LEFT: Eva; RIGHT: Eva's foie gras.
Mark Gold (formerly of Leatherby’s Café Rouge and Patina) has been excitedly tweeting about opening his new restaurant in the former Hatfield’s space for months now, inviting reservations with coy prompts like, “Eva wants a date with you.”
Now that the intimate space has a fresh coat of paint, newly installed windows looking into the kitchen and a candlelit front deck, Eva is dressed up and ready for her date.
With just six appetizers and six entrées that will change seasonally, Gold manages to serve a surprisingly broad variety of victuals with beautiful showmanship, all for less than $20 a plate. The whole point, says Gold, is to be a “neighborhood spot that’s approachable to everybody. We want it to be warm and intimate. It’s my home!” But you’d be hard-pressed to find home cooking like this.
Appetizers such as bluefin tuna belly with tomatoes and peppers, burrata ravioli with corn milk and summer truffles and melt-in-your-mouth foie gras with salted melon and maple prepare the palate for more substantial entrées. Think luscious cod with incredibly dense (but sparingly ladled) “liquid” potatoes, tender poached beef with salsa verde and cauliflower and Jidori chicken with smoked pears, potatoes and olives. A cheese trolley awaits those who crave a dairy fix, but with desserts like chilled chocolate-almond espresso mousse, who can stop at fromage?
The regular and reserve wine lists—drawn solely from France and California—both contain interesting options at a minimal markup. Two other bargains are the Sunday supper prepared from fresh farmers’ market ingredients and served family-style (with wine) for only $35, and the $19 three-course prix-fixe lunch.
Gold wants Eva to be “a place to welcome the many friends we have made and hope to make in the future.” If he keeps up this caliber of cuisine, he’s bound to find himself with lots of new friends in no time. 7458 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, 323-634-0700; evacuisine.com
