Nook - Los Angeles
When I chose my last apartment in LA, having Book Soup as my neighborhood bookstore was a major selling point. For apartment hunters in LA now, Nook may be a convincing reason to live in West LA. It’s the neighborhood bistro that I’ve never had and always wanted. It’s reasonably priced, and with a menu of jazzed up, slightly globalized comfort food, which ranges from $10 Butternut Squash and Chickpea Stew to the $12 Nook Burger to the $22 Maple Mustard Glazed Ribeye. The interior is sleek and welcoming, but as you can guess by the name, rather small. Our party of 7 waited over an hour on a Friday night to get a table without a reservation (they leave a certain number of tables avail for walk-ins every night… and they also have a bar with wine and beers). Once we got the table, we had friendly service, and they were more than happy to let us linger at the end… until we finally flagged them down for the check. And it really is in a nook… a nook of a strip mall.
Boiled Peanuts are served to start off, like an American version of edamame. I was soon addicted to their singular creamy sponginess and mild nutty taste.
I was happy with my Stout Braised Short Ribs with Garlic Smashed Potatoes, Red Onion, and Bacon, and its $17 price tag. It was a well-rounded earthy dish, with fall apart short ribs, and the silkiest caramelized onions.
I got the Shiitake and Gruyere Mushroom Bread Pudding on the side, and was smitten with its creaminess and flavor. Btw, it’s a big serving, and that’s a lot of cheese on there. I tried to save some some calories by eating just the (also packed with cheese) bread underneath, and wound up with a hard hatch of cheese over the remains of bread when its small remains cooled.
Chad got the Maple Mustard Glazed Ribeye with Brandy-Apple Saute and Crispy Buttermilk Onions. The onions were fantastic — the most seamless integration of coating and onion that I’ve encountered. The apples were also delicious in their caramelized brandy ways. I would have ordered them as a side, if they were available. The steak had a great taste, but was cooked to medium, rather than medium rare. This seems to happen a bit at Nook, so if you go, order just under what you want, like “rare medium rare” to get medium rare.
For dessert, we had the Brownie Cup with Tahitian Vanilla Bean Gelato, which was as homey and perfect as you could want. There were also a few spots of chocolate sauce on the plate for a modified brownie sundae feeling.
I was also able to try the Cinnamon Apple Crumble with Tahitian Vanilla Bean Gelato, which was slightly gooey on the inside and wonderfully crisp and cinnamon-y on the top, with the gelato melting over it all.
I also tried the Chocolate and Banana Bread Pudding with Brandy Caramel Sauce and Homemade Whip Cream, which amazed me with its smooth texture and its pungent taste. I think I’ll want a full serving next time…
I noticed that the fourth dessert on their menu, which we didn’t order, is a Chocolate Pot de Creme… which I believe makes 4 out of 4 desserts served in little cups. I think that works for a bistro like this. And it must be pretty convenient for the pastry cooks, but maybe not for the dishwashers…
If you get the chance, try to visit Nook… and of course, you don’t have to be a local to be regular.
Also, I didn’t get a chance to try their Caesar Salad with a whole grain mustard dressing, but the LATimes recently posted the recipe here, so maybe I’ll eat Nook-style at home soon.
April 20th, 2006 at 7:27 am
That food looks yummy…never tried boiled peanuts though. I should sometime!
April 20th, 2006 at 9:26 pm
this place sounds interesting. on the last episode of top chef, one of the teams put a concept restaurant together called “american workshop” and served homey American classics. sounds like it fell within the ranks of this type of restaurant.
in the philippines, boiled peanuts are a staple snack. they’re labeled, “nilagang mani” and are sold by street vendors by the bag. the philippines was once a colony of america so you could definitely make the connections between this “filipino/american classic”!
April 21st, 2006 at 2:09 pm
San Francisco Photorama - It was my first time, too. A reviewer that I found online said that their’s are spongier than usual, so I wonder what kind of a range there is for them. I should try making them; I just found a method for making them online that sounds simple enough: “In a large sauce pan, cover peanuts (still in shell) with enough water. Add salt. Boil until peanuts are tender.”
Lizelle - I wish I could watch Top Chef! Comcast doesn’t have Bravo on the lineup in Napa. I only saw the first episode b/c I downloaded it… Instead, I have to make do with the Next Food Network Star… which isn’t quite the same.
And that’s interesting about nilagong mani — I didn’t know about that before. A quick google search showed that it has many devoted fans.
I only knew about American South boiled peanuts, and Wikipedia shows that they’re often eaten with beer in China… I wonder if the idea somehow migrated around, of it it’s a case of spontaneous peanut boilers around the world 
April 25th, 2006 at 9:52 am
I happen to live right around the corner from Nook–it is a wonderful place! They also do take-out (at a 10% discount!) so you don’t have to wait for a table if you don’t want to. It’s just a great place–and I have to agree–the shitake/gruyere bread pudding and the choco-banana bread pudding are reason alone to go there! Mmmmm. Can’t say I like the peanuts, though.
April 25th, 2006 at 9:52 pm
Hello Susan,
You’re so lucky to live so close! If I did, I’d already have had my next dream meal there of the burger and the bread pudding.
And yeah, our table was a little divided on the peanuts — others would have just preferred edamame instead.
And thanks for the take out tip!
April 29th, 2006 at 7:30 am
Another great West LA place that is pretty new is Literati II (Bundy and Wilshire for those who are familiar w/the area!). Took a friend there for dinner last night for her birthday–had wild sturgeon grilled on their wood fire, over a warm salad of arugula, fingerling potatoes, and artichokes (it’s supposed to have bacon too, but I asked them to leave that out), with a loquat relish. It may have been the best fish I ever tasted–smoky, moist, firm, full of flavor. For dessert I had churros w/bittersweet chocolate dipping sauce–amazing! And Nina, thanks for the City Bakery entry–my friend and I went there for breakfast! : ) What a good eating day! Anyway, if you’re in WLA again, try Literati II. Literati Cafe is next door, good for coffees, pastries, light lunch-y stuff, but it’s REALLY crowded all the time. Sigh!
May 2nd, 2006 at 9:26 pm
Oooh, thanks for the info on Literati II! I used to go to Literati Cafe all the time to do writing/work (and to eat their great salads), but I think moved away from LA shortly after Literati II opened. I’ll have to check it out. I wish I had loquats right now.
And I’m happy that you enjoyed the City Bakery!
May 4th, 2006 at 3:52 pm
I didn’t manage to have the carmelized french toast at CB (I went with more prudent “have some protein so you can shop longer with your friend” lox and onions and eggs) so I have to get back there. Like, soon. Very soon. Let us know what you think of Literati II!
May 5th, 2006 at 2:09 pm
I still have to try one of their prepared dishes! Even for breakfast, I was always get lured in by the buffet bar. Ironically, since I want to order multiple things from their menu, I divert myself to the buffet bar so that I can have more things. But next time… Always next time.
July 11th, 2006 at 5:10 pm
Nina, next time you’re in town, try the “Curried Lentil Salad with fresh baby spinach, apple-fig chutney and pickled red onions” at Nook. So many non-Indian cooks don’t get curry right, that this was a very pleasant surprise. Actually this was more of a Garam Masala curry flavor than a typical corriander-cumin curry flavor. In any case, all the flavors and textures just pulled together nicely in this dish.
The service at Nook was very good. One time I ordered their Brown Rice Bowl and found it a little bland. I asked if they could offer any condiments and the server said that she’d be happy to let me have some of her personal stash of sriracha sauce, if I liked. (She may have offered soy sauce or ketchup, don’t remember now.) I took up the offer and that made a big difference! I appreciated that the server felt invested enough to go out of her way to accomodate my request.