Beso

I had dinner last night at Beso, Eva Longoria-Parker's restaurant in Hollywood. The LA Times had kind of panned it but I was meeting a former co-worker who is a real foodie and so we decided to try it.

First off, we both felt woefully under dressed. This place is frequented by Party People. All the ladies were in cocktail dresses and heels and dressed to impress.

The atmosphere is very clubby. It's dark, and red, and there are rooms with curtains and upstairs rooms.

There are two kitchens. Anything grilled comes from the front open kitchen and everything else comes from the rear kitchen.

Our server was fantastic. She asked if we had been there before and would we like some suggestions. We took her suggestions for cocktails, starters, entrees, and dessert.

Our cocktail choice was the signature Blackberry Collins. I had heard people in the bar ordering it and it was good! Lots of fresh blackberries, vodka and lemons.

Food wise, we started with a grilled pear salad and a roasted beet salad. Both were really beautifully presented and really tasty. The vinaigrettes were light enough that all the flavours in the salads came out.

Then we had grilled flat bread, compliments of the chef.

For entrees, we had paella and skirt steak tacos with a side of grilled asparagus. The paella was really good and full of chicken, chorizo, shrimp, mussels, clams, fish, and lobster. All of the meat had been grilled beforehand. The rice was almost risotto-like, creamy and tasty. The skirt steak tacos were very simple. Just grilled skirt steak and aioli in a wrapper that seemed more like lavosh bread than a tortilla with a garnish of pico de gallo. The grilled asparagus was FABULOUS.

For dessert, we had the flan and tea. The flan isn't really flan; it's more mousse. But it was hazelnutty and delicious. The teas are served in infusion pots and the black tea had a french press device in its pot.

We spent a lovely four hours lingering and chatting and were never pressured to leave.

Beso is pricey (our check was over $100 before tax & tip) but worth it! If you are ever in Hollywood, you should check it out! Reservations suggested.