Where Colin Ate: LA Edition feat. RVR, Felix Trattoria, Night + Market Sahm, Don Antonio's
Plus: the perfect order at NYC’s legendary red sauce spot, Don Peppe
Colin Camac (aka @resyguynyc) is officially Blackbird’s “Strategic Sales Lead,” and unofficially is our resident insider’s insider. He is out, on the town seven nights a week, sniffing out the city’s best joints, skateboard in one hand, martini in the other.
It’s been a wild few weeks, but I’ll keep this installment focused (mostly) on my recent West Coast adventure. I was sent to LA for the launch of Blackbird on the West Side and had an absolute blast. We have some incredible restaurants signed on, and it was great to feel the excitement of everyone who was participating. I also made some solo mission stops around town, as well as caught up with a few good friends for meals during the short time I was out there. As for NYC, I made it back with enough time to go to a few Italian spots, including possibly one of my favorite restaurants in the world that I have been frequenting since childhood.
Colin
LA
Coni’Seafood
📍Del Ray
🍽️ Mexican coastal
Straight off the plane—that was delayed an hour—I was absolutely starving, so I took a car directly to Coni’Seafood to check it out. I had read a bit about it previously and was excited to give it a try. Coni’s is known for Nayarit-style food and has been slinging mariscos in one form or another since 1987. I was bummed to find out that I was there during a period in time that they were cleaning their grill, so their famous grilled snook was unfortunately not an option. Every table starts out with a bowl of chips and a fish-shaped bowl of a really zippy and spicy salsa verde. I decided to try an order of their tostaditos, which were six tortilla chips topped with marlin paste as well as shrimp and octopus ceviche, surrounding a bowl of more ceviche. The marlin paste was slightly smoky, adding some fun nuance to the ceviche. Following that, I went with a shrimp aguachile, raw shrimp topped with onions, swimming in a bright green sauce bursting with acid, and slightly cooking the shrimp. The dish looked beautiful and had a nice kick to it. Finally, I ordered one last plate of cooked shrimp “al mojo de ajo,” which came with a side of rice and had a deeply flavored dry chili spice, brightened up with some lime and garlic that I really dug. Would definitely come check this place out again and need to try the snook.
RVR
📍 Venice
🍽️ Japanese izakaya
As it was one of my absolute favorite meals from my last visit, I made one reservation before coming to town, and that was at RVR. Again, it was a really great time, and I can’t explain how perfect the feel of this restaurant is. I randomly sat at the same table as last time, right by the DJ spinning vinyl, and was able to survey the whole room from a spot in the corner. Highlights of this meal were the tiny fried fluke bites the kitchen sent out for us that I believe may have been a special that day. The light fry really let the fish shine with what I believe were tiny pickled onions on top. You absolutely cannot go wrong with any of the handrolls, and we went with two each, a kanpachi as well as uni. I think the vegetable section is one of the strongest parts of the meals here as well. I gushed about this place a few weeks back, so we can leave it at that, but this is a must-visit if you’re on the west side for any reason (plus you can check in and pay with Blackbird).
Don Antonio’s
📍West LA
🍽️ Mexican
After a few early meetings, I skipped off to lunch at another old-school local SoCal Mexican spot called Don Antonio’s. Don Antonio’s has been doing its thing on the west side since 1982. It’s one of those places that makes you crave a margarita. Since it was 11:30 a.m. I behaved myself and resisted the urge. Looking at the menu, it seemed like a standard Tex-Cali-Mex place, offering large burritos, enchiladas, and combination plates. I started out with a massive order of shredded chicken nachos. If I had to do it again, I would most likely go beef or chorizo, but that felt like it would feel too heavy, as I also wanted to try a combo plate. The nachos themselves were some of the better nachos I’ve had, with gooey melted cheese and topped with jalapeños, sour cream and guac. For the combo plate, I opted for Don Antonio’s special, which was a hard shell beef taco, cheese enchilada, and chile relleno that came with rice and refried beans. It was a ton of food and was exactly what I was looking for. The enchilada, specifically, was probably my favorite part of the dish if I had to pick one.
Night + Market Sahm
📍Venice
🍽️ Thai
After our Blackbird launch event at Only the Wild Ones, a friend and I took a quick Waymo—a wild experience—over to Night + Market Sahm for some Thai. This is the only location of Night + Market I hadn’t yet been to and much like the others, it’s fantastic. We got there just as the place was slowing down and jumped at the offer of free wings when you purchase a bottle of wine. The wings were sticky and spicy, basically the perfect thing for drinking a bright bottle of orange Brutal (didn’t clock the exact bottle) that had a bright, juicy flavor with a finish of salinity that was really nice. We followed the wings with pork jowl with jaew chili sauce to dip, fatty and well-balanced with the sauce. My go-to at any Thai restaurant where it is available is the crispy rice salad with fermented pork, and this one definitely hit the spot. The fermented sour pork is a flavor I can’t get enough of. We rounded the meal out with a great version of shrimp pad thai and a delicious pastrami pad kee mao. The pad kee moa, bursting with flavor from the young peppercorns, was a welcome last-minute addition from my friend. The most fun dish of the night though, was the restaurant’s version of a crunchwrap, stuffed with spicy krapow chicken, Thai basil, khao soi queso (what?!?!), crema, lettuce and tomato, wrapped in a tortilla. A really great bite.
Komal
📍 South Central
🍽️ Mexican
After a stroll through the Santa Monica Farmers Market, my buddy Jeremy from Beethoven Market wanted to bring me to Komal, a molino that turns out incredible Mexican food on freshly housemade masa, and it was an absolute highlight of the trip. The storefront is directly across from Holbox in the Mercado La Paloma food court. Unlike Holbox, there was no line at all and we walked up and ordered straight away before grabbing one of the empty tables in the area. Soon enough, the food was delivered by the incredibly helpful staff, starting with a plat of tacos de suadero. Two brisket tacos on insanely good corn tortillas topped with onion, cilantro, and a side of salsa roja. We followed that with an order of flautas, three to an order mixed with both blue and yellow corn tortillas, stuffed with ayocote beans and topped with a deeply flavored mole, queso fresco and crema. The mole was really a showstopper. Tlacoyos came next, thicker, oval-shaped tortillas with more mashed ayocote beans and topped with roasted nopales, queso fresco, crema, and salsa verde. I loved the chew on the thicker tortilla and the nopales as well as the salsa verde, which brightened it all up to contrast the earthy beans. My favorite bite was the often Instagrammed flor de cabeza quesadilla, which was a squash blossom quesadilla on a beautiful corn tortilla, quesillo cheese, and a sweet corn sofrito that blew me away. Such a fantastic lunch and a place I will definitely be coming back to on any subsequent visits to town.
Osteria Mozza
📍 Hancock Park
🍽️ Italian
For one of my last nights in LA, my friends suggested I knock another classic restaurant off my list, and we headed to Nancy Silverton’s Osteria Mozza. We snagged a late reservation and walked into an absolutely packed dining room at 8:45 p.m. on a Wednesday. The room felt familiar and comfortable in a very old school way, and we were quickly shuttled to a nice corner table after a quick stop at the bar to see some drink menus. I randomly bumped into a server who I went to high school with as we were walking to our table. It always blows me away when these “small world” moments happen. The GM who knew some of our party got us started with some mini fig martinis, which was one of the better martini riffs I’ve had in a while and a great way to start rolling into our first dish of the night. We started off picking a few things from the “mozzarella bar” portion of the menu, ordering both Cantabrian anchovies and the burrata and braised leeks. The anchovies in particular were a highlight dish, two fresh mozzarella balls served with bread and an incredibly briny and delicious tin of anchovies. It was the perfect amount of saltiness and the type of anchovies I really enjoy, paired nicely with the creaminess of the cheese. The team also sent us their famous burrata and bacon, which were little individual crostinis topped with marinated escarole, caramelized shallots with the cheese and bacon and provided a really nice salty, sweet, and creamy balance. A red endive and fennel salad that was beautifully dressed with an anchovy vinaigrette and layered expertly was another real highlight. The brightness and salt of the vinaigrette worked really well with the bitter leaves. We went with pasta as a main course, and all three hit the spot. My favorite of which was a classic ragu bolognese with garganelli, which happens to be one of my favorite pasta shapes. Both the agnolotti with butter and sage as well as the orecchiette with sausage and Swiss chard, were also best in class. I would also highly recommend the biscotti misti for dessert as it was the best biscotti I’ve ever had.
Felix Trattoria
📍Venice
🍽️ Italian
On our Blackbird launch day, I wanted to pop into some spots to check out the experience and give our new partners a few reps with the platform, so I decided to pop into Felix right as they opened and have a quick snack and martini at the bar. I have to say the food here was really on point, and I will definitely be coming for a more well-rounded meal on my next visit. As part of our Blackbird launch week promo, I was gifted the wonderful stuffed squash blossoms. Unlike other versions of this dish, these were really lightly fried, letting the flavor of the blossom and cheese mixture really shine. Following the blossoms, I ordered suppli in bianco, filled with branzi—an aged cow’s milk cheese—rice, prosciutto cotto and topped with a dusting of salty pecorino. It was as delicious as it sounds and was really well-executed. My favorite dish of the meal though, was an insanely tasty plate of prawns in salsa verde. The prawns were very gently cooked and served whole so that you could remove the heads and suck out all of the incredible prawn flavor. You rarely get a dish like this prepared so well in the US, and usually can only find stuff like this in Europe (from most of my experience). I can’t wait to go back and get them again.
NYC
Bernie’s Restaurant
📍Greenpoint
🍽️ American
It had been forever since I’d popped into Bernie’s and ended up snagging a Friday night table . Bernie’s is the perfect example of a restaurant opening in the exact right place and the exact right time, giving a neighborhood exactly what it wants. The feel is so comfortable and classic, and the food follows suit. We started out with an order of martinis and mozzarella sticks. The sticks, larger than most versions in town and some of the better ones around, were seasoned nicely and topped with more grated cheese. Bernie’s Caesar salad is a classic example, dressed nicely and served in the old-school wooden bowls as they should be. For mains we went double chicken, ordering both the chicken parm as well as a half order of the house vinegar chicken. While the parm is solid, I don’t think I’ll come back again without ordering the vinegar chicken, which is served in a bright vinegar sauce with peppers and onions. The chicken was really nicely cooked, and the peppers specifically brought the whole thing together. Lemon ice box pie is always a great way to end a heavy meal.
Don Peppe
📍Ozone Park
🍽️ Italian
Topping off an already massive dining week, I wrapped up the weekend with my sister’s birthday dinner at our family favorite (for almost 40 years now), Don Peppe in Ozone Park. If you haven’t been, I cannot recommend this place enough, as it is one of my absolute favorite restaurants anywhere. The vibe is as old-school as you can get, a bright room, with fans and large tables everywhere, waiters who have been here for decades, and horse racing memorabilia covering the walls. It has a feel completely unique to itself, and the only menu is printed on the wall. Regulars will know what they are ordering without even looking, and our standard order is the same every time. Sure, you can go off script and start ordering the everyday red sauce classics, but doing that for me is missing the point. Don Peppe’s does a few things better than anyone and it is a damn shame when people go there and don’t get the right stuff. Another thing about the restaurant is that you need to bring a crew. A 4-top works, but you really want a table of at least six to get the whole experience. Pro tip: it is also directly across the street from JFK, so if you ever have a late flight or get in during the afternoon, you can pop over for a bite. So, without further ado, I now present to you the perfect Don Peppe order — don’t fuck this up:
*House salad — with meat and cheese.
*Baked clams — put this place on the map.
*Stuffed artichoke — they have it available maybe 30% of the time, but always ask.
*Eggplant rollatini — this is a sometimes order, but a great version and definitely worth ordering in a big group.
*Linguine with white clams — so much garlic, you’ll smell it for two days.
*Linguine with shrimp Luciano — off-menu pasta in a shrimp and onion pink sauce.
*Veal Don Pepp — non-negotiable, best dish on the menu, done better than any other place. Don’t ask me why or how.
Falansai
📍Bushwick (but moving to Greenpoint)
🍽️ Vietnamese-Mexican
I made it in for the last night of service at the current iteration of Falansai. Falansai is a Mexican-Vietnamese restaurant by my good friend, Chef Eric Tran, and is one of the most fun restaurants around. They are closing shop and moving to a new location in Greenpoint in about a week or so, but I wanted to get to the OG Bushwick spot for one more meal before they made the move. We went with the standard Dac Biet 3-course meal, which is always more food than you need (don’t even get me started on the 5-course!), and is always such a great meal. We started with the first course of incredible duck tamales, a dish of marinated cucumbers and tomatoes, and a bowl of papaya with vermicelli noodles. All of which were even better punched up with the house sauces of spicy fish sauce, salsa matcha, and the house ginger hot sauce. The massive main course was the always great lemongrass beef skewers (4x) as well as a Boston mackerel with a tomato-coconut curry, all served over rice with herbs and fried shallots over the top. It also included a large bowl of duck pho broth with veggies on the side. Such a great place, I can’t wait to see what the next chapter looks like.