West Hollywood, CA, USA: 6/19/09

Two Fridays ago, Willy and I set out for RH Restaurant & Bar in Hyatt's new Andaz West Hollywood hotel, which opened Jan. '09 on the Sunset Strip. For being a Hyatt Gold Passport member, Willy received a mailer that offered a "complimentary entrée when dining with another guest" (fancy talk for BOGO free).

Due to LAPD sobriety checks in Echo Park, our drive took longer than expected. RH offers valet parking but, even with validation, it's still $7, so we found a spot on the street. We parked by Cabo Cantina (where the meter was $1/hr) and headed two blocks west to the hotel, passing Miyagi's and Saddle Ranch.

To get to the restaurant, make a right once you enter the hotel. Before you will be this:
Everything is really open. There is no real entrance, no formal host/hostess stand, and you can see the chefs in the kitchen, the produce in the refridgerators, and all the wines along the wall (as seen in the left side of the above picture). RH is known for only serving the freshest market products. In addition to the usual bread and butter, we received fresh vegetables and dip. For an appetizer, we ordered oysters, which came with a delicious sausage. Ever since our trip to Seattle, Willy has turned into an oyster fanatic. If you have any oyster recommendations, please do share.
I followed the oysters up with a hanger steak. I ordered from a cool "market list" menu that listed the fresh market products of the day. With a pencil, you mark what you want (kind of like American dim sum) and it goes straight to the chef. With the hanger steak, I had asparagus, spinach, mushroom, and garlic and peppercorn sauce on the side. Willy had the market fresh fish, which on this day was sea bass off the coast of Santa Barbara. We also ordered "triple fried" french fries on the side, hopeful that it was somehow less unhealthy given the unmistakeable healthy theme of the restaurant. Willy also had a glass of Alondra Chardonnay and I finished with a cup of joe. To say the least, we were "unbutton your pants" full and left happy.

---

Cost Breakdown

$2.00 - Metered street parking on Sunset Blvd. for two hours
$69.90 - Dinner with 1 appetizer, 1 entrée (sea bass was complimentary), 1 side, 1 glass of wine, and 1 cup of coffee
---------
$71.90

Notes:
- RH Restaurant is on OpenTable.com
- For the full menu and prices, click here