIT. The bill only came out to $140 including 2 glasses of wine, tax and tip. It is a steal for the quality and quantity of food and service you get.

Next time we plan to come with a big group so we can try more starters. Animal has officially made it to my top five.