Despite the negative reviews, the Foundry was the last pricey Dine LA restaurant on my list. I wanted to try this restaurant last year--always finish my food goals. My two friends joined me on my mission. I heard that the Cripsy Salmon was awful, so I figured it made sense for 2 of us to order from the Dine LA menus and 1 off of the regular/lounge menus. We ate...
AMUSE BOUCHE :
Some kind of pastry with w/cheese
Lukewarm...would be better if it was served hot.
BREAD (gratis): They gave us (2) different breads.
APPETIZERS:
Salad of Roast Beets & Mache: I noticed that they had a beet salad--DING! We're getting that! It's impossible to mess up a Beet Salad. My 2nd fav. dish.
The Foundry Tots ooked like donut holes, which came with 2 dipping sauces - cheese fondue & violet mustard. The cheese fondue was the winning the sauce. It was very fluffy inside.
The Spicy Albacore Tartare was most disappointing-too fishy & mushy for me.
Crispy Pork Belly was the grossest.
I spitted it across the room, ok not really, but it exited out of mouth as fast as it entered. I didn't realize that Pork Belly was basically fat. You need a chainsaw to cut through the meat.
ENTREES:
Grilled Cheese w/Short Ribs: I can't believe this won the 2008 Grilled Cheese award?! WOW was it SALTY! My friend was funny & thought it was the cheese that made the sandwich salty, so she removed it, but soon realized that the short ribs are ruining the sandwich. Granted it supposedly had apricot-caper puree, but they should use a sweeter fruit to balance the saltiness -maybe green apples-oh, Asian pears would add a nice touch, no, with caramelized Asian pears!
Hangar Steak - Crispy Fingerlings, Mushrooms, Anchovy Butter: The steak was not memorable. The mushrooms were funky -maybe a little too "earthy?" The potato fingers were standard.
Chorizo Crusted Jidori Chicken: If for some reason you have the urge to try the Foundry for Dine LA week (month), get the Chicken. Don't go for the steak or the fish. Normally I would avoid ordering chicken because it's such a standard, boring item, but oddly Jidori Chicken was the winning dish. The chicken was juicy & it came with some "plantains" that tasted like stuffing; I love stuffing.
DESSERTS:
Spiced Doughnuts - Pineapple Saffron Sauce, Chocolate Hazelnut Sauce:We were almost going to go with 2 desserts, but thank goodness I decided to order the Spiced Doughnuts because the other 2 sucked.
Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding - Rum Raisin Ice Cream (I don't know which photo is best... both bad)
Ok, I'm not an expert on bread pudding, but it tasted like a cinnamon roll. I am told that good bread pudding is supposed to melt in my mouth. I needed to chew several times...had a weird after taste too... Meh.
Chocolate Coffee Banana Tart: The flavors did not gel. Meh.
COFFEE: The chef is starting his new coffee called, "Cafe Bravo," not to be confuse with the amazing kabob place. The coffee is strong and not bad, but I still prefer Intelligentsia Coffee.
It's too bad the food didn't match up to the stellar service. The hostess was nice. Our waiter was great, & I thought it was really cool how the chef introduced every entrance to each table -talk about outstanding hospitality! Even though the people are great, I am a foodie & this is not a cheap hobby, so if I'm dropping more than $50 on my meal (excluding drink) for subpar food, I will be sad.
I can check this place off my list!
Address: 7465 Melrose Ave Los Angeles, CA 90046
Phone#: (323) 651-0915
Rating: 3 out of 5
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