Eat Me!: Eva Restaurant

Hello Wonderers!  It's time for another edition of Eat Me!

On today's episode, we're going to Eva Restaurant! As I keep saying, my boyfriend really likes to take me out for secret eating adventures.  This time, we were having Secret Brunch.

Sidebar: If you're a little curious as to how we eat such awesome, seemingly pricey food, I can tell you that most of our secret outings have been pre-purchased with a Bloomspot coupon.  It's like Groupon and LivingSocial, and all those other similar coupon mailing lists.  He keeps telling me to sign up with Bloomspot, but I'm resisting because I don't want to be presented with the opportunity to spoil the secret.  That's the best part! 

About the Restaurant
The coolest thing about Eva is the freshness of ingredients.  All of their produce is purchased from the Farmer's Market, and they base their ever changing menu on the produce that happened to inspire them on any given day.  Chef Mark Gold creates fresh, flavorful comfort dishes and always allows the main ingredient to take the spotlight.  His dishes are a perfect compliment to the cozy atmosphere of his little corner of Beverly Blvd. *Note: The restaurant isn't actually on a corner. 

The Food
This particular coupon entitled each of us to an appetizer and an entree, plus (and this is the best part) bottomless mimosas!  Now who can argue with that?

The first thing you should know (if you haven't figured it out already) is that on these outings, we share everything.  He likes to eat, I like to eat, and this way, we can taste more deliciousness and fill up on a smorgasbord as opposed to a single dish.

We started our meal with some really breakfast-y items.  He ordered the yogurt with house made granola, I ordered a bowl of fresh fruit.  I was not smart enough to pull out my camera this early in the meal, so you're just gonna have to trust me on this one.  The house made granola was divine, very cinnamon-y, with a few unexpected elements, such as sunflower seeds.  I would never have guessed that I would want them in my granola, but they were a pleasant surprise.

The bowl of fruit, which included apples, mandarin oranges, melon, and strawberries came with a mint leaf garnish.  I was happy to accidentally discover that it could provide an additional layer to the sweet and tart flavors of the fresh fruits by merely blotting the fruit on the leaf (I used the side of the bowl to steady the leaf for this) a few times.  Also, about half way through my fruit bowl (and more than half way through my first mimosa) I decided to get a little crazy and mix the fruit with the granola and the yogurt.  Crazy delicious.

Look at those eggs... aren't they gorgeous?

Next came the entrees.  I ordered the "Piece of Meat" off the menu, which basically amounted to steak and eggs.  It came with roasted fingerling potatoes and a tomato confit type situation dolloped on top of the piece of sirloin, which had been cooked to rare perfection.  The first thing I noticed on the plate, however, were the eggs.  Two of the most perfect over easy eggs I ever saw on a plate.  There was no sign of browning, and they were stunningly glossy and white.  I don't imagine I will ever be able to cook eggs that look that perfect.  I only ate one, though... 'cause eggs are pretty rich.  The tomato confit was very tasty... I wanted more of it so I could eat it with everything.  The potatoes were so awesome that even though I stopped myself from finishing the whole plate, I still resorted to picking at them (with my fingers) despite my full belly.  I suspect the mimosas are to blame for my less than ladylike behavior on that front.  By this time, I was at least one and a half drinks in...

So much better than Roscoe's!

For his entree, Boyfriend ordered the Fried Chicken and French Toast.  Sort of a modern take on Chicken and Waffles.  Among the cooler parts of this dish was the french toast, which was made with brioche.  If you don't know what brioche is, find your nearest french bakery, buy yourself a brioche bun, and sit your butt down with a butter tab.  If you eat that and don't experience carbo nirvana, there's probably something wrong with you.  Anyway, the fried chicken was sublime.  Perfectly crunchy, and not the least bit greasy.  Plus you get the really great salty/sweet combo ON TOP OF the also incredible crunchy/soft duality.  So yummy!

Eva Restaurant can be located at:
7458 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.634.0700

And just because I love you guys...

After I had stopped eating due to a fierce case of Food Baby, I still had one egg left.  I had intended to take my leftovers home in a doggy bag (either to eat later or share with my parents... whichever came first), but since there's nothing quite as disgusting as cold eggs, I decided to have a little *drunken* fun, and play with the ooey, gooey egg yolk.  I pierced the perfect mound of goo with my fork and watched the yellow lava flow as it slowly rolled down the shiny white hill.  While making conversation with my man, I had been idly twisting my fork this way and that to dispense the yolk-y goodness onto my plate.  I took a breath and looked down for a moment, and to my delight, my romantic secret brunch, had gotten secretly more romantic all on its own:

I can't make this stuff up... but totally "awww," right?