ENTERTAINMENT On the Menu

from LC 07 2022

REAL ESTATE SALES

The boutique Short Stories Hotel on Fairfax Avenue is a welcome replacement for the old Farmer’s Daughter motel. Here soothing colors abound inside, and a lovely, mostly outdoor restaurant with wicker chairs and banquettes, marble-topped tables, blackand-white tiled floors, a cozy fireplace and several mature trees exudes a serene veranda feel.

For Short Stories Restaurant within the hotel, the operators recruited Chef Ricardo Zarate, known for his Peruvian tastes with Japanese style, to conceptualize the menu. Currently, Executive Chef Jorge Serrano, with Spanish and Mexican roots, is tweaking the offerings, concentrating on seasonality and whatever is fresh at the Original Farmers Market across and sesame oil. A sunny-sideup egg finished the $32 plate.

We tried two mains. Szechuan red snapper, $38, was prepared with ingredients which should have provided a flavor explosion of caramelized ginger, cilantro, mint, Szechuan spiced oil and mirin-soy sauce but it didn’t work. The fish was perfectly cooked, but the taste was feh, not fab.

On the other hand, the $45 boneless, grilled half-chicken with coriander green rice and huancaína sauce, a spicy Peruvian cheese sauce, was superb.

Short Stories Restaurant at Short Stories Hotel, 115 S. Fairfax Ave., 323-937-3930.

Across from the Short Stories Hotel, two newcomers to the Grove and the Original Farmers Market are delicious additions to the perpetually busy dual shopping venue.

Pasta Corner is an inconspicuous stand near the Gumbo Pot. Don’t let their simple counter and tiny kitchen fool you. The pasta here is wonderful. Perfectly al dente and generously sauced, the house-made noodles satisfy. Tagliatelle is piled with a mountain of fragrant shaved black truffles for $29. Spaghetti cacio e pepe, $17, is creamy with the right amount of pepperiness. I don’t care that they cheated with crème fraiche — if it’s good, it’s good. They have 18 pastas, a handful of starters, good bread and tiramisu.

Pasta Corner, Original Farmers Market, 6333 W. Third St., Suite 500, 323-7874444.

Alma Cocina de Mexico (Mexican soul kitchen) at The Grove has an outdoor downstairs taquería, indoor/ outdoor cocktail bar and upstairs Mexican fine dining. Replacing 189 by Dominique Ansel (followed by Curtis Stone’s Picnic Society) near the dancing fountains, the taquería was hopping. A lively bar with flavorful tequila- and mezcal-based cocktails, excellent chips and salsa and an array of tasty tacos is just what The Grove needed. Three house-made soft tacos topped with pork al pastor (carved from a spit), $18, were a perfect nibble with my pineapple Margarita. The mainly taco menu is fun. There’s patio seating and a market section with tortillas and other Mexican delicacies to take home.

Alma Cocina de Mexico, The Grove, 189 The Grove Dr., Suite H-10, 323-879-9596.

RESTAURANT & COCKTAILS

Lunch & Dinner Every Day of theYear

Restaurant Hours: Mon.- urs. noon to midnight Fri.-Sat.-Sun. noon to 1:00 a.m. Bar open till 1:00 a.m. Mon.- urs. ~ 1:30 a.m. Fri. & Sat.

3357Wilshire Blvd. • 213-385-7275 • thehmsbounty.com

©LC 0821 the street.

My husband and I sat near the fireplace and had a view of the well-appointed bar in the pale terra-cotta indoor portion of the eatery. We relaxed with a “Farmers Father,” a $19 tequila, mango, kale and lime cocktail — excellent — and an equally good $21 “Oaxaca California Love” with mezcal, tequila, lime and pineapple juices and spicy pineapple-infused gomme, a thick form of simple syrup.

The dishes were equally complex. We had $18 pressed hard-shelled blue corn tacos, two per order, with blue prawns, yuzu marinade, cabbage cilantro slaw and chipotle aioli — quite spicy but bursting with flavor. I’ll probably have this every time I visit.

Four grilled artichoke hearts, $17, were nestled in cumin labneh (thickened yogurt), popped quinoa and micro cilantro. This $17 appetizer blended smoke, brine, crunch and creaminess in each bite.

Tender octopus tentacles were sliced and tossed with charred cherry tomatoes and confit baby potatoes — fluffy inside and crispy out. The colorful and savory $28 dish was artfully arranged on a long white platter with spicy aioli.

A typical Peruvian dish, lomo saltado, was expertly handled. Tender chunks of steak were sauteed, served with potatoes and cilantro and glazed with soy sauce