Birthdays at Terrine

The #1 reason I went back to this restaurant was because of their fabulous Terrine de Foie Gras sprinkled with fleur de sel served with sweet and sour prunes and of course crusty French baguette slices. I will tell you now that the bread they give is not enough so you will have to ask for more bread. The#2 reason for coming was to celebrate my brother Gary's birthday and our cousin Ramon's birthday. My son decided to join us last minute and it would have been his birthday the following day as well.

My last food experience was great except for the service.  See previous blog:
http://solittlethyme.blogspot.com/2015/03/terrine.html

I made an early reservation this time and we opted to sit outside. It was a nice afternoon and it was perfect for outdoor dining. I was surprised to have the same waiter and what was even more surprising was he remembered me, where I sat before and how I wanted extra bread and it took him a while to get it. This time, he was on top of everything and things could not have been any better. We of course had to start with the Terrine de Foie Gras. This is like eating the creamiest butter made on earth. Anyone that does not like this does not deserve to live on this planet! We also ordered the Crispy Pork Belly that was so good with just the right amount of fat and crispiness. We also ordered the Pig's Ear which was to quote Ramon, "stunningly delicious" especially when dipped in the creamy dijon vinaigrette.

We had a hard time deciding what entrees to order as everything looked good. The special of the evening was half a Duck with a kumquat sauce. Gary and my mom split the duck and there was plenty to share. It was crispy outside and and kumquat gave it just enough acidity. They also ordered the Macaroni and Cheese to share. Erik and Ramon had the Bourride which was like a bouillabaisse. In my excitement, I did not get to taste any of it but both of them seemed to like it a lot. Erik ordered a Yorkshire Pudding as a side to share. It looked impressive but 2 people in our party did not care for it. It had a flavor we could not identify nor liked. I still prefer the simple Yorkshire pudding like the one at Lawry's, perfect for absorbing au jus.   Sandi ordered Mary's Chicken (organic). I think that is always a crowd-pleaser. It takes chicken to the next level. She ordered fried carrots that looked like fries. That was very good. I'd eat my vegetables everyday if they tasted like that. I had the Bavette which is a hanger steak with sea salt fries. The steak was good but the fries were 100% better. They were totally salty and addicting. Dipped in the mayonnaise, it was pure heaven!

For dessert, we had to order the "Birthday Cake" which is not really a cake but wonderful. We also had the Lemon Tart which had the right amount of tartness to offset everything salty. The Crepe cake looked like one of Lady M's desserts but failed to impress any of us.

We all had a wonderful time. Service was excellent this time. You might see the manager/owner walking around but don't expect him to come say hello or even pretend to be interested in you. The very few people he talked to were people he probably already knew or we saw a couple that waived to him to come to their table. Zero personality; you either have it or you don't.  Well, just go for the food. Terrine is on Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles.