Recess happy hour at Public School 612

If you’ve been to the downtown L.A. Daily Grill lately, you may have noticed a separate bar space just past the host stand. That’s Public School 612 (AKA PS 612), a new gastropub concept from the owners of the Daily Grill restaurants. This is the first of what the owners hope will be many PS 612 locations.

The bar opens every day at 4:00 p.m. and features food and drink, including a nicely edited beer list. There’s also a Recess happy hour on weekdays from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with a bar bites menu that tops out at $4. The drink specials don’t include the bar’s cocktails, but there’s a $4 handle of beer (that’s actually available all night long), a $5 Skinny Margarita and a $10 carafe of wine.

I was recently invited to try out the Recess menu, and I definitely found some favorite items. The Adobo Short Rib Tacos are tasty and tender, even though I didn’t really find the vinegar flavor I was expecting with a name like adobo. But no matter; the tacos were good (and hearty) anyway.

Adobo Short Rib Tacos

The Schezwan Calamari surprised me. I was skeptical at first, but the spicy Chinese flavors worked really nicely with this traditional Italian dish. I think I may actually prefer this preparation.

Schezwan Calamari

I also tried some items that are on the regular dining menu, and the 1903 Fish & Chips served with remoulade was a standout. The fish was light and flaky, and the fries were nicely fried, too.

1903 Fish & Chips

There’s also a dessert menu that’s kind of a secret, mostly because the items aren’t listed. Why aren’t they listed? Because they ran out of room on the menu! Seriously. So make sure to ask for these two delicious items: the beer float and the peanut butter and jelly cookies with milk.

This beer float, made with vanilla ice cream and Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, is my favorite beer float. The chocolate stout just makes sense — it’s not too bitter, but just bitter enough to give it some bite.

Beer float

The peanut butter and jelly cookies are also a great choice. The peanut cookie is rich, and the sweetness from the fruit jelly balances that out.

Peanut butter and jelly cookies

As for the drinks here, stick with the beer. There are beers from Craftsman, Allagash, Unibroue, Telegraph and The Bruery, among other quality breweries. Oh, and you can play darts in the back. It’s a recipe for good times.

Note: This meal was hosted.

What I loved:

This gnocchi and lump crab appetizer was unique and absolutely delicious. The gnocchi was pillowy, and the addition of kumquat and micro basil was a pleasant surprise and nicely complemented the truffle parmesan cream sauce.

Gnocchi

The Brick Organic Chicken was crazy good. Crazy, crazy good. Many people think roasted chicken is boring, but one that’s cooked to perfection is one of the best dishes to eat on any menu, hands down. This one was juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside, and the farro and braised beet greens in a citrus jus were great, too. I would order this again in a second.

Chicken

The braised short rib was also very good, and boy, was it a big portion. Juicy, tender. Very satisfying, despite being a dish that’s seen much too often these days.

Short rib

Of course, there was the Junk Food Platter, a Kerry Simon classic. I didn’t eat much of this — just a bite of the snowball because I had a massive marshmallow craving — but it sure is fun to look at.

Dessert platter

Now, the red velvet cake, a nod to Sivley’s Southern roots, was delightful. The cream cheese frosting was very cream cheesy — just the way I like it. And it was topped with a gooseberry — who does that? Love.

Red velvet

What I didn’t love:

The Sushi Pizza, another Simon classic, apparently. It’s pizza dough topped with creamy wasabi rice, tuna, crab avocado, cucumber and sesame. It tastes as weird as it sounds. The creamy rice turned into a big mess once we started cutting into it, and the flavors just didn’t work for me.

Sushi pizza

I also didn’t understand the Sautéed Forest Mushrooms. These came on a large piece of bread, which became soggy after sitting for a while. I think this dish could have worked if the portion was smaller. Bigger is not always better.

All in all, the menu at L.A. Market has some standouts that I would definitely go back for, and even the cocktails were decent. But some dishes fell really flat, and some were just OK. Stick with the best, and you’ll be fine.

Note: This meal was hosted.

Produce from Crows Pass Farm

I spent yesterday afternoon on the CBS lot in Studio City, eating and drinking my way through more than 30 of Los Angeles’ chefs’ food at the 23rd annual Great Chefs of Los Angeles event, which benefited the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California. OK, I didn’t taste everything — I’m not a black hole of food — but I did taste a lot of good stuff.

BLVD 16‘s Simon Dolinky made butternut squash dumplings with mustard greens, pomegranate and brown butter. I like the food at BLVD 16 at the Hotel Palomar, so it’s no wonder that I enjoyed this dish, too. Topped with bacon bits, the crunchiness contrasted well with the doughy dumplings, and the greens were flavorful without being overpowering.

Akasha‘s short rib on pretzel bread with a side of cole slaw and pickle. The pretzel bread (I love pretzel bread!) soaked up the short rib’s tasty juices, making it all even better. The slaw had a spicy kick to it, and wasn’t creamy, which I prefer.

Bonadea, a Los Angeles-based company that makes bottled aguas frescas. I tried the jamaica flavor, which has nothing to do with the island country and everything to do with hibiscus. Its flavor was light, and a little sweet and a little tart. There was also a tamarind flavor, which I initially passed on because I don’t like tamarind, but after tasting a sip, I found it more peachy than tamarindy. Yeah, that’s not a word.

Neal Fraser of Grace and BLD fame made braised veal short rib with polenta that tasted just like a Chinese dish my mom makes. That’s because the polenta was cooked with chestnuts — yum!

Bottega Louie‘s panini with brie, blood orange and watercress, and a salad with roasted grape tomatoes, burata and pesto were light and refreshing, which was welcome since a lot of what was being offered at the event was heavy as this is technically fall.

Celestino Drago’s duck sandwich and butternut squash soup were also good, though I liked the sandwich more than the soup, which I didn’t find all that impressive.

Ford’s Filling Station‘s Ben Ford made a persimmon salad with goat cheese, candied pecans and a sherry vinaigrette. Beautiful and tasty. I’m obsessed with persimmons, and I wanted to ask Ford for a plate of just fruit, but that probably wouldn’t have gone over well.

Chef Ben Ford mixing up some salad

Yes, the Bazaar of the SLS Hotel was there, and yes, it served some pretty and fun stuff, including the liquid nitrogen-frozen caipirinha. It was really, really strong, but eating it with that sage on top was pretty amazing.

Keven Alan Lee’s East served up a scallop on the half shell with lemongrass sambal, wasabi creme fraiche, shiso dust and micro cilantro, as well as Hawaiian walu fish with miso mustard cream, micro wasabi, chive essence and smoked chardonnay sea salt. Many people liked this, especially the scallop, and I did too, but probably not as much as everyone else.

Scallops on the half shell

Hawaiian walu

Michael Fiorelli of Mar’Sel at Terranea Resort made braised wagyu beef cheek and creamed chard tortellini with ricotta and tiny autumn vegetables. The tortellini I could take or leave, but the beef was wonderfully tender, and the mini veggies were so cute — perfectly cooked, too.

And now for something completely different…I give you Sushi Popper! Is it sushi? Is it a push-up? Is it a sushi push-up? It is! I tried the seared albacore with smoked banana and a mild habanero sauce. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t good.

Esther of e*starLA popping a Sushi Popper

All in all, this was a really enjoyable event, despite the hot sun. I do have a gripe, though: The event’s theme was “Go Green, Go Organic,” yet there were all kinds of green violations. Sure, everyone used eco-friendly plates and utensils, but what’s with the bottled water? And the plastic cups? And the unnecessary packaging of the Sushi Poppers? Something to think about for next year…