Apparently Upstair 2′s chef was in a foul mood last weekend when he drew up the menu for their $23.11 dinners @ 2311 Cotner dinners which recently started:

1st Course
Mushroom Barley Soup
Roasted Barley, Leeks, Mushrooms, and Rutabaga

2nd Course
Roast Brisket of Beef
Glazed Baby Carrots, Yukon Gold Potato Pancake

3rd Course
Banana Cream Pie

Fave of above meal? Easily the banana cream pie. Fave thing of a carb lover? Yukon Gold Potato Pancake (think Mickey Dee’s hash browns, but made with real potatoes). The mushroom barley soup was just too earthy. I had visages of being a goat as I chewed on the barley & rutabaga. Great utilization of SaMo Farmer’s Market, but… just… gross… Brisket isn’t the best cut of beef (think tough beef breast, about 5 ribs below); it’s hard enough finding a properly slow cooked/smoked/BBQ’d brisket, it’s even harder to find someone willing to properly roast brisket in a kitchen. Upstairs2 wasn’t that someone.

Then yesterday, I received this in the Inbox:

First Course
Blood Orange Caesar Salad
Pumpernickel Croutons, Shaved Parmesan

Second Course
Steak Fritte
Fines Herbes Butter, Garlic Shoestring Fries

Third Course
Spanish Chocolate Brownie Sundae

Doesn’t that just sound a LOT better than the first prix fixe? The thing that really ticks me off? Both meals burns your wallet equally.

Feel free to call the weekly prix fixes whimsical, just make sure the pleasure factor is always equal.

Having said all of that, I opted out of the prix fixe. And still ended up with a dud. The deconstructed salad was a fine catch, but the greens portion was severely overdressed. The tofu leeks ravioli provided unexpected, fun heat via the red sauce, and the kobe sliders… O my, how much did the kobe sliders SUCK? From the hard roll to the excessively sweet cheese.. just overall ick.

Westsiders can rejoice in the fact that Upstairs2 is attached to a much loved (at least on Yelp) wine bar, procures much of the produce from local markets, and offers a faux romantic setting in a business complex. Me? Not a Westsider…

UPSTAIRS 2
2311 Cotner Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90064
http://upstairs2.com/winedine/

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