DineLA - JiRaffe

TLDR: My DineLA experience just keeps getting better. JiRaffe had the greatest food, with the perfect portions. My server was great and friendly. For $45, this is definite must. Definitely worth every penny. (Now I want to try there for lunch...) See full res pictures here.

JiRaffe is on the corner of Santa Monica and 5th street. After I picked up Christina from one of the MANY libraries in Santa Monica, we drove to JiRaffe and easily found some street parking about a block away. Luckily for us, Santa Monica's paid street parking ends at 6PM, so we were able to pay for 1 hour and leave my car for ~2.5 hours.

As we were walking to the restaurant, we noticed that was barely anyone there. I think we only saw two people in there. I was kind of nervous that JiRaffe was not as popular and great as Yelp made it out to be. It was 5:20 ish, which I understand may have been early for dinner.

The lights in the restaurant were pretty dim, and I had imagined it would have been different because of all the terrible pictures on Yelp. When I told the host my last name, we got offered to sit on the second floor, and we no doubt took it. We walked up the stairs and we were the only ones there, so it felt kinda weird. I read so much about the restaurant, and I thought it was more popular.

Anyways, we got our seats right next to the opened area, so we were able to creep on everyone on the first floor. The server came to us and asked if we wanted to try their special drinks. He tried to explained what it was, but I don't think Christina or I understood what he said. We instead just ordered off the DineLA menu, with Christina getting the Pan Roasted stuffed Vermont Quail (Country Rye croutons, Chicken liver mousse, dried cranberries, Reggiano cheese, baby leek risotto, pinot noir sauce.), and I went for the Grilled Paillard of Pacific Line Caught Swordfish (Marinated Mediterranean shellfish salad, red wine oregano vinaigrette, torn Ciabatta).

After the server took our order, we were presented with some mushroom soup shots (the first picture!), and some bread (the 2nd). The two meals I had today both had some kind of "shots" to drink before our appetizers. This one was definitely more fancy than the chicken soup shot that I had for lunch. Christina and I gave a little cheers and drank it (slowly, of course.. it was hot!). The taste was interesting, and I don't think I've ever had it before. The bread was a mix of 3: raisin, white, and something else. I would say wheat, but it had a different taste.

Not too long after, we got served our appetizers. Christina's quail came in a relatively small bowl, and my swordfish came on an interesting plate. We immediately pulled out our cameras and started to take pictures of our two dishes. The portions were pretty big, especially mine. The fish was a pretty big slice, and it was topped with a whole bunch of seafood, including scallops, shrimp, and squid. There was so much food that I had no idea where to start. I ended up finishing it and was delicious. For Christina's plate, I got to try some of the risotto (which is my favorite food of all time) and some of the quail, and I thought the dish was really good as well. Starting off great so far...

Next was, of course, the entrees. Christina went with her favorite Italian food, ravioli. The name of the dish was Farmer's Market Eggplant Caponata and Goat Cheese Ravioli (Roasted baby squash, dried olives, basil, marinara sauce, Parmigiano-Reggiano). I got the classic Angus Filet of Beef (Point Reyes blue cheese, potato & pear gratin with a cinnamon nutmeg butter, sauteed baby spinach, crispy pancetta, red flame grapes, madeira beef jus). My dish came with two small filets and a small side of mashed potatoes. I was so excited to eat because I don't think I've had a filet mignon in a few months.

I sliced the beef and ate it. I could remember I smiled and just loved the madeira wine sauce. I was in heaven. I freaking love filet mignon. The side of potatoes were not bad, and there was a side of something called "potato and pear gratin," which was pretty interesting. It was like slices of potate and pear stacked on top of each other, topped off with some bleu cheese. I'm not the biggest fan of bleu cheese, but the potato/pear had a pretty interesting taste.

Anyways, I finished most of my plate, and it was time for dessert. I got the Caramelized Banana Cream Pie, and Christina got the Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Bomb. The funniest moment of the night was when she ate her first bite of the mousse bomb, and she closed her eyes and it looked like she was in heaven. "Sooooooo good." I laughed so hard, but I have to agree that it was pretty damn bomb. My banana cream pie was pretty delicious as well, especially with the caramelized bananas on the top. Oh man, these sweets were really really good.

By the time we left at around 7:15, every table in the restaurant was filled. I guess it was as popular as I thought originally thought. From what I had just experienced, I understand why.