animal

You're "foie'd up!" exclaimed our waiter. We were at the trendy downtown Los Angeles restaurant, animal. Our waiter, who resembled a young Paul Giamatti, was commenting on the abundance of foie gras in half of the dishes we chose to try that evening.

We didn't plan to have so much foie gras for dinner, but Chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo created a menu that used the ingredient in so many creative ways, we couldn't order just one. Better yet, the chefs' use of different parts of the animal is astonishingly unique that I wonder what inspired their dishes. They pair unlikely ingredients with proteins: think lamb neck served with fava beans and daikon, or consider veal brains with apple sauce.

Because of all of this, we couldn't cling to a salad for safety. In celebrating animal, we decided to order exactly what they wanted us to order...the wild.

Take a look:

poutine with oxtail gravy and cheddar cheese

bone marrow topped with chimichurri and caramelized onions

foie gras loco moco, with quail egg, spam and hamburger meat

foie gras, biscuit and maple sausage gravy