Bestia: Good things happen to the ones who wait

Every time I tried to make a reservation at Bestia they would kindly reply that they had an opening in 2-3 weeks so I would always end up going somewhere else. When my husband asked where did I want to go for our 10^th anniversary I immediately replied: Bestia. We made a reservation almost a month in advance and all we could get was a countertop side table.

BESTIA

2121 Seventh Place

Los Angeles CA, 90021

213.514.5724

http://bestiala.com

Bestia is located at the border of the arts district surrounded by old warehouses in an area of DTLA that is rapidly changing. The restaurant is in a renovated industrial building down the train yard.   It has an   L shape countertop that goes from the bar to the salumi bar and an open kitchen. Bestia is modern urban at its best. The night we were there it was as it always is: shoulder to shoulder. It was one of those rare rainy LA nights and we pushed our way in. My husband asked the hostess “are we sitting at the bar?” She smirked and playfully replied “Oh no, you guys are in the restaurant”. It was like we were entering another world by taking two steps to the right of the bar.

Pictured: Vacation Cocktail

Dinner began with the pan-fried ciccioli, a delicious pork cake that is traditionally made with spare pork parts. To better describe it, its like the ultimate crab cake but made with the best parts of our piggy friend. It’s everything that “pork lovers” dream off: crunchy, fried and porky. 

Pictured: Pan-fried ciccioli

From the antipasti section we had the roasted marrow bone with spinach gnocchetti. The plate was beautiful. Unlike in other restaurants, it comes with a gnocchetti pasta. What you do is to scrape the marrow into the pasta, mix it and eat it. Probably the best bone marrow I have had in years.

 Pictured: Roasted marrow bone

For our main dish we ordered the bucatini alla‘nduja affumicata with burrata. The spaghetti was cooked al dente with a tomato sugo topped with melting burrata. Imagine the best spaghetti you’ve ever had smothered in a spicy tomato sauce with a big fat dollop of what looks like cream but is actually fresh mozzarella cheese. As you dip your fork in the burrata it will expand like lava from a volcano and reach every single inch of the spaghetti: spicy, cheesy, delicious.  

Pictured: Bucatini alla‘nduja affumicata

We also had the cavatelli alla norcina. Don’t be deceived by the simple presentation, this is one of Bestia’s classics, a signature dish and rightfully so.  The pork sausage, black truffles and the grana padano cheese completely elevate the richness of the plate to another level.

Pictured: Cavatelli alla norcina

To close the night we went with the maple ricotta fritters. It came with a maple butter ganache, sour cream and huckleberry jam ice cream. I don’t think this needs any further explanation. I felt a little bit like the princess and the vagabond; we were trying to figure out who should have the last bite. It was just exquisite.

Pictured: Maple ricotta fritters

This was the best meal of the year and I was lucky to share it with my favorite person in the world. Bestia is and will continue to be a food landmark in Los Angeles because of its amazing rustic Italian plates, its obsession with charcuterie and dreamy desserts. 

Without a doubt Bestia was worth the wait.

Earl Grey Syrup and Secret Garden Sour

Lately I have become infatuated with Earl Grey tea, I began drinking it and it inevitably has ended up in my cocktails. Indeed I have a number of Earl Grey infusions in my fridge at the moment. I wanted to share with you a simple to make Earl Grey syrup and a cocktail recipe to use it in.

Earl Grey Syrup

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 cup white sugar 
• 1 teaspoon loose leaf or 1 tea bag Earl Grey

Place the  tea in the warm water and leave for an hour to steep. Keep in mind that if you decide to use loose leaf tea you will need a fine mesh strainer. Once steeped, put tea in a sauce pan on the stove and bring to a boil. Add the sugar, lower to a simmer, stir until sugar is dissolved. You can stop here, but if you like a thicker syrup as I do continue to stir it over a low-medium heat until it thickens to the right consistency. Once you are happy with the syrup take it off the heat and let it cool before removing the tea and transferring it into an airtight container. I found these awesome glass bottles at a dollar store and capped it with a bottle spout.

I like to use the syrup in cocktails of course but I also recommend trying it in lemonade or sparkling water for a refreshing treat.

Secret Garden Sour

• 1.5 oz London Dry Gin
• 1 oz Earl Grey Syrup
• 1oz Lemon Juice
• 1 egg white (optional but it gives the drink it's texture and the beautiful foam top)
• Scrappy's Lavender Bitters
• Lavender or other fresh herb for garnish

I love a good sour and this one plays refreshingly with gin's herbal notes. I encourage you to make it with the egg white, but if you prefer it can be made without. I prepped my glass with ice to chill it, a coupe is lovely but a martini glass works as well. Add your gin, syrup, lemon, and egg to your cocktail shaker without ice. Shaking the ingredients without ice is called a "dry shake" and helps to break up and "beat" the egg white. Dry shake can take a lot of muscle but failing to do it well will give you weird glops of egg white in your cocktail. To help I'll share a little trick I have, take the spring off of an extra Hawthorn strainer and put it in the shaker with the ingredients. The spring acts as a whisk as you shake. I also recommend wrapping a towel around the seal on your shaker as you dry shake to help catch anything that escapes. The seal does not keep as well when you don't have ice in the tin.

After you've done the dry shake, open your tin, it should have a rich, white, frothy foam as my picture. Remove the spring and add your ice. Shake well, about 8 times, the tin should look frosty on the outside.

Dump the ice from your chilled cocktail glass and use the strainer you did not take apart (or you can quickly reconstruct the first one) and strain it into the glass. Finish with 3 drop of the lavender bitters and a sprig of lavender as garnish. To finish mine with a nice little pattern I dragged a toothpick through my bitters drops in a circular motion.

This cocktail may sound daunting but once you've mastered the dry shake it will be easy as pie! Try it out with pisco or vodka instead of gin for a slightly different flavor!