Lotería Grill Hollywood

*Post by Angela.

After years of living with mediocre Mexican cuisine on the east coast, we've been excited by the prospect of more authentic cuisine, now that we're closer to our south-of-the-border neighbors. The other night after catching a movie at the Arclight, we tackled Lotería Grill Hollywood on Hollywood Boulevard, which was just named Number 5 on LA Mag's list of Top 10 Mexican Restaurants. Lotería Grill began as a booth at Farmers Market in West Hollywood, and expanded with two locations, one in Hollywood and one in Studio City.

We made our way past the lines of people waiting to get into the club next door and headed through the bright yellow exterior door into the restaurant. I immediately warmed to the space, with its bright decor, high ceilings, and open kitchen, and felt equally good about the friendly and attentive service. Lotería Grill also boasts a substantial bar area along the back wall, with rows of colorful liquors adding to the festive atmosphere.

We started off with the Chicharron de Queso (below), a large sheet of cheese griddled to a golden crisp. I've never had anything like this before, and was taken aback when the mountainous appetizer appeared at our table. Hm, how to describe it? ...It's like when you make nachos in the oven and cheese melts and hardens on your baking sheet, times 1,000.

The cheese was served with a very solid guacamole, delicious salsa verde, and warmed corn tortillas, so we broke off pieces of the cheese to make little tacos (below). I really enjoyed the dish, but after a while, the saltiness and greasiness of the cheese got to be a little overwhelming. I think just maybe this may be a case where less is more. Nevertheless, the novelty of the dish and its presentation made it memorable. 

We then got down to the business of entrees. Normally I would be overwhelmed by the number of options offered at Lotería Grill, but once I saw the special plates menu, my decision was made. I went with the Lengua de Res en Salsa Verde (below), a platter of beef tongue with tomatillo sauce. The thick slices of tongue were just as tender as I was hoping, and the slight underseasoning of the meat was well compensated for by the thick, bright tomatillo sauce. The accompanying beans were a far cry from the canned-tasting sides I've had at the bulk of Mexican restaurants I've visited in the past - these had a complexity and depth of flavor that left me wanting more. And the rice was equally impressive, flavorful and perfectly cooked.

Mark opted for a trio of tacos, choosing the Pollo en Pipian Rojo (chicken in a spicy pumpkin-seed and peanut sauce served with chopped onion), the Mole Poblano con Pollo (chicken in mole poblano with sesame seeds, chopped onion, and queso fresco), and the Conchinita Pibil (pork, slow roasted in a banana leaf, with citrus-pickled red onion and habanero) (all three pictured below, from back to front). He enjoyed all three, but didn't find any of them to be as memorable as he had hoped.

I was stuffed at this point, but as always, Mark was ready for dessert. He ordered the Tres Leches cake (below), a traditional Mexican dessert made with sponge cake soaked in evaporated milk, condensed milk and heavy cream. The light cake, paired with a strawberry filling, was a nice, if not outstanding, way to end the meal.

I was sort of expecting to be blown away by the meal, and was just the tiniest bit disappointed to feel simply pleasantly satiated. That's just a matter of managing expectations, though. Lotería Grill serves up really great food - excellent, really, when you think about the restaurant's humble beginnings and purpose. And it was a nice way to end a wonderful date night!