Michael Hepworth
Studio City,CA(Spiritsman)3/3/13/—Southern Food in the valley is always welcome news, and in the case of Spoonful in Studio City it deserves to be around a while. Chef Victor Calderon has constructed a small but well balanced menu that pays more homage to Georgia and the Carolina’s than Louisiana. However after three months the menu is going through a small change with the dropping of the cheeseburger to be replaced by Gumbo. The spot used to be known as “Henry’s Hat” which was kind of a hodge-podge style restaurant that the likes of Gordon Ramsey would have hated with a menu all over the place.
Unfortunately the night I went the chef was absent, but General Manager Mark Turocy and owner Frank Foley proved to be excellent hosts, explaining everything in detail, and overall Spoonful does a really nice job. Dishes to try for starters for least would be the Fried Green Tomatoes ($7) and the Pulled Pork Sliders ($11). The sliders come with three different homemade sauces from Georgia, N.Carolina and S.Carolina.
Also outstanding was the Buffalo Shrimp ($12), a lightly fried and plump crustacean smothered in buffalo sauce with celery root puree and a housemade ranch dressing. CrabCakes ($11) come from Charleston and were cooked just light enough, and a word here about the collard greens. The version at Spoonful lacks any bitterness which you can sometimes get, thanks to the fact they are soaked in vinegar giving them a rather unique taste.
Main courses are few and far between, but I would pick out the signature Fried Chicken Dinner ($14) served with the collard greens and mac & cheese, and the Shrimp and Grits ($17). Sautéed onions accompany that dish. Soulful Sundays based on the rural Georgia experience include “Bourbon French Toast”, Louisiana Sausage Jalapeno Corn Bread w/ poached eggs, slow cooked “Braised Pork Belly, Cornmeal Pancake and Vanilla Gastrique.
When it comes to cocktails then there is a plentiful selection to choose from, especially In the whiskey and bourbon category. Selections include Buffalo Trace and Bulleit Bourbon for straight bourbon, and for small batch they have Booker’s, Hudson Baby Bourbon and Woodfords Reserve Double Oak Barrel. Wheated Bourbons include Makers Mark and Rebel Yell. Fans of Moonshine can choose from Buffalo Trace Whitedog, Georgia Moon Moonshine, Ole Smokey Tennessee Moonshine, Ole Smokey “Apple Pie” Tennessee Moonshine and Wildcat White Whiskey.
It is also likely the only restaurant in Greater Los Angeles that features the Ice Ball Mold, a perfectly spherical ice rock for bourbons and whiskeys that doesn’t dilute the actual liquor.
Spoonful does a really nice job with the Southern cooking in a spacious and relaxed environment that is really a nice cool spot to hang out for a few hours. Also any place that plays the Allman Brothers music has to be cool.
Spoonful Southern Restaurant
3413 Cahuenga Blvd West,
Studio City, CA 90068
323-512-4800
Monday-Thursday-4pm -11 pm
Friday- 4 pm-Midnights
Saturday- 9.30 am-Midnights
Sunday- 10 am-11 pm.
Michael Hepworth
287 S.Robertson Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
http://twitter.com/MrSpiritsman
http://spiritsman.blogspot.com
