DineLA II part I

Be prepared for pictures and ranting...and no excuses for how long this took to post (nearly two months!).  And yes, this DineLA round is long enough to warrant two posts.  This is week 1.

Complimentary mushroom soup shots.
We resists banging the empty cups back down.

Authentic French Onion soup; a salty tomato appetizer.

Omega-3 fats

An innovative dessert with potassium.

This was my first visit to JiRaffe, and I went as part of a party of 6 for DineLA.  I ordered a French Onion soup from the regular menu, which was excellent.  The vegetarian appetizer was a little too heavy on the salt for my tastes.  The salmon entree was quite good, but cooked a little dryer than I generally prefer.  The Banana Cream Pie was a great choice for dessert.  We felt perfectly comfortable having conversation, but the noise level was low enough that I could hear the person on the other side of the table.  In addition, the tables are far apart enough that you are not in each others' spaces, but close enough to lend a cozy feel to the restaurant.

A demonstration of how little light there was.
(Yes, this has been digitally enhanced.)

I would visit Fig & Olive again for the crostini and dessert, but sit at the bar.  The appetizers and entree was fine, but below expectations given the high-class feeling set by the decor and presentation.  I drove to dinner so I cannot comment on the wine.  However, the lighting was extremely dim, making the menu hard to read (for someone in their 20s, so we are talking flashlight level).  In addition, the music was extremely loud, making everyone talk louder, and in the end made it difficult to have a conversation across a table for 2 without feeling like you are sharing your story with your neighbors.

Light and refreshing appetizer.

Pot roast as it should be.

Warm and chocolaty or cold and creamy?  Your choice.

Everything was delicious at Jar. Seriously, we have the haricot vert appetizer with an addition of mussels. For entree, we both tried the restaurant favorite of pot roast, which was super soft. The chocolate paradise was like therapy for the mouth. I really liked most of the decor, except for the giant black go-stone looking lights on the ceiling and the fact these lights shed no light. My friend and I ended up using the iPhone light to read the menu. Once we got that out of the way though, the lighting set a very intimate mood for the table. I thought that the restaurant had good energy but was not too noisy. However, we were tucked away in a corner of small tables, so groups sitting in the more open area may feel differently.