Mini Foodventure #37: eat. on Sunset & eyeing rising moons . . .

A little more deet on my recent Twitter update (yes, I've followed the way of This Delicious Life and taken to lazy super-mini-entry updates too.)

I was working an American Idol finale related PR event last night involving my guests going to live taping of the show, so I had a 2.5 hour break while they were in the Kodak and I was out on Hollywood & Highland. I was going to brush it off as a long window-shopping, coffee-drinking, celeb-spotting session while grooving to my mp3 player--then I realized I didn't bring headphones.

Psycho I went, yes indeedy.

So what did I do in full work-clothes attire? No, not to the nearest electronic store to buy an inexpensive set, I'm too cheap/crazy for that. Nope, I walked over a mile to see if the Hungry Cat opened its doors yet. Doors still closed, so instead of waiting another 15 minutes, I walked further eastward to eat. on Sunset, looking forward to enjoying some discounted grub & drinks, with time to sober up before I have to meet my AI-attending compadres.

No photos this time around (nothing seemed worthy of a snapshot, anyhow) - the margarita ($6) was nicely made and deceptively potent, and their house white wine ($4), a pinot gris, was crisp, refreshing and appley. Food was not bad, but nothing to write home about either - I got the salmon lollipops ($6) in a rather bland chili-soy glaze (I'd prefer the BBQ sauce accompaniment from a while back), and the crispy (margherita) pizza ($6) that was just OK -- the basil flavors were there, but the tomatoes & mozz definitely went MIA on my tongue.

For a similar price ($11.25 - no HH discount), I'd rather order their Toad in a Hole instead of the salmon & pizza. I remembered loving that combo of creamy-jiggly eggs, crispy bacon and buttery brioche the last time I was there - hopefully that remained unchanged.

Also disappointing was that they eliminated the Tuesday $25 three-course prix-fixe, replacing them with available-anytime $20 "TV dinners"; you can choose either a "hungry meal" of meatloaf or a "healthy meal" of fish. (menu for reference) I say *hic*, I mean, "meh" to both.

More interesting than the food were the service & staff - most notably the bartend was wearing jeans too low-rise for his own good. Thankfully he wasn't bad looking, but still - over the course of 30 minutes I've observed at least two plumber-crack shows and four tugging up of the jeans. Once is cute, twice is questionably amusing, but by the third time I'm seriously wondering why he didn't tighten his belt or get better fitting jeans (and furthermore, why no flack from management about it). Also, the manager and staff loudly inquiring about scheduling and the missing host(ess) while on the floor - kinda comical/unprofessional in my opinion (but I had two drinks and used to work in foodservice, so I leaned towards the former).

So my almost-$25 happy hour there didn't quite make me happy, despite the nice buzz from the wine and the 'rita; however, I fixed that fast on my mile-long shlep back -- made a stop at Skooby's for a boatload of their garlic fries.

Oh yea, I saw Blake in person as he walked past me with camera crews and a small legion of fans in tow - funny how that comes as an afterthought; I'm more jaded in entertainment-related public relations than I thought . . .

eat. on Sunset
1448 N. Gower (cross: Sunset)
Hollywood
323.461.8800
http://www.patinagroup.com/eatSunset/