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| Connie and Teds |
What is going on in Los Angeles it has become the hot restaurant scene nationally. It seems I am up here every week and each time I get to try something new,
James Beard and
Zagat are wearing me out. This week we went to
Connie and Ted's in West Hollywood which is high quality Fish diner. We were there on their first anniversary and were greeted at our table with a celebratory cocktail, very nice.
Connie and Ted's is the creation of
Michael Cimarusti, Craig Nickoloff and Donato Poto. the team was hand picked from Chef Cimarusti's Providence restaurant which included Executive
Chef Sam Baxter. Connie and Ted's is not only a 2014 James Beard semifinalist but is one of Zagat's LA hot restaurants.
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| Open Kitchen |
This restaurant is a modern Jetson like diner, the facade gives the building a great amount of presence. The kitchen is open to the restaurant adjoining a large bar to watch the game and lots of indoor and outdoor seating. We chose to sit outside because it was a nice evening.
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| Calamari hiding under Arugula |
The menu is simple fresh seafood and a few meat dishes. If you love shellfish you will love this restaurant there are clams, mussels, oysters, large shrimp and lobster. We started out with the grilled Calamari with a
San Marzano Tomato sauce and Arugula. Imagine very tender pieces of grilled Calamari bathing is a terrific Tomato Marinara sauce topped with fresh peppery Arugula. When you put that all together you get a dish that is healthy and tastes perfect.
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| Stew note the Cilantro Flowers |
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| Shellfish Marinara |
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| Herb Saturated Crostini |
I had the Portuguese Fish Stew and my friend had the Shellfish Marinara. The stew was a combination of Hake, Manila Clams,
Linguica and Mussels in a Tomato Sauce topped with Micro Cilantro and Cilantro flowers. (Look a the Picture closely) This stew was fresh, spicy and the fish was cooked perfectly and the taste with the Cilantro was memorable. My friend's Shellfish Marinara was a unique dish, the marinara was not red as you would expect it but almost like a broth with tomato's, fresh herbs, garlic and a little heat. Each dish came with these Lincoln Log crostini's that were smothered with herbs and provided a little heat of their own. When dipped in the sauce, flavor exploded in your mouth.
This meal was well done it was in a cool place and above all was priced for the average person. If you like Seafood you need to go here when you are in LA!!