I've enjoyed some very special dinners lately, but it was an unpretentious lunch at Americana Grill that I’m most excited to tell you about. But first, a little background. It was several years ago when, a restaurant in the back of a dive bar in the Excelsior, a part of the city so far off the beaten track that you have to get on the freeway to get there. The kitchen was run by James Moisey and Shane LaValley. Their food seemed like pub grub on the surface but it was so much more than that. There were burgers, sandwiches, salads and some Southern things like crawfish and grits, buttery biscuits and mac and cheese. They also served a walnut pie that I miss to this day. The food was inexpensive and sometimes a little over the top, like a burger with bacon ground into the mix, but always good.
So I was excited to learn that James Moisey was cooking again, this time at Americana Grill. Frankly I never heard of the place and it’s so non-descript it is easy to miss, but it’s in a stretch of Balboa that is becoming a culinary destination with outstanding places like Marla Bakery and Restaurant up the block and Cassava across the street. When I stopped in I asked the chef what I should order, and he sheepishly said, "everything" because it was all his menu and all good, and you know what? He was right. Our party of four ordered half orders of a number of dishes just so we could try more things and there was nothing I wouldn't order again. Please keep that in mind when looking at some of the photos.
留言列表
