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RESTAURANT: Jar



Jar,
originally uploaded by ktglick.















Now that we have a bed, and I can be sore only from aerobicizing and not from our awful mattress, the next thing we need is sheets. Our new bed is bigger than the old bed, and should be here Monday (maybe) so we really need sheets, just in case it comes, so we can set it up ASAP and commence with our comfortable sleeping.

The only way to entice me to go shopping for sheets is with cocktails. And of course, there was walking and these days I am all about any form of exercise that is also useful. So we walked over towards the Linen Outlet, and then realized that it would actually be better to go to Jar first, since after a few cocktails, shopping would be more fun. Also, we wouldn't have to lug all of our shopping bags into the restaurant.

So we went in and sat at the bar. I love going to Jar because it has a very warm, cozy feeling to it. The decor is early '60s style, which is my favorite era for fashion and decor, besides the 1920s. Jar is mainly a steakhouse, but it's not your classic steakhouse. There are a lot of very gourmet dishes made with seasonal veggies and unusual ingredients.

We started with a lychee cocktail for the gentleman and a mint julep for me. Whenever it's summer, and hot, and I see a mint julep on the menu, I feel like I have to get it. It's such an archetypal hot day drink. We snacked on homemade potato chips with horseradish sauce and a bowl of mixed nuts as we perused the menu. Just as we had about decided on some snacks, the bartender started rattling off a whole bunch of delicious sounding specials (fried squash blossoms stuffed with lobster, anyone?). This threw us into confusion, and we just had to order the sauteed white asparagus in a cheese fondue sauce to eat while we rearranged our decisions. It was so good ... the asparagus was very tender and the cheese was all hot and melty and cheesy, but not too strong-a fairly mellow cheddar. We scraped every last lick of cheese off the plate.

By this time we had decided: a Hendrick's martini for the gentleman and a skirt steak with peppercorn sauce. For me, the wild arugula salad with peaches, marcona almonds and parmigiano reggiano. And to drink ... well, I had been eying the sommelier, a skinny, impeccably dressed dude as he skillfully made recommendations left and right. I LOVE sommeliers. They're like rock stars to me. They dress nice and know so much about wine and are polite, and I love them. So eying the sommelier, and getting an eyeful of their wine selection, which you can see back by the kitchen, I decided I needed some wine. My eye immediately lit on a Meritage. Then it lit on the price. $21 for the glass, the most expensive wine on the menu. I swear I have a gift, because I do this every time. The wine I am vibing off of always turns out to be the priciest.

So I went with the Riesling instead, to go with the peaches in the salad. It was very nice, a mellow, dry Riesling that wasn't too sweet. It did go well with the salad, which was lovely. Very light, with the peaches sliced in rounds and hiding out just underneath the arugula and the cheese in little flat chunks. It did seem that all of the pepper got in one place though, because I felt like I got all of the pepper on one piece of cheese.

The skirt steak was very good ... very tender for a skirt steak, and the sauce came on the side so you could tailor the amount to your taste. There was also some kind of fried onion that came with it, but I wasn't feeling the fried foods that night, so I can't tell you how it was, except that I am sure it was good.

After two drinks and some snacks, we were ready to buy sheets, and buy sheets we did. 600 thread count, baby. Soft as a baby's bum and ready to cover our high-tech memory foam mattress that will cradle us in gentle comfort all night long. I can't wait! I may never leave the bed again.

Jar
8225 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 655-6566

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