Bodega Park — Restaurant in Los Angeles

MMmMmMMMmMMMm Best DineLA decision I've ever made. I gave up on DineLA before I came here!!

Make sure to make a reservation at least 2 weeks in advance for Fri/Sat night. This place is POPPIN!!!

I just saw this menu on the Thursday before DineLA ended. I didn't even bother to look up DineLA menus like I did in the past because every restaurant I tried disappointed me. I grabbed a DFW friend and came here. At 9 pm on a Thursday, I was told that all spaces are booked and even if I were to wait 1.5 hours I might not be guaranteed a sitting place. My heart sank.. I drove an hour in traffic to get FULLY rejected. We sat on the side, yelping at other restaurants in that area but weren't satisfied with what we got. We waited another 15 minutes thinking about what to do, when the host approached us saying that she's trying all that she can to get us a seat. She pushed parties together and got a table for us. I never got her name but YOU ARE AWESOME!!

Everything on the rotational menu is well thought-of and very innovative. NOTHING fell short of foodgasmic delight.

This is what I got..

Ginger beer- ding ding ding. This brand's a winner!

Popcorn bacon- I hate popcorn; I'm ambivalent to thin bacon strips. But this is AWESOME. Bacon is house cured, breaded, then fried. You get this aioli to dip it with but it's unnecessary.

Brussel Sprout Hash- The sprouts were crisp, the potatoes were tender, the sauce was an explosion of different flavors. What is the sauce?! I must find out and use it on all my veggies!!

Lamb and Rice- yes i've tried the one in NY. Does this compare? I don't think you should even ask that question. This is a more elevated version, using lamb BELLY rather than grounded lamb bits. I would want the white sauce to be more thick- like that of NY. The rice - a bit more al dente. But the belly was cooked perfectly! And like the one in NY, just put 2 drops of that red sauce or else you will be CRYING!

Jamaican Airline Chicken- aka Jerk chicken. The chicken was cooked through yet fell off the bone and even the breast wasn't dried. YUM!!

5 leches bread pudding- Puts all you tres leches to shame!! 5 leches is the way to gooooo

Milk and Honey- This was a great ending to this flavor-packed meal. The chef knows when to stop with all these flavor explosions!! The honey comb crumbles on top is a great topper to this milk panna cotta. The crumbles are sticky but in such small pieces that you won't have trouble chewing it.

I LOVE THIS PLACE SO MUCH. I can't wait...

So many of my friends recommended Black Hogg as one of the best places to go for dineLA but I just couldn't find a reservation. This time around, I made a reservation several weeks ahead and finally found a reservation for 2 on a Wednesday.

All the tables were full and food came out as they are ready. I would recommend sharing your small plates that way you can try more options and no one has to wait while food is getting cold on the table.

The dineLA menu is $35 and consists of 2 choices of small plates, 1 large plate, and a dessert. I would definitely say that the small plates stole the show. We ordered the brussels sprouts, street corn, pork belly taco, and the chili limon fries. My favorites were the brussels sprouts and pork belly taco but I really enjoyed all of them. I also heard the popcorn bacon is good but didn't try it.

My friend had the clams with coconut rice for her large plate and I had the 53rd and 6th lamb and rice. I wasn't too crazy about either of the dishes. My lamb and rice dish was kind of disappointing really. I would probably rather opt for their bone marrow burger next time or just stick with the small plates only if I came here outside of the dineLA seasons.

The desserts were also excellent. My friend had the milk and honey, which was light and delicious. My five leches bread pudding with vanilla ice cream was really amazing. It was sweet with a hint of saltiness. The bread pudding was so moist and the ice cream went very well with it. I was so full after the courses but I still managed to eat most of it.

The service was good but they were very busy. There was a reservation for our table immediately following our time 90 minutes later so we didn't stay too long after we dined. They do have seatings at the bar though. I will definitely come back here again even...

-Winter Dine LA 2014's Review-

Black Hogg is one of those rare finds where the food is actually as good as they say! The Dine LA Menu was listed for $35 for a 3-course dinner meal, a great deal and value among the sea of Dine LA restaurants. When you see a restaurant that is booked up, you know it's got to be somewhat good and it was DAMN good!

I would definitely recommend coming here with a party of 4 because there's so many delicious small plates to share. I know there's lot of talk about the Popcorn Bacon, but the garlic scallion green beans is the dish to get! The green beans were tender and bursting with flavors, 5 STARS!

As for the popcorn bacon, it reminded me of tater tots. It is not an ordinary tater tots; it's bacon explosion in your mouth. The pork buns and pork tacos were delicious as well; texture and flavor were spot on. Geez, everything I ordered was excellent! From the beginning to the end of my meal, Black Hogg did not disappoint!

Service was on cue and the decor is minimalistic. I can't wait to come back; reservation is available on their own website. Black Hogg is extremely popular, so do yourself a favor and make a reservation in advance. Downfall: Parking sucks on Sunset Blvd; valet and meter parking is available...watch out for parking enforcement.

Tip: Open seating is available at the bar.

PS...