JAR

A few weeks ago, my roommate and I went out to dinner with our good friend Kelsey and her mom. Place of choice: Jar. We didn't know what to expect as none of us had been before; the closest thing I came to was peeping the online menu @ http://www.thejar.com/. When I think of the word jar, the image that comes to mind is a jar full of chocolate chip cookies... Not at Jar. Curious about the name behind the restaurant, I asked our server "Why Jar?" and she replied, "It stands for Just-Another-Restaurant." How clever and how aptly so for LA.

Bordered by cushioned seats, the rich wood and shades of brown gave an overall warm setting to the space. Jar is mostly American cuisine with a bit of Asian touches thrown in. They are known for their pot roasts, so it's safe to say comfort food - with market fresh sides - is their forte. We pretty much skipped on the appetizers and ordered our own steaks with a bunch of sides for the table. I read that the garlic and parsley fries here have won awards, but I feel like I've tasted a similar sort before at other restaurants. I think I only have pictures of the fries, Japanese purple yams, and water spinach but we also ordered the special side of the day: beet greens. We tried 3 desserts: chocolate pudding, butterscotch pudding and a chocolate tart. I was a bit disappointed thinking that "pudding" was going to be a molten lava-like cake, but I was wrong as it turned out to be the more traditional gelatin pudding. Nontheless, the pudding cup looked clean/new after we dug into it. We asked our server to heat up the tart, which was genius in making that hot&cold combo of the ice-cream and the warm chocolate. Take a look at "just another restaurant's" food..