Sac Foodies

Lucques not only made L.A. Magazine’s Top 75 Best Restaurants in 2008: it made number one. Yes, according to the publication, this Melrose Ave hot spot is THE best culinary destination in all of Los Angeles. This report came out just after we secured Lucques as our second location for a Sunsweet-inspired dinner (see my post on TRU for the first).

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not really L.A.-esque. I mean, I don’t have a teacup Chihauhau dressed in designer doggy-wear; I don’t know the latest B-list celebrity up-and-comers; and you probably won’t find me in line for the latest club openings, or any club opening for that matter. Nope, just not my cup of tea.

That said, Lucques is just the right amount of trendy and substance, centrally located on Melrose Ave. The space is comfortable and relaxed and the food is amazing. I think that anyone would find this restaurant welcoming and delicious.

Co-owners Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne have operated Lucques for more than 10 years. In 2006 Suzanne (whose resume includes a stint at Chez Panisse) received the James Beard Foundation’s Award of Excellence for Best Chef in California. Last month a group of us got to taste for ourselves. Here’s a sampling of some of the menu items that hit my palate that night:

Our first course started us off with a Blood Orange Salad with Arugula, Dates, Almonds and Parmesan. Unfortunately, my picture for this course didn’t turn out, but let’s just say that any salad with blood oranges is okay by me. Our second source was grilled Hawaiian tuna with farro, black rice and pickled raisins.

Next up we had liberty duck breast with turnip-parsnip gratin and sweet-and-sour prunes.

And for dessert we were treated to a walnut galette with candied orange zest and prune-armagnac ice cream. Yummmmmmmm.

By Christine Moravec