Instead of holiday gifts, a few friends of mine decided we would go out for a nice meal. We started this tradition a few years ago and have gone to BLD, Bashan and this year I asked them if they would like to join me at Animal.

My friends are not foodies but they appreciate great food. We had a wonderful time and they thought this was the best meal we’ve had yet for our annual holiday meal.

We started with the chicken liver.

chicken liver toast

The chicken liver tasted as though it had been whipped so it was very creamy. You get one toast for $3 so I recommend at least two orders of this.

bbq pork belly sandwiches

From a previous visit, I fell in love with Animal’s pork belly. They didn’t have the whole slab of it this time around but I made my dining companions order the pork belly sandwiches. They were so decadent with the fat perfectly rendered. Absolutely delish and I regretted not having the two sliders to myself.

foie gras sausage biscuit

Also on a previous visit, I fell in love with how Animal does magic with foie gras and the foie gras suasage biscuit is a must. I was scrapping the sauce up with the biscuit. Waste not, want not!

veal breast

I split this with a friend and really enjoyed all the textures and flavors. Veal, I’ve found breaks into long “strings” of meat. I’m sure Alton Brown can explain why this is so but it makes it a bit difficult to split in half. After carving away at it, you’re left with a mess. A delicious mess though.

The prosciutto and polenta in this dish worked well with the veal.

foie gras loco moco

This is my favorite dish at Animal and yet I was torn whether or not to get it or the ribs. When I saw the next table had gotten the ribs, I was stunned how huge that rack of ribs was. It was hanging off the plate!

Still, you can’t go wrong with this rich and sumptious dish. Although, I could have sworn they gave you two slices of foie gras before. The loco moco’s patty was a little bit more cooked than I would have liked it but overall, it’s still an outstanding dish.

loco moco- sliced in half

carrot salad

A friend of mine ordered two appetizers as his meal. The carrot salad was actually really good. I liked all the carrot “peelings.” This is surprisingly since I normally detest carrots. I guess even Animal can get me to eat carrots.

gnocchi

These ricotta and goat cheese gnocchi were wonderful! As tender and soft as I’ve ever had from Osteria La Buca. Wow, I wish I had more than one!

Joe's Doughnuts

Before our  meal started, I told everyone I was going to get the doughnuts. Our friend wanted the bacon chocolate bar. It was a sweet way to end our fabulous meal.

bacon chocolate bar

I personally enjoyed the doughnuts more but the chewy bits of bacon in this chocolate bar were pretty good. I liked the bacon chocolate bar I had at the Orange County Fair over the summer more.

I made reservations about three weeks ahead and still didn’t get the time I wanted. When we came in, we still had to wait about 10-15 minutes as the table was being cleared. I highly recommend reservations as soon as you have a craving for foie gras. This medium-sized restaurant fills up fast!

The pressure is on now for something equally as stunning for next year’s holiday meal. Good thing I have a year to decide (by eating my way through LA!).