Restaurant: Charcoal Venice [1, 2, 3, 4]
Location: 425 Washington Blvd, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292. (310) 751-6794
Date: June 14, 2022
Cuisine: New American Grill
Rating: Some great meats
Our second Gaja dinner of the Spring (there were rival factions). Back to Charcoal, a favorite.
The menu.
Bread with Beurre De Baratte
smoked paprika mustard chimichurri, red wine chipotle bbq sauce, J-1 steak sauce, and charcoal marinade.
Yellowfin Tuna, Pickled Cucumber, Avocado, Citrus Vinaigrette. Classic, but good. Kinda sweet.
Sweet potato chips.
Oysters on the Half Shell. Garnished Traditionally and Creatively. Nice small oysters.
Very nice, tasted like Sav Blanc with a lot of petrol.
Super hot, flabby, and tending toward sherry.
Smoked Mushroom and Beet, Crème Fraiche, Currants. Tastes like liquid smoke, but really nice actually.
Grilled bread.
California Avocado Pesto, Cherry Tomatoes,Fresh Tagliatelle. Bright and enjoyable, but not as sexy/rich as a “normal” (very good) pesto.
Some kind of shrimp special, with a salsa-like sauce.
Gorgeous.
Grilled Lamb Chops, Cilantro Mint Emulsion. Well cooked, very tender, and tons of flavor.
Smoky Grilled Chicken Wings, Oregano, Chili, Vinegar. Good, but I like Vietnamese wings better. Still, these had a really great char flavor.
21 Day Aged Half Liberty Duck, Honey, Coriander. Amazballs. Sweet but very ducky and delicious. Pretty stupendous tasting, if bad for the blood sugar.
Cabbage Baked in the Embers, Yogurt, Sumac, Lemon Zest. Really great veggie.
Coal Roasted Carrots, Sheep’s Milk Ricotta, Herbs, Honey, Black Pepper.
Boneless ½ Chicken Salsa Verde. Some of the best straight chicken I’ve had in a while.
Little Gems, Shaved Market Vegetables, Bread Crumbs, Grilled Scallion Vinaigrette. WIth the breadcrumbs on the side this was a very enjoyable bright salad.
16 oz Prime Ribeye. Nice meat. Not overcooked at all 🙂
Roasted Wild Mushrooms, Parsley Breadcrumbs, Fermented Garlic Dressing. Yum — and fiber too!
Steak Fries with Ketchup, Mustard.
Probably a bit cooked, but grapey and enjoyable to my taste.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Cake, McConnell’s Double Peanut Butter Chip Ice Cream. Really nice.
Apple Crumble, McConnell’s Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.
Nocciola White Gelato — Nocciola (hazelnut) base made with Pure PGI Piedmont hazelnut paste mixed with house-made Valrhona White Chocolate Hazelnut Bark — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — one of my signature flavors –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #hazelnut #nocciola #white #Chocolate #bark
Overall, a super fun evening. I liked the Gaja’s slightly better tonight than at the previous Gaja dinner. They were more differentiated. The San Lorenzos were my favorite actually, which makes sense, as they are softer.
We became friendly with this mother/daughter pair at the next table.
