GRANVILLE — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Yesterday my parents and I had to drive my sister to LAX and back home. There was a lot of traffic (surprise surprise) and we were hungry. Looking up places to stop at on our way home we saw Granville. I remembered I used to eat at their Burbank location years ago when I worked in that area. I remember it was really good so I was happy to now see more locations now. I saw on the website that they serve certified humane beef & chicken | antibiotic/hormone-free chicken, beef, pork & salmon   |   no hfcs non-gmo vegetables & cooking oil | Ethically and locally source | scratch made food. Looking over the menu we were sold. They clearly indicate on the menu gluten-free, vegan/vegetarian or plant based options ("chicken" or "beef"). We did valet parking as it was offered.

Our server was Karyna and she was very nice and also patient with my dad as he asked a million questions ha. The atmosphere was perfect. That rustic-industrial lounge feel is exactly what I love.

We started with the Hummus and a bowl of their Tomato Bisque Soup and it was an amazing start to our meal. Everything was very light and fresh but full of flavor. Usually tomato bisques end up to heavy with cream, sugar, and salt. This was fresh but not too watery. Perfect. All the fresh flavors in the hummus were balanced so well. I'm going to try making mine at home like theirs now.

I got the Poke Bowl and my goodness. It just ruined poke bowls anywhere else for me. The flavors of basil, coconut and lemon grass was absolutely delicious. The soba noodles tasted house made. I seriously hope this stays on the menu and isn't seasonal because I will keep returning for it now!

My mother loves herself some Porkchops, so she tried theirs. I think she melted for a minute on the first bite. I'm not really a porkchop person but I tried a bite. The porkchop with the chutney and mashed potatoes was amazing. Even our server said before she worked there she never ate Porkchops either, but she loves theirs.

My dad got the Pastrami Sandwich which I believe was made with Waygu beef. Hands down the best Pastrami I've ever had. And I've a lot of good ones. This just melts in your mouth with the fresh soft marbled rye bread. He also got the Sweet Potato Fries and those were delicious as well. Sometimes they can be kinda soggy and or bland, but these weren't. These were very good!

My parent also chose to order desserts and got the Lickety Split and Berry Shortcake, I just shared those with them as I knew they couldn't eat them all, I would have liked to try the Brulee'd Banana Brownie so I will next time. But both those desserts were good too. I really liked the brulee'd Bananas with this elevated take on a banana split. The berry shortcake was good. I think it needed more of the berry filling as the "shortcake" was more like a buttery shortbread tasting scone which was dry. Not bad dry, as in over cooked, but just dryer than a moist shortcake would have been. It was delicious.

We definitely will return again. Hats of the chefs and...

Surprisingly fantastic!

This is one of those local places that you think, "OK, it looks trendy and people come here to have expensive drinks, but..."

But... in this case, my friend Debra invited me here for my birthday. She said it was very good and I thought, "If they have a good burger I'm happy."

We got there and it was trendy and noisy. The waiter, a mountain man with a long beard, was super friendly and helpful.

The menu had a lot of variety but my eye immediately went to 1) cheese appetizers and 2) beef stroganoff (because so few places serve it).

We ordered the grilled cheese sandwich with petit basque, grilled onions and a tomato soup dip, mac 'n cheese made with gruyere, chicken and asparagus--because, you can't really have too much cheese. I mean, really.

I ordered the stroganoff with a demi glace brandy sauce, mushrooms, farfalle, fried onions and instead of sour cream, a horseradish aioli. My friend ordered lettuce cups (because she says you can have too much cheese--at least that's what she says but I don't think even she believes it), and her son had a pork chop.

The appetizers arrived quickly and cheesily. SO GOOD. The grilled cheese sandwich was about as good as a grilled cheese gets. The mac 'n cheese was a unique take and totally yummy.

Then bearded mountain man brought the entrees. The stroganoff, while not the classic approach, had such a rich, flavorful sauce, was brilliant. The horseradish crema gave it just a touch of the sour cream kind of thing but in a modern way. Ate it all. All of it. All. Of. It. Yum.

The pork chop (which I sampled, because, hey, it was my birthday and I got to try everything) was perfect. I did not try the lettuce cups because, hey, they're lettuce and if I want that I just go to my front yard and munch on the lawn.

Now it was time for dessert, and we were originally thinking about getting frozen yogurt, but mountain man said the banana split was to die for (not his words, probably, I can't imagine him saying that, but he gave off that vibe, like "I'd kill an elk for it!"). So we ordered that.

It arrived, gigantic, big enough for all three of us. Lots of hot chocolate sauce, three kinds of ice cream (vanilla, chocolate and cherry), and, of course, bananas (which only count as dessert when topped with chocolate and more dairy).

Now we were pretty much stuffed--in a very happy way.

I really have to say--the food at this place is fantastic and you wouldn't guess it, because it's not pretentious, fancy, or expensive. It's a warm local place with terrific food at reasonable prices.

Don't wait till your birthday to go.

And eat cheese, my...

Today I was treated to yet again, another AMAZING FOOD EXPERIENCE! When you love food as much as I do, dining in at a restaurant is supposed to be an experience away from home and that’s exactly what happened while eating at Granville. A good friend introduced me to this place and treated me to lunch. We first started with the grilled cheese sandwich. I know what you’re thinking so let me stop you: this no ORDINARY grilled cheese sandwich. Nothing against the ordinary grilled cheese sandwich, but this was a grilled cheese sandwich taken up 10 notches! Crispy, buttery, toasted bread with warm, gooey cheese and caramelized onions coupled with a creamy tomato soup-like sauce. Magnifique! I had to take a moment, close my eyes, and savor the goodness of this astronomical grilled cheese sandwich. We then moved on to macaroni and cheese. Oh I’m sorry, Uptown Mac & Cheese. Let me tell you, they put the UPTOWN in this mac & cheese! Creamy mac & cheese with savory grilled chicken topped off with breadcrumbs, I was in food paradise! Then I moved on to my main course which was the spicy chicken pasta. It had just enough spice but not so much that it was overbearing. I could taste every single ingredient in that pasta and I ate small bites because I wanted to savor every single ounce of that pasta 😆 I even took some home! Lastly, we shared a pecan brownie topped with a sliced banana drizzled in candied caramel and caramel sauce on the side with whipped cream and strawberry and raspberry. Listen… I was once again transported to Food Paradise. Who knew that brownies and bananas go together? I know. Granville does. Granville, thank you so much for the food experience! Thank you to my good friend who introduced me to this amazing restaurant! I will definitely be back again…and again…and again.

Side note for my lactose intolerant people: This place is very clean when it comes to their food. If you are vegan, vegetarian, or you eat gluten-free food, this place is it. I am lactose intolerant but I risk my life daily because I love dairy products. I had lunch at noon. It is now 6:44 PM and I do not have bubble guts from the grilled cheese sandwich or the mac & cheese....