Raphael

This Thursday night I was meeting a friend for dinner at a place of her suggestion in Studio City. I looked at the menu in advance and prepared myself for the prices and the potential let down of expensive food I could have made better myself. But alas, that letdown never came!

I arrived at the restaurant noting that valet parking really is the only option even on a Thursday night in Studio City. I pulled up to the curb recognizing the vertical garden of succulents before even seeing the name. I arrived at the restaurant at the exact same time as my friend, so no awkward waiting around.

At 7pm the restaurant was practically empty. We were seated at a nice window seat and the wait staff was very quick and welcoming. They also took the time to answer questions and describe dishes once served--making sure we understood what the different ingredients were.

After warm rolls with soft butter and flaky sea salt, to start I ordered the Tuna Tartar. The best thing about the tartar was this carrot glass that came with it. It was carrot and maybe ginger cooked and pressed together that became a glass--almost like candy. It was so interesting and added such a great texture to the dish along with the bright fresh tartar, herbs and edible flowers. My friend ordered the apple salad which was equally delicious but a little more traditional with walnuts and blue cheese accompaniments.

After our starters, our meals came with a little time to digest and chat in between. I thought the pacing was good and it was nice to not get an appetizer and then have the meal come immediately after or even at the same time. I ordered the lamb (the menu online does not match the one in the restaurant, must be seasonal). The generous portion on lamb cut like butter and was served on a crispy bed of square potatoes that may have been mixed with cheese and a few different chutneys, a fried squash blossom and some other little squash, flesh scooped away. The varying textures and flavors were fantastic--a little crunch, sweet and savory all at once. My friend ordered the salmon which was pretty similar to regular salmon--find something on the menu that doesn't have an ingredient you recognize and order it for the best results!

I decided to go for dessert even though my friend was filled up on wine (and maybe hit her budget as the wine was pricey) The desserts all sounded interesting but I had my heart set on the banana bread pudding with peanut brittle, fried bananas and peanut butter ice cream. The banana bread pudding part was okay, but the ice cream and fried bananas were absolutely decadent. The bananas were breaded in a brown-sugar based tempura and slightly warmed inside with a nice crunch outside. The ice cream was just lightly peanut buttery and creamy and delicious. I felt as though the pudding had been baked especially for me.

I really liked Raphael even though I was sure I wouldn't. The prices were high but the quality and portions reflected it. I was worried that there wouldn't be enough food on my plate but I ended up leaving full and satisfied. The lamb was very generous and all the different textures and flavors tricked me into thinking my dinner was large. My only complaint is that as the night got later the music got louder and it was hard to hear my friend. Also, as the light from outside went away, it got a little too dark in the corner table--all these things probably fixable if we had mentioned it but we really enjoyed ourselves and the food otherwise so it wasn't important at the time.

Raphael

11616 Ventura Blvd

Studio City, CA 91604

Map

Hugo's Tacos

If you've ever driven on the 101 N. through Studio City, you may have noticed the brightly colored sign for Hugo's Tacos on Coldwater Canyon near Riverside. Hugo's appears to be a sister company to a restaurant just across the street also called Hugo's. The pair are also related to a place in Hollywood called The Dive.

Hugo's Tacos is the Prius of taco stands. It is a hybrid of healthy-organic style foods and street tacos. It has all the regular fare, tacos, salads, tostadas, and burritos with your choice of meat (steak, chicken, al pastor, carnitas, grilled fish ), your choice of shell, and your choice of salsa. But then, it has some organic choices as well.

There are fillings such as Soy Chorizo, Potato, and Zucchini or zucchini, corn and string beans. Unfortunately, I was in the mood for tacos, with meat, so I didn't try any of the special meats.

I ordered the 3 taco deal which was about $5.75, for $2 more you can get a drink and chips and it's a good deal since drinks will run you $1.50 for soda $1.75 for tea. I decided on the crispy tacos, with steak and a different salsa on each. The crispy shell was made of mini flour tortillas fried. I tried the Salsa Cruda, Honey Chipiotle and Salsa Negra. The Honey Chipotle salsa was the only one that really had a distinct flavor to me. It seemed like it would be delicious with something lighter like fish, chicken, or, even better chicken nuggets (which they don't have). I thought the steak was a little tough and wished I had ordered different meats.

A fellow diner had the salad with chicken and it was covered in meat and came with plenty of cheese and dressing on the side. The salad was filled with finely chopped vegetables. We also sampled the chips which seemed to have a light lime flavor, however, they didn't come with salsa (someone got them with the combo) so they were a little dry.

The restaurant is right next to the freeway and the only seating is on a covered patio near the back. However, don't let this dissuade you from going, the patio is on the far side of the shack from the freeway and surprisingly quiet and comfortable.

All in all, I would go back to Hugo's tacos if I was in the area, was interested in eating something a little fresher and healthier than typical Mexican fare, or was dining with a vegetarian. The restaurant was a little farther than I like to travel for a quick bite making it quite an affair, but if I was passing by I would certainly not hesitate to stop and I would certainly try the other related restaurants.





Hugo's Tacos
4749 Coldwater Canyon Ave
Studio City, CA 91607
Map