Nothin' But A G Thang
Barton G
861 N. La Cienega Blvd.,
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(310) 388-1888
www.bartongtherestaurantla.com
We're nearly halfway through the summer and already your grand plans to learn how to surf, teach yourself Spanish in your free time and finally take up Crossfit have proven to be as ambitious and unattainable as that screenplay your wrote three pages of four years ago. But if it's something new you're looking for, all you have to do is make your way to La Cienega for the wonderfully bizarre experience that is Barton G.
From famed Miami restaurateur Barton G. Weiss, comes this brand new boundary-pushing dining concept that purposefully combines ostentatiousness with imagination. The restaurant itself is theatrically decked-out in cascading, golden drapes, ornate furniture, a wall of reclaimed oak barrels, and a 15-foot pink onyx bar.
More: Best Summer Cocktails in LA
But the true creative genius here comes from the neo-classic American menu – or, more accurately, the presentation. You don't get popcorn shrimp here, you get Laughing Bird Popcorn Shrimp served in a popcorn machine; you don't get the tuna, you get seared Ahi Zen Tuna alongside a yuzu ponzu fountain; you don't get mac and cheese in a bowl, you get Mouse Trap Mac & Cheese, spiral pasta in homemade cheddar cheese sauce served on an over-sized wooden mouse trap.
Other favorites include Lobster Pop-Tarts served in a toaster, Boarnie Madoff's Bucket of Bones and the Upper Crustacean, plus desserts like Marie Antoinettes Head, a pink cotton candy wig served with petit cakes.
More: E.S.P. Eat. See. Play. Los Angeles
The drinks too, get into the act, with high-octane, liquid-nitrogen aided cocktails like the Sabrinatini (a martini with orange vodka, watermelon liqueur, a nitro-champagne swizzle stick and a chocolate monkey) and the Buddhalicious (pear-infused vodka, lychee and cranberry juice with a nitrogenized pear vodka popsicle. Sure beats Crossfit…
By Jesse Husid