RVR

Meeting Kyle for a late-night reservation at RVR felt like a real treat. Our 8:45 pm. booking ended up being perfect for our schedules. Even better – parking on Abbot Kinney was surprisingly easy at that hour.

RVR may welcome walk-ins. However a reservation is the smarter move. I saw a party being told that the next available walk in spot would be in 30 minutes. However, after a brief wait, Kyle and I were seated upstairs at a comfortable open-air table.

I even told Kyle how much I appreciated being away from the main room. It made hearing conversations between us effortless and far more enjoyable.

Browsing the menu, I settled in to some choices for the night.

After tasting the orange and red options, I began the evening with a glass of Jumbo Time Wine’s “Daddy’s Home” syrah. Kyle spoke highly of the brand – and I agreed. The syrah was perfect to cut through the fat of the rest of the meal.

The blood orange (fennel, myoga, shiso & seeded furikake) was an absolutely outstanding revelation. Every. Bite. Was. Layered. Magnificence.

Next up was the chicken thigh karaage (chili honey). Again, this was an outstanding piece of culinary flavor.

From gyoza selections, we devoured the peads & barnett pork (pork rib & belly, cabbage, garlic chives) dumplings. These were lovely.

The only dish that we could have passed on was a selection from the charcoal grilled area of the menu – the  chicken thigh (ume, myoga). Again, it was fine – but forgettable in the scheme of other dishes that passed crossed our table.

As our main dish, we split a bowl of ramen of duck shoyu (duck breast, scallion, yuzu & nori).

Originally, I’d ordered the small bowl of ramen and – within my first sip, demanded that Kyle try it. A passing server was kind enough to split it between two bowls and talk to us about her favorite items on the menu.

As we still wanted some time to sit, talk and finish the last sips of our wine, we ordered dessert. Finishing with a beautiful cup of black sesame & matcha-stracciatella gelatos was a fitting end to a delicious meal.

Truly, dinner at RVR was an experience of culinary pleasure. Made better – as all things are – with a fantastic dining partner.

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