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Huevos Polenta at Playa Rivera

When I first heard that Chef John Rivera Sedlar was opening Playa Rivera restaurant in the old Grace space on Beverly Boulevard, I jumped for joy. I love Sedlar’s food (and Julian Cox’s cocktails) at Rivera downtown, so having one of his eateries closer in proximity to where I live is really a treat.

Elegant, hearty and delicious, Playa Rivera’s brunch is a great choice for a casual-but-elevated meal. I had the pleasure of having brunch here with Fiona of Gourmet Pigs, Lindsay of LAist and Esther of estarLA, and we had a well-rounded meal complete with cocktails and a chat with Sedlar himself, who happened to walk in just as we were leaving.

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OK, so eating at Grace isn’t really an adventure, but this was my first time using a Blackboard Eats deal and my first time at Grace, so the whole experience was kind of adventure-like. And what an experience it was: great food, great service. Can’t beat that.

I cannot stress how important service is to me. Good service should be easy, but apparently far too many restaurants find this hard to come by. Service can make or break a diner’s whole experience, so when I encounter really great service (or really bad service), I make a mental note. In Grace’s case, the note is a pleasant one.

From the get-go, Grace exhibited nothing but exemplary service.  When I called to make the reservation, I asked if there was a way to substitute the main course on the Blackboard Eats prix fixe menu for something else. You see, the main course was supposed to be lamb, and I don’t like lamb. Honestly, I didn’t think the restaurant would accommodate me, that they would say that this special deal was what it was, and that would be that. But the person who took my call said she would ask the chef, who wasn’t available at the time, so she said she would call me back once she had a chance to ask him. And she 1) actually called me back the next day and 2) said I could have the salmon or grilled tempeh dishes from the regular menu instead. So of course I made a reservation for me and Esther of e*starLA, who had agreed to try out Grace — and Blackboard Eats — with me.

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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.

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Doughnuts at Grace Restaurant. From petitgateau (Flickr).

In addition to Krispy Kreme handing out free doughnuts (one per person), Grace Restaurant is serving a doughnut and wine tasting menu on Friday, June 5. That’s three courses of doughy goodness, folks. You’ll start with a salted caramel doughnut with bourbon-pecan ice cream and strawberries. Then comes a pistachio doughnut with chocolate buttermilk marble ice cream and dried cherries. And finally, buttermilk brown butter glazed doughnuts with warm rum-spiced milk. And if you want to turn it up a notch, you can get your doughtnuts paired with wines from Piedmont, Portugal and Bordeaux. Doughnuts only, $18. Wine pairings are another $15. From UrbanDaddy.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to partake because I’ll be in Napa for my best friend’s bachelorette party this weekend. And of course I’ll be blogging about all the food and wine!