When it came to Christmas dinner with Dad, I had two plans: 1. cook (rosemary roast chicken and braised Brussels sprouts) or 2. get out and explore of Los Angeles restaurants while I can. Turns out, I might always miss Britain at the holidays, so after some investigating as to what our options were, I chose The Churchill on West Third. The menu and feel just felt a bit British, even in a very LA hood.
And even though I had heard it was very 'scene-y' and crowded, we chose the right evening to try it out because it was just the right about of bustling. Reviews of the food range from mediocre and under seasoned to delicious. Being rather fond of food in the British vein though, I quite enjoyed the glazed Christmas ham, carrot, ginger and coriander soup, spiced squash, escarole and-- in a twist-- yuzu persimmon cake for dessert.
I also broke away from wine to try one of their much-discussed cocktails. I was torn between several. But finally honed in on either the Amelia (Kettle One, lemon, St Germain, violet & blackberries) or The Statesman (Famous Grouse, apricot, lemon, baked apple bitters, sparkling). Being a whisky girl, and missing Scotland, I ordered The Statesman and was quite glad I did.
One of the true luxuries and true joys of my life is the dinners I have with my dad. I think of all the cities and all the funny Christmases we've had together-- including the one where we were stranded in Yosemite with only cinnamon raisin English muffins, tuna, and packaged apple cider. Though that one goes in the books as the funnest in its own way, this one had decidedly better food.
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