Friday Night Fill Up at Ford's
Sometimes you have to take a chance, try your luck—go to a popular restaurant on a Friday night without a reservation. I did just that at Ford's Filling Station. Walking-in, I rolled the dice and came up 7's with a bar seat for an impromptu pre-show dinner while the table wait was 40 minutes. But 'less you think I posses an invisibility cloak to slip past the front door, let me say that there were a couple things to stacked the deck in my favor. First, I was a solo diner—a friend I was meeting at the theater couldn't join me for dinner—glad to eat and run. (I got a play to catch!) Second, I had a friendly hostess willing to deal me in—a big reason for my success. She happily seated me in a busy room.
Once at the bar, I held the menu and found a plan: beer and casual food. It was a Friday night after all, and I wanted to play it cool and relaxed. The East Coast girl in me couldn't resist the Fried Ipswich Clams. The cornmeal coating was applied with slightly too heavy a hand for my taste, but the clams were fried to perfection—sweet and tender. They popped easily into my mouth. Working in seafood, I ordered the flatbread with shrimp, white bean purée, arugula, and sautéed onions. It was a delightful combination of favors: thinly sliced lemon wedges added brightness—the perfect zing—to the mellow white beans, smoky micro-greens, and sweet, caramelized onions. Shrimps were applied generously, so I had one with every bite of flatbread. I washed down all this tastiness with a refreshing Hefeweizen.
In the end, Ford’s Filling Station held the winning hand for my fill up, and eating at the bar made the pit stop a breeze. I got a drink and dinner in no time flat—or an hour to be exact—and easily caught my play at eight.
(Note: All things said and done, the next time I go back, I’ll be making reservations.)
Ford's Filling Station
9531 Culver Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 202-1470
www.fordsfillingstation.net
Once at the bar, I held the menu and found a plan: beer and casual food. It was a Friday night after all, and I wanted to play it cool and relaxed. The East Coast girl in me couldn't resist the Fried Ipswich Clams. The cornmeal coating was applied with slightly too heavy a hand for my taste, but the clams were fried to perfection—sweet and tender. They popped easily into my mouth. Working in seafood, I ordered the flatbread with shrimp, white bean purée, arugula, and sautéed onions. It was a delightful combination of favors: thinly sliced lemon wedges added brightness—the perfect zing—to the mellow white beans, smoky micro-greens, and sweet, caramelized onions. Shrimps were applied generously, so I had one with every bite of flatbread. I washed down all this tastiness with a refreshing Hefeweizen.
In the end, Ford’s Filling Station held the winning hand for my fill up, and eating at the bar made the pit stop a breeze. I got a drink and dinner in no time flat—or an hour to be exact—and easily caught my play at eight.
(Note: All things said and done, the next time I go back, I’ll be making reservations.)
Ford's Filling Station
9531 Culver Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 202-1470
www.fordsfillingstation.net
posted by Blue Plate at 11:45 PM
2 Comments:
Those fried clams remind me of Rhode Island. We used to go to this great seaside shack called Aunt Carries. I'm going to have to go try them—I haven't found a tasty equivalent on this coast.
Aunt Carries sounds amazing. There's nothing like East Coast seafood. It has a taste all its own. And don't get me started on seaside shacks. Growing-up, I spent memorable summer nights eating my heart out in many along the Eastern Seaboard.
The West Coast also has its own unique fruit de la mer—Pacific Salmon and Dungeness Crab come to mind. And I have a fondness for the Swan Oyster Depot in San Francisco. It reminds me of the seafood counter one finds in fish markets in Baltimore and Boston.
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