put a cork in it

Corkbar
403 W 12th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 746-0050
http://www.corkbar.com/

price: $$$
verdict: it's aight

as i sat across from my foodblogger friend and her handsome cross-eyed companion behind his dark shades of mystery, i couldn't help but think how eharmony-esque this all was. you chat with each other via your food blogs or what not and perhaps eventually, you end up meeting them for drinks or some crap ass snacks at the corkbar in downtown l.a. like we did :) if i was a yelp machine, i would give my foodie comrade and her wandering eyed companion 5 stars for being fun times, but if i focused solely on eating, i would give corkbar a swift kick in the butt! what a suprise disappointment especially after all the raving reviews i have read.

the corkbar is located on the corner of grand and 12th which might be a bustling epicenter of activity after work, or a great happy hour hangout during the weekday, but for a sunday early dinner, it felt as abandoned as roanoke colony in north carolina. as we sat there, i half expected a tumbleweed to roll down grand street and then a sweaty, mustachy sheriff to ride into town. alas, it was just us party of 4 chatting about food, death, and doggies.

i started with a glass of tempranillo wine. we then quickly dove into their mac and cheese which to me was smooth, rich, and creamy but lacked the crustiness that usually drives me batty when it comes to a good mac and cheese dish. instead, this dish looked like bubbling celluite doesn't it?

i ordered their preserved lemon and melon salad which overall tasted ok, though the strong salt bursts from the preserved lemon/kumquat rinds really threw my tastebuds in for a loop. the melons were ripe and sweet which probably would have been put to better use as a summer fruit salad than a salty one burdened by salty rinds...just sayin' though i ain't no cook.

my friend ordered a rib eye steak sandwich which was rather good. roasted peppers with juicy medium done meat.

everything we had there was "acceptable" but certainly did not knock my socks off. since there are way too many good eateries in l.a. to give this corkbar a 2nd try, i guess i'll keep my judgements quick and to the point. NO MAS.