Despite the abundance of restaurants in Los Angeles, sometimes it does take a bit of research to find the right restaurant to go for different occasions. Being that it was DineLA week, we were able to narrow down to a place where it seemed worthwhile to try for a friend’s Birthday luncheon.

With the restaurant located in Century City, I knew parking would not be easy, and I would not have gone if there was no validated parking ($3 with validation). The place was not that easy to find even with the driving instructions from Mapquest.

Despite the fact it was a friend’s B-day and that I had made reservation, I was told that there was no table for us in the main dining room since I was 1/2 hr late. The best she could do was to give us a table in the bar area. To tell the truth, the table was not bad, it was next to a window, the main difference was that the table itself was a bit lower than the ones in the regular dining area.

The waiter was not exactly attentive, nonchalant would be a good description. The busboy (busman – he was an older gentleman), however, was quite nice and smiled at me often. He brought some bread in a box with butter, of which I devoured promptly due to my hunger.

I guess there are lots of lawyers working in all those high rise buildings in Century City, because there sure were quite a few of them sitting all around us.

My birthday friend arrived even later than I did after having problem finding the garage. We chose from the DineLA menu: Mixed Lettuce w/Yogurt, Herbs, & Pickles, and Tomato Gazpacho for appetizers, and Mugifuji Pork for both of us for the main course.

I enjoyed very much the mixed salad, very fresh and tasty, with large lettuce leaves. The gazpacho tasted rather unique, with unusual flavor. We both thought the Mugifuji Pork was really delicious, and the portion size was bigger than we had anticipated, so we were able to get filled.

After we asked for the check, the waiter brought my friend a round piece of chocolate cake with a candle in the middle for his birthday. We were not expecting that so it was nice gesture on the part of the management (after not giving us a table in the regular dining area).

Craft – 10100 Constellation Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90067  Phone: 310-279-4180