Once in awhile, I'll loosen up my purse strings, particularly for special occasions. In this case, it was my friend's birthday whom I've known since we were wee little sophomores in high school. She chose Lucque's as her birthday dinner destination and off we went!
My SO and I arrived early and were invited to sit in the waiting area in front of a cozy fireplace on plush black chairs. After waiting a little bit and persuing the menu, other guests of the birthday girl started trickling in and we were brought to the table in the patio dining area.
^ cheers!
It was a very romantic setting with the combination of trees, white table clothes, wired garden chairs, and vines along the walls.
As were given more time to look over the menu, complimentary appetizers were brought to the table. Rustic bread (not pictured) and a plate of almonds/olives in oil as well as sea salt and butter.
^ I call this combination "crack"
Seriously, this was crack. After buttering up the bread, and putting just a little bit of the sea salt on it, it was wonderful. That with the taste of crunchy roasted almonds, and the slight saltiness of the olives, ...wow! I never thought myself to be such an olive fan, but this was addicting.
Trying to not fill myself on the appetizer was hard, and thankfully it did not take very long for the entrees to arrive.
I ordered the Grilled Duck Breast with ricotta gnocchi, squash blossoms, pistachios and roasted figs ($30)
^ Mmm..duck.
I've never ordered duck anywhere else besides a chinese restaurant, so my palate was limited to either roasted duck hanging off the hooks from Sam Woo or Peking Duck from the fanciful restaurants or wedding banquets.
But this, this Grilled Duck Breast from Lucque's, made me very happy.
Slices were thick, tender, and very flavorful with just slightly crisp skin. There was no oily aftertaste. I adored the roasted figs as it lent a slightly sweet taste to offset the otherwise savory meaty dish. The squash blossomes reminded me a little bit of spinach, and the ricotta gnocchi was the added carb that I could've done without.
Random fact: Did you know in chinese, pistachios are literally translated into "happy nut?" They're called that because of the "grin" they have on their "face." I love pistachios :)
My SO ordered the Eggplant and Tomato Lasagna with fresh mozzarella and basil ($24)
^ Mmm... meat..less
My SO is usually a very picky eater and he couldn't find anything on the menu that called out to him so he picked what he assumed was the least complicated sounding dish.
I asked him how it was when he was eating it, and his comment was "it's very soupy." Curious, I took a bite, and it was indeed very soupy, unlike most lasagnas we're used to. However, once he discovered that there was extra rustic bread, he started dipping into it like a happy camper.
The winner of the night however, and what most people in the group ordered was the Country Style Pork Chop with romesco, chickpeas, long-cooked beans and cherry tomatoes.
^ More meat!
My neighbor also ordered this, and we traded bites and wow, this is an excellent dish. SUPER tender, and had the taste of beef instead of pork. A very hefty portion surprisingly at a restaurant where you expect nothing to surpass the size of a fist. The cherry tomatoes were bursting with sweet juice, and the long cooked beans were still pleasingly crispy.
The miss of the night for me was the dessert that someone ordered in addition to the cake we had brought, and it was the Dark Chocolate Donuts with Pistachio Ice Cream. The donuts were very bitter even though I love dark chocolate and prefer the 75% cocoa. The pistachio ice cream was great, but not enough to save the donut.
By the way, if you have a birthday dinner here, don't bring in a birthday cake as they will charge you an arm and a leg for plating fees as we found out later when the check arrived.
All in all, a wonderful dining experience at Lucques and I would come again so that I can have a porkchop dinner all to myself!
Lucque's
8474 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles CA 90069
(323) 655-6277
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