gardens on glendon

considering that i've lived right in westwood for the past 5 years, i'm surprised that i still haven't tried every single restaurant within a 5-block radius. but maybe i'm putting too much pressure on myself. there ARE a lot of them.

so for a restaurant that supposedly hosts movie stars on a regular basis, i would've expected gardens to have a much savvier website. as of now, the online menus are nothing more than PDF scans of the actual menus, which produce yucky, grainy quality images. (sooooooo not appealing.) but perhaps they cater to an older clientele that doesn't necessarily care too much about how a website comes off. that's my best guess b/c gardens is apparently owned by the same folks as kate mantilini (which i've also been to and seems to cater to an older set of famous people). in any case, the website is certainly not easy on the eyes. but setting that aside, the food options still looked quite yummy.

at lina's suggestion, i made a reservation for what she, ali, and i've decided to call a "lunner" -- a mid-way meal b/w lunch and dinner. while 2pm isn't necessarily an ideal meal time, i must say that it's great for getting 1000 points on opentable.com. plus i was tied up for a bazillion hours figuring out ACE CEC's and federal/CA taxes, so the timing ended up being just right.

so the service was nothing to rave about, particularly when it took forever for the waitress to remember the lemon for our water. however, the atmosphere was perfect for our ladies lunner. in particular, there's a big space in the middle of the main room where light comes flooding in from the skylight overhead. it's really quite lovely. (apparently there are side rooms that are more intimate, but probably more dark and claustrophobic, what with all the ivy covering the windows on the outside.)

food-wise, i was very pleased. at lina's suggestion (she having been the only one of us who'd ever been to gardens), we ordered and shared the fresh guacamole. the kind that the waiter makes right at your table. considering we asked for medium, it definitely wasn't spicy enough (now that i think about it), though it was quite delicious nonetheless. moreover, the last time i'd seen guacamole made fresh was at rosa mexicano in new york (more than 5 years ago!) so it was definitely time for another performance.

for my entree, i ordered the grilled trout, which came with a mini-crab cake and some sauteed veggies. perfect portioning, yummy flavors. (i really wish i could say something more elaborate, but i think it's tough when you eat out w/good friends. you're always too distracted by the fun conversation to really notice the food.) while trout has been (and always will be) my favorite fish, i don't think i've had it grilled in quite some time. and i must say that gardens did a pretty good job with it. the crab cake was a nice portion, but the best part was that it was mostly crab! as opposed to those yucky crab cakes which are 50% bread. gross. and CHEAP. yuck. kudos to the gardens for the crabby crab cakes. mmm....

since all 3 of us are in love w/sweets, we splurged and ordered dessert to share -- chocolate pecan pie. OMG. we're big sweets people, and unless they tell me otherwise, i thought dessert was fabulous. i'm a fan of the chocolate-nut combination. plus ali wanted the pie a la mode, so the blend of cold ice cream with the warmer pie in each bite (that's the only way to do it) was simply delicious. mmm....

the one bad thing i have to say is that some of the other patrons must think they're all that and a bag of chips, b/c they need some serious lessons on restaurant-going etiquette. for example, shut off your damn phone! (or at least turn down the ringer.) i mean, it's not like we were at some crazy happy hour where you couldn't hear yourself think. (and even then, vibrate would still be your best option.) i swear the customers on both sides of us had their cell phones on EXTREME high. and then one of them started barking into the phone at someone who was obviously hard of hearing. i mean, take it outside, lady! WHAT is your problem?! talk about being completely self-centered and inconsiderate. (sigh) ok, enough ranting.

while gardens is a bit pricey (what with sak's and acapulco's down the street), my impression is that it's definitely worth the $$$. the menu is quite extensive and i'd definitely be willing to go back to try some of their other items, including all of their yummy-looking salads! (FYI that cobb salad is another personal favorite.)

when you're up for a splurge:

Gardens on Glendon
1139 Glendon Avenue
West Los Angeles, CA 90024
310.824.1818

http://www.gardensonglendon.com/goghome.html