dineLA dinner at Josie Restaurant

Last week was quite the busy week for me. I met with a friend I hadn’t seen in a while at Josie in Santa Monica for a dineLA dinner. It’s been on my list forever.  I started off with a classic cocktail, The Martinez (gin, Carpano Antica, Luxardo Maraschino, twist of lemon). It was very, very good and probably worth the $15 I shelled out for it.

Next we were given a cheese quiche as an amuse bouche. I was still feeling full from lunch so I ate a couple of bites of this rich dish.

I opted for the cauliflower soup with braised short ribs. I was torn between that and a salad. I was starting to feel the effects of multiple dineLA meals in a day but of course I went with the soup because it’s more interesting. It was an ideal starter, light and hearty at the same time with the addition of the short ribs. My dining companion had the oxtail ragu which she found a bit salty and thought the polenta was on the thin side.

I didn’t really get a good shot of the Brittany salt-crusted Jidori chicken. The round thing in front is the savory sausage bread pudding. I had a bite of the chicken and it’s fine. Probably not as juicy as other roast chicken dishes I’ve had before. I thought the Brussels sprouts that came with it tasted boiled and watery.

The Campfire trout on the other hand was great. I loved that they deboned the fish and I didn’t really have to mess around with it other than to take off the skin.

The other entree choice would be the short ribs but since I had short ribs with my soup, I thought it’d be an overkill.

I told my friend I didn’t care what we got for dessert and she ultimately picked the apple strudel and chocolate bread pudding. She really wanted to try the white chocolate puff too but I’m glad she got the apple strudel because it turned out to be my favorite dessert of the week. The light pastry had the perfect amount of butter and sugar to balance the “healthy” apples. And the warm chocolate bread pudding was delectable as well.

It’s just too bad I didn’t care for the service at Josie. I left the restaurant feeling like I was a second class citizen. Our server didn’t even look at us when he dropped off the check and rarely checked on us. I realize restaurants have a love/hate relationship with dineLA customers. We are not your regular guests but we can be. Treat us well if not better because you don’t know if you’re going to retain our patronage.

I eyed Josie Next Door and felt a bit sad I didn’t get to have as much fun as the people dining there. They were happy and it was an entirely different atmosphere than Josie. The average age of the guests were probably a good 20 years older than my friend and I. The food is good but not good enough for me to return. I can get great cocktails for $15 or less somewhere else. Maybe even Next Door.

Josie Restaurant

2424 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405 – (310) 581-9888