For my birthday dinner we celebrated at Roy Choi's Caribbean inspired eatery Sunny Spot in Venice Beach. We were hoping to experience Mr. Choi's magic fusion touch with his take on Caribbean food, and we also wanted curried goat and mofongo, we wanted to eat Puerto Rican mofongo! Sadly when we arrived we learned curried goat is a specialty dish and not on the regular menu - boo! Sunny spot did have great cocktails, and more importantly, they had Ting on tap! Two Tings and Tangeray please!
Upon being seated, we were told it was Happy Hour all day, so decided to start with 4 appetizers: papaya & mango salad ($6), Cuban nuggs - pork terrine, prosciutto, provolone, jalapeno ($5), what a jerk! wings ($6) and the muh-f k'n mofongo ($8) We needed something to slop-up the mofungo, which consisted of ripe plantain, bacon, fennel, garlic, red stripe beer, white rum, vegetable stock, fresh herb and ginger oil and they brought us freshly fried plantains, needless to say everyone at the table collectively let out a YAY!
To be completely honest, the mofungo was unmemorable, other than the fried plantains. The Cuban nuggs, what a jerk fried chicken and mango salad were absolutely scrumptious, so we were excited about our main courses. For the entrees the 4 of us ordered the Baby Back Ribs ($22), Jamaican Roasted Lamb ($18) and the Half Jerk Chicken ($17). Each came with yellow salty rice, black beans and coleslaw.
After the stellar start with the appetizers, other than the underwhelming mofungo, the entrees simply fell flat. The sauce on the fall off the bone, but yet very dry ribs and the roasted lamb tasted exactly the same, which would have been fine if the sauce was good to begin with. The jerk chicken was dry and needed better seasoning, the skin and char was perfect, but the marinade wasn't very good so the chicken was boring and nothing to write home about. We would suggest using more lime juice to open up the meat more.
After the disappointing entrees we were hesitant to try dessert. I even put my camera away, but my mom wanted a palate cleanser and we love coconut creme brulee. Sunny Spot served theirs with a lime tarragon syrup, coupled with the creamiest creme brulee, the combination was dynamite. We loved it, and in the end there was a sunny spot.
Other than the disappointing main courses, our dinner at the sunny spot was just that - sunny. We wish it wasn't so chilly out or we would have happily had our meal on their patio. We won't completely write-off Roy Choi's other restaurants or his fusion taco trucks, but we won't be seeking them out either. There's just too much goodness in LA.
Sunny Spot
822 W Washington Boulevard
Marina del Ray, LA, California
310.448.8884
After the disappointing entrees we were hesitant to try dessert. I even put my camera away, but my mom wanted a palate cleanser and we love coconut creme brulee. Sunny Spot served theirs with a lime tarragon syrup, coupled with the creamiest creme brulee, the combination was dynamite. We loved it, and in the end there was a sunny spot.
Other than the disappointing main courses, our dinner at the sunny spot was just that - sunny. We wish it wasn't so chilly out or we would have happily had our meal on their patio. We won't completely write-off Roy Choi's other restaurants or his fusion taco trucks, but we won't be seeking them out either. There's just too much goodness in LA.
Sunny Spot
822 W Washington Boulevard
Marina del Ray, LA, California
310.448.8884
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