I checked out Taste on Melrose with friends Ayeshee and Tamara because they were particularly taken with the Dine LA Restaurant Week menu. Talk about your cosy. Not New York, rubbing-up-on-your-neighbor snug, but I was provided with ample opportunity to look at my neighbor’s dishes without craning my neck or busting out the telephoto lens.
As you can see, it was atmospherically dim. I’m not crazy about dim. It’s not romantic. It just gives me a headache. No moody candlelight for me, thank you.
To go with the cosy environs, the food was similarly comfortable: satisfying but moderate portions, inoffensive crowd-pleaser fare, prices a step beyond cheapo Olive Garden but still affordable for the neighborhood.
Appetizers:
Truffled mac & cheese - Mildly cheesy with a good crust, some meaty mushroom bits and that bit of extra oomph with the white truffle oil. It’s not the most mind-blowing truffled mac I’ve had, but it was a solid starter. And yes, this was one of the reasons why we wanted to try the restaurant because we’re easy like that.
Pear & persimmon salad – Good for my greens and texture craving. Luckily, the honey jalapeno vinaigrette wasn’t too sweet, but neither was the jalapeno very apparent.
Shrimp cocktail - Of the starters, this made the least impression. It was only set apart from the standard shrimp cocktail with its special chipotle cocktail sauce, which added a subtle smokiness.
Entrees: Tamara & Ayeshee’s
Pan roasted salmon - Ah, reliable salmon, you did not disappoint, and the ginger jelly and fruit-infused ova-looking Israeli cous cous brightened the flavors considerably.
Chicken cannelloni - What’s to say? The broccolini and cherry tomatoes added much-needed color to what was a very beige dish. I get the feeling that when in doubt at Taste, throw some light-colored cheese (white cheddar, parm-reg) in it. Not that I’m complaining.
I was definitely in the mood for uncomplicated, straightforward and filling food, and dammit, I hadn’t had pasta in, um … wait a second. Shoot I have no idea. I used to be a pasta fiend. When the football players at my high school got out of their last class early for carbo-loading privileges before a big game (I shit you not! This was Texas after all.) I was wondering why they needed that special dispensation. I was eating noodles and rice on the regular without a championship on the line.
Kobe beef meatballs – Anyway, I appreciated the al dente linguine and hefty meatballs. Not a fan of raisins, but the golden raisins, pine nuts and caramelized onions all blended together well enough for me not to hate on the raisin texture. And yes, more cheese! Seriously, I got nothing against white truffle cheese fondue sauce, but let’s vary it up, okay? All these rather disparate thoughts flitted through my head for about 2 minutes, about the time it took for me to Hoover that entree down. It was tasty and dare I say, yummers.
Dessert: Ubiquitous mint garnish alert!
Chocolate brioche bread pudding - Don’t love bread puddings normally because they’re soggy, but the brioche made it firmer, like a hearty cake. Not bad at all.
Chocolate gelato – Good, but did we need two of the same?
Port poached pear tarte – Delicate, with sweet creme fraiche. A dessert with restraint.
Taste on Melrose is a safe, Americanized choice for anyone who needs to compromise on lunch with co-workers or for less adventurous out-of-towners. It’s fresh, well-prepared food that doesn’t necessarily excite your tastebuds, but you won’t leave unsatisfied.
Taste on Melrose
8454 Melrose Ave
West Hollywood, CA 90069
323.852.6888
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I can’t believe the footballers at your high school were allowed to leave school early to carbo load! What about the cross country team?
Nope, and not soccer either (I was on the team). Total inequity! We should have risen up in protest, but we didn’t have enough energy due to dearth of carbs.