amazing dinner with friends at belcampo santa monica.
we recently made the trek out to santa monica to finally eat at belcampo meat co's restaurant with some friends. i already have much love for belcampo as they are my favorite butcher shop (i go to their outpost at grand central market in downtown LA), and where i order my rib roast for prime rib whenever there is a family gathering. tucked behind their butcher shop, the space is larger than you'd expect but still very cozy. i was very excited to see what they could do with a full bar and kitchen!
the bbq old fashioned (above, left) was a standout, and several were ordered that evening. it's made with balcones baby blue bourbon, brown sugar and smoked bitters, then topped with a piece of belcampo jerky is briefly torched for even more extra smokiness.
beef tartare with cornichons, shallot and belcampo yolk.
they serve three kinds of tartare! THREE! of course i had to try all of them, and they were all truly delightful - light and creamy, super fresh. i was expecting more gaminess out of the lamb, or especially the goat, but neither were.
lamb tartare with tumeric, ginger, spiced yogurt and papadum.
goat tartare with ancho chile, lime, hoja santa and mizuna.
french dip eclair.
roasted brussels sprouts with sage sausage, bacon, maple syrup and rye whiskey.
of the sides/appetizers we had, the french dip eclair was definitely the star. they are the perfect bit to share between two people, though you probably really want to order your own. and the bone broth / au jus is quite nice to drink on its own after you're done with the rest of the eclair. i also could not stop eating the tempura vegetables - they came out piping hot and had a wonderful umami to them.
tempura vegetables.
bacon and cherry tomato salad.
potato gratin.
everyone ended up ordering the cowboy steak dinner for two, which comes with a side salad and potato gratin. ours came perfectly medium rare and pre-sliced. we were pretty full by this point, but still managed to gobble the whole thing up because it was so good.
cowboy steak dinner for two.
raspberry sorbet and vanilla ice cream.
banana cream pie with spiced pecan shortbread, butterscotch Bavarian, bruleed bananas, “Scotch” sauce.
1026 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401
