Spago Beverly Hills

I had never been to Spago before, and neither had my hubby or his parents, so I chose it as a fun gastronomic destination for his birthday on January 20. I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate both his birthday and also the inauguration of our new president.

We requested a table in the patio/courtyard and we got it. It was a great place to sit and I recommend it, though I might try getting a table closer to the open kitchen next time.

I said next time! That means I liked the restaurant and would go back again! Yes, everyone at the table agreed that there would be a next time.

Our first course - we all chose the sweetbreads. Delicious.



If you have never tried sweetbreads before, do try them! They are a mild and tender organ meat, and lends itself to different preparations. Here it is deep fried like a schnitzel and dressed with a sauce that had mustard, citrus juice, and some five-spice powder. Very nice.

For my main course, I had calves liver. Yes, it was a veal organ day for me, but it was not unpleasant!

The calves liver was very nicely prepared. I was initially skeptical, and wondered if the liver would taste grainy or too strong. But it wasn't - it was very expertly executed. I savored this dish.

My hubby ordered the veal chop:

My inlaws order fish, the loup-de-mer, which I didn't get a picture of, but it was also very nicely done, and served and sauced table-side.

Yes, indeedy, the birthday boy liked his veal chop!

Dessert was a Hungarian layer cake called Dobos Torte. It is a traditional 7-layer chocolate/espresso cake that hubby and his parents recognized as they have travelled to Hungary. It was a nice cake.

Overall the experience was 2 thumbs up from everyone at the table, and we were very happy with everything. We will definitely return!