Post Thanksgiving at Hinoki and the Bird

Had another wonderful dinner at Hinoki and the Bird.  Nick Moore, the manager was there to welcome us as usual.

This was the first time I got to try the Crispy Marinated Chicken with Lemon Aioli. Our server, a nice Filipino young man named Alvin gave us an extra sauce on the side. He suggested we try it and so we did. It was patis (fish sauce). Who would have thought this salty sauce would go with fried chicken? Well, Alvin did and he was right. We ordered some Chili Crab Toast and my favorite, Beef Tartare with pickled Jalapeno and Parmigiano.

My friend ordered the Apple Marinated Shortribs and my other friend had the Hinoki Scented Black Cod which is one of the best I have had. She also had the Kale salad which was crispy and raw with curried almonds, pecorino in a red wine vinaigrette. I didn't care much for the kale; it just tasted too healthy for me. Someone else ordered a side of rice. Their rice has a nice flavor; sticky and perfect with anything from pork belly, short ribs, black cod or even the mussels.

For my entree, I chose the Coconut-curried Mussels with Sausage & Cauliflower. My son had this before and I loved it. They are served in a bowl; mussels hidden inside a mound of cilantro and cauliflower. These were cooked in coconut milk and though it had the milk, it had a bit of a sour taste which was so good. There was a constant tension between sour and creamy which kept my taste buds excited especially when I dipped the semi-burnt toast (grilled in olive oil) in the sauce...hmmmmmm.  My only complaint was it took awhile before I could free all the little mussels from their shells. I actually had to work for my meal! The crunchy flakes were slivers of cauliflower.

Desserts were shared among us. We had the Miso Donuts with honey caramel which were airy and crispy and were perfect with the honey caramel. The Vietnamese coffee "snow cone" with nata de coco and condensed milk reminded us of the Filipino version of "halo-halo". Alvin surprised us with a special dessert which looked like an eclair with bits of pomegranate which we enjoyed.

This was a nice post Thanksgiving dinner as we just had a small and simple family celebration the day before.  The staff at Hinoki and the Bird are still as friendly and enthusiastic as ever. They all seem to genuinely like what they do and that is a very good sign.

I have numerous blogs on this restaurant. You may google Hinoki and the Bird solittlethyme. Hinoki and the Bird is at 10 Century Drive in Los Angeles.