bitter marmalade

Marmalade Cafe
6333 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 954-0088
http://marmaladecafe.com/

price: $$
verdict: not worth my time

went here recently with friends to try their "early show" menu. this is a three course menu offered monday through friday from 4-6pm for $12.95. that totally sounded like a deal, but alas, it's not a deal when the food sucks.

the menu:
first course choices- soup, field green salad, ceasar salad.
second course choices- chicken picatta, filet of salmon, brisket of beef.
third course choices- tiramisu or bread pudding

i started off with the ceasar salad. it was alright. then i had the chicken picatta for my second course. with this dish, you get to choose either rice pilaf or mash potatoes for the side. i chose their rice pilaf. when the rice came out, it looked like regular steamed rice to me, but drawing upon all of my food network watching knowledge, i think rice pilaf is usually cooked in broth with other ingredients thrown in. i asked my server about that and she offered me the mash potatoes instead. the chicken was bland and so were the mashies which didn't come with gravey....the only thing flavorful on that dish was the mushroom sauce. for my third course pick, i went with the tiramisu. YUMMY! for those that chose the bread pudding instead, they sure were envious of our tiramisu because their bread pudding was apparently too dry and too heavy.

my other companions that ordered the salmon filet did not like their dish either. the salmon was overcooked and one of my friends thought the sauce was overly sweet. and for the bread pudding eaters, they took a bite and left the bread pudding in its plate.

at about 6 or so, i felt a bit rushed because they started prepping up dinner for the "real diners." you know, the non $12.95 paying patrons. in any case, perhaps the items on their regular menu would have been tastier, but given that it's right at the grove and there's tons of really great eateries around there, i'm not interested in going back for a second shot. this "early show" menu was not a deal.