The Yard

I am kicking myself for forgetting my camera last night. I was treated to dinner at The Yard and wished I could have taken pictures of my delicious meal.

It was a pleasant surprise to see Chef Chris “CJ” Jacobson in action after watching season 3 of Bravo’s Top Chef. He is in fact as tall as I imagined. Towering over customers at 6’3” as he delivered dishes and greeted friends. Since we didn’t have a reservation, we were seated at the community table. When I revisit The Yard, I think I’ll call ahead.

While I was unimpressed by the wine I ordered, the food was wonderful. We started with a cheese plate courtesy of Andrew’s Cheese Shop in Santa Monica (a must visit for their wine/cheese or beer/grilled cheese tastings!). We had a cheese similar to Gouda and then a soft blue cheese. I loved both selections and enjoyed dipping salted walnuts in a pool of honey, spreading the cheese on the pretzel-like bread and snacking on the slices of pear and pomegranate seeds before our next little plate.

Our chocolate persimmon and mushroom risotto plates were delivered at the same time and while the risotto was great (perfectly creamy with hints of citrus) the persimmon dish was the highlight of the night. The persimmon was quartered and roasted with chunks of burrata in between each slice. It was topped with chocolate shavings, the best olive oil I’ve ever tasted and chopped roasted almonds. I would go back just to eat this dish.

Overall I was really impressed with The Yard. Dont’ go too hungry though if you don’t want to break the bank…Roman and I ended up stopping at In-And-Out on the way home for some grilled cheeses, fries and Neapolitan shakes.