I just had to use this title because it's a movie I am working on with Steve Carell and Paul Rudd. This past Saturday our friend, Jon Regul celebrated his 35th birthday at a restaurant called Craft in Century City. Six of us went to dinner and it was a fun "grown ups" night out at a fancy restaurant.
This was part of an invitation we received from Danielle but I had to amend some lines because some of the plans changed:
Once upon a time, in a land far far away (depending on where you live) there lived a handsome and regal prince named Jon Regul. Prince Jon was madly in love with a fair maiden named iPad. He tried to get an iPad at the Grove but the Jonas Bros got in his way, he tried at Century City but was 3 hours too late, alas its not his birthday quite yet, perhaps the queen of "Bad Dates"land, Danielle, will slay the dragon and find him one? Stay tuned.
Note: Via FaceBook we learned that the Regul Prince still hasn't gotten his iPad but his pal Matt Hinojosa got one from his maiden.
Here are some pictures
PICTURE #1This is what $200 muffins look like
PICTURE #2 Happy Birthday Jon!
PICTURE #3 Like kids in a candy store.
Here's my review on Yelp:
My rating was 4 stars out of 5
I was quite eager to try Craft when all the hoopla began a year ago and then I got busy and I forgot about it. This past Saturday I was reminded about it when dinner plans for a friend's birthday fell through and my friend was quickly scrambling to find an alternate location. That alternate location was Craft.
The birthday boy had previously been to Craft for a Valentine's Day dinner and wanted to try it again. So I finally got my wish and headed to Century City. I was surprised that we were able to make reservations at such late noticed but they accepted our party of 6 without a problem. We arrived at 6pm and waited 5 minutes to be seated. Just enough time to make a quick bathroom stop.
As we were being seated I was surprised to find there was one large dining room. Very modernly decorated with a lot of clean lines. We were seated and two wait staff immediately attended our needs. We order a round of cocktails and some wine. The waiters were able to answer our questions about the wines. I started the evening with a strawberry flavored cocktail while the rest of the party had wine. My husband had a beer. Everyone enjoyed their selections.
We decided to skip the first course and go straight for the main entrees. 2 people ordered the skirt steak, 1 the lamb, 1 the scallops and 2 of us the Dorade which we learned was like a sea bass in taste. We also ordered 4 sides: Potatoes, carrots, asparagus and mushrooms. While we waited for the food we turned our attention to the bread basket. The bread was very delicious. Luckily we had the two wait staff who promptly filled it when it emptied.
When our meals came we were all amazed by how small the portions were. Actually the portions were just fine except at most places you are so used to getting so much that to see an actual portion is disconcerting. I must not have been the only person who thought the portions were small because my friend asked where we were heading to eat after dinner.
The side dishes were small. I only say this because we had six people. They wouldn't be small if I was just dining with my husband. Worried we would still be hungry we ordered 2 more side dishes after the food was delivered. My first bite was of the mushrooms which were very tasty, then the carrots, then the asparagus (which was the best tasting asparagus of my life) and then the creamy potatoes. My favorites were the asparagus and the mushrooms. My Dorade fish was quite excellent. It came with some artichokes which were just okay. I enjoyed my meal quite a bit and found that the portions were not a problem.
For dessert the table choose the chocolate souffle (which only takes 9 minutes to cook), dates (yes the fresh fruit ones), yummy beinettes, cheesecake and rhubarb sorbet. Everyone enjoyed their desserts. Yes, even the gal who ordered the dates. Then just when we thought we were done they brought out a mini chocolate birthday cake for our friend and a platter of goodies which included: bites of chocolate, peanut brittle and sugar cookies.
If we weren't stuffed by the entree we sure were by the time we paid the bill. The dinner suffice to say was very expensive. It was about $100 per head with tax and tip. Overall, we had a great experience at Craft, the service was outstanding, the food was excellent and those bathrooms were clean. My husband didn't find his skirt steak to be anything out of the ordinary. But we agreed most of the food was very good and well prepared. I refrain from giving this restaurant 5 stars only because it wasn't exceptional. For the cost I was hoping Craft would deliver a little something extra but alas it fell short. I did like the fact that they gave us mini muffins to take home for breakfast (which were very tasty) but I couldn't help but think they were $200 muffins! hehe For the cost, I probably will not be going back a lot but it was a fun place for a group of 6 to go to on a grown ups Saturday evening. I put this on my "I am glad I tried it" list.
This was part of an invitation we received from Danielle but I had to amend some lines because some of the plans changed:
Once upon a time, in a land far far away (depending on where you live) there lived a handsome and regal prince named Jon Regul. Prince Jon was madly in love with a fair maiden named iPad. He tried to get an iPad at the Grove but the Jonas Bros got in his way, he tried at Century City but was 3 hours too late, alas its not his birthday quite yet, perhaps the queen of "Bad Dates"land, Danielle, will slay the dragon and find him one? Stay tuned.
Note: Via FaceBook we learned that the Regul Prince still hasn't gotten his iPad but his pal Matt Hinojosa got one from his maiden.
Here are some pictures
PICTURE #1This is what $200 muffins look like
PICTURE #2 Happy Birthday Jon!
PICTURE #3 Like kids in a candy store.
Here's my review on Yelp:
My rating was 4 stars out of 5
I was quite eager to try Craft when all the hoopla began a year ago and then I got busy and I forgot about it. This past Saturday I was reminded about it when dinner plans for a friend's birthday fell through and my friend was quickly scrambling to find an alternate location. That alternate location was Craft.
The birthday boy had previously been to Craft for a Valentine's Day dinner and wanted to try it again. So I finally got my wish and headed to Century City. I was surprised that we were able to make reservations at such late noticed but they accepted our party of 6 without a problem. We arrived at 6pm and waited 5 minutes to be seated. Just enough time to make a quick bathroom stop.
As we were being seated I was surprised to find there was one large dining room. Very modernly decorated with a lot of clean lines. We were seated and two wait staff immediately attended our needs. We order a round of cocktails and some wine. The waiters were able to answer our questions about the wines. I started the evening with a strawberry flavored cocktail while the rest of the party had wine. My husband had a beer. Everyone enjoyed their selections.
We decided to skip the first course and go straight for the main entrees. 2 people ordered the skirt steak, 1 the lamb, 1 the scallops and 2 of us the Dorade which we learned was like a sea bass in taste. We also ordered 4 sides: Potatoes, carrots, asparagus and mushrooms. While we waited for the food we turned our attention to the bread basket. The bread was very delicious. Luckily we had the two wait staff who promptly filled it when it emptied.
When our meals came we were all amazed by how small the portions were. Actually the portions were just fine except at most places you are so used to getting so much that to see an actual portion is disconcerting. I must not have been the only person who thought the portions were small because my friend asked where we were heading to eat after dinner.
The side dishes were small. I only say this because we had six people. They wouldn't be small if I was just dining with my husband. Worried we would still be hungry we ordered 2 more side dishes after the food was delivered. My first bite was of the mushrooms which were very tasty, then the carrots, then the asparagus (which was the best tasting asparagus of my life) and then the creamy potatoes. My favorites were the asparagus and the mushrooms. My Dorade fish was quite excellent. It came with some artichokes which were just okay. I enjoyed my meal quite a bit and found that the portions were not a problem.
For dessert the table choose the chocolate souffle (which only takes 9 minutes to cook), dates (yes the fresh fruit ones), yummy beinettes, cheesecake and rhubarb sorbet. Everyone enjoyed their desserts. Yes, even the gal who ordered the dates. Then just when we thought we were done they brought out a mini chocolate birthday cake for our friend and a platter of goodies which included: bites of chocolate, peanut brittle and sugar cookies.
If we weren't stuffed by the entree we sure were by the time we paid the bill. The dinner suffice to say was very expensive. It was about $100 per head with tax and tip. Overall, we had a great experience at Craft, the service was outstanding, the food was excellent and those bathrooms were clean. My husband didn't find his skirt steak to be anything out of the ordinary. But we agreed most of the food was very good and well prepared. I refrain from giving this restaurant 5 stars only because it wasn't exceptional. For the cost I was hoping Craft would deliver a little something extra but alas it fell short. I did like the fact that they gave us mini muffins to take home for breakfast (which were very tasty) but I couldn't help but think they were $200 muffins! hehe For the cost, I probably will not be going back a lot but it was a fun place for a group of 6 to go to on a grown ups Saturday evening. I put this on my "I am glad I tried it" list.
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