When I heard that the director of a film I did a few years back, Brothers In Arms<\/em>, had opened a restaurant, I just scratched my head. I couldn\u2019t imagine was what going on. Turns out that even though Jean-Claude LaMarre seems to have the golden touch with everything he does, it\u2019s his wife<\/em>, Jessie, who\u2019s the driving force behind the enterprise. And together with a few other members of their close-knit group, they\u2019ve made Kassava spectacular!!! In every way.<\/p>\n My friends and I wound-up at the original 3rd<\/sup> Street location last week, and were thrilled that\u2019s the one we chose. It has a totally authentic Island feel to it, while the one that just opened on the Sunset Strip is more trendy. [But here\u2019s a warning about the new one\u00a0(or bonus, depending on if you smoke or not.): That one is right next door to a cigar bar, and the odor definitely gets in. I\u2019m sure the food is the same, and I have a feeling it will become a hip after (or during!) club go-to spot, but if you have lung issues, as I do, you\u2019ll be happier at the original location.]<\/p>\n The superb food deets in a second, but first the ambience. The Kassava on 3rd<\/sup> is a true homage to all things Caribbean. The food and decor are a combo of Jamaican and Haitian, with a little Martinique thrown in for good measure. We went nuts over the colorful wooden placemats, and there\u2019s a whole wall of island artwork and specialties for purchase, to benefit Haiti.<\/p>\n This location is a cute little cozy bungalow, with a front patio and the wonderful servers, especially the delightful Vanessa Walkowiak, who\u2019s the perfect combo of someone you\u2019d like to be friends with and a happy-to-serve-you waitperson. And, if you\u2019re single (or have medical questions,) you just might meet a doctor there from across-the-street Cedars Sinai. (Or a dancer from the near-by studio that I know the TV dance shows use.)<\/p>\n Now to the vittles. I\u2019d like to tell you the highlights of our meal, but I\u2019m afraid that I can\u2019t. That\u2019s because Kassava is the restaurant equivalent of Dominique Wilkins, who\u2019s known as \u201cthe human highlight reel\u201d–it was all<\/em> highlights!<\/p>\n There was absolutely nothing that we hip chicks didn\u2019t like! Including pain-in-the-ass ME! I even tried Candis\u2019 red snapper, and loved it! (When I told Mr. X that I had eaten fish, he asked, \u201cWhose hand did you hold?\u201d Boy, does he know me! The answer was Candis\u2019, who looked frightened as I took my bite. But she needn\u2019t have been because I couldn\u2019t get enough of it!)<\/p>\n Speaking of hip chicks, the fabulous chefs here are female! I was surprised when I found-out, though I don\u2019t know why. Probably because no females in my family can cook. Carmen Dajon and Nicole La Juerre are sure not related to me<\/em>!<\/p>\n But you know that my linear-thinking brain has got to go in order. The food is the same at lunch and dinner, but for the latter, they send a platter of crushed green plantain chips to the table. It looked something like potato chip crumbs, but mm-mm-mmm! (I don\u2019t actually know the real name of them, but it\u2019s the only thing like it, so you\u2019ll see what I mean.)<\/p>\n The girls went nuts for the diverse selection of beverages, that they said are \u201cauthentic to the island culture.\u201d\u00a0Lucia was impressed with the ginger beer, which she said is like \u201cvery gingery ginger ale,\u201d while Tattie loved her kola champagne, the flavor of which they likened to cream soda. Despite the names, they\u2019re both non-alcoholic. (The girls as well as the beverages!) Candis went with guava juice, and I did what I always do when I can\u2019t decide–I went with water!<\/p>\n The Pineapple Meatballs Appetizer<\/p><\/div>\n Here\u2019s a quick run-down of some of the appetizers and side orders we shared: The accra (which are yucca fritters–we had the vegan ones, without the codfish) were \u201creally good,\u201d the pineapple meatballs were \u201cdelicious,\u201d the macaroni and cheese was \u201cperfect\u201d and \u201cnot overly cheesy, which would have ruined it,\u201d and the Creole spaghetti had \u201ca little kick, and an aroma of garlic,\u201d and was \u201cal dente, and not too saucy.\u201d (I guess these chicks are just not fans of sauce and cheese!) Of special note was the adorable little festival bread, which we all loved and could \u201ceasily be a dessert!\u201d<\/p>\n We usually don\u2019t try soups because they\u2019re so filling and hard to share, (I\u2019m not a fan of other people\u2019s spoons in my food,) but we were thrilled that we decided to try two of Kassava\u2019s. The Haitian beef pumpkin was so much better than it sounds, and tasted as home-made as the \u201cawesome\u201d marinated chicken soup, which we said was \u201clike grandma\u2019s,\u201d and \u201cso not greasy,\u201d with Tattie chiming in that she\u2019ll want it when she\u2019s sick. (That may be hard to accomplish, though, since she lives in New York. Now she wants to move out here just to eat at Kassava all the time.\u00a0Or at least visit more often. Yay!)<\/p>\n The Jerk Chicken Dinner.<\/p><\/div>\n The basic platters come with rice and beans, steamed cabbage, and sweet plantains, which is really enough, but the side dishes are so inexpensive that you can really order some of them, as well.<\/p>\n For the main dishes, Lucia loved her \u201cgorgeous, flavorful, colorful, and bright\u201d tilapia, Tattie said her jerk chicken was \u201cspicy, moist, and great,\u201d and a bonus was that, due to some clever \u201cpre-shedding,\u201d (or something like that,) the meat fell right off the bone.<\/p>\n Candis said her red snapper, which was\u00a0served whole, was\u00a0\u201clightly-fried\u201d and\u00a0\u201ccrispy, moist, and well-seasoned.\u201d I\u2019m telling you, except for looking at the head, I<\/em> loved it! And my Karen\u2019s<\/em> Restaurant Revue <\/em>viewers know just how much I really hate most fish! I also enjoyed my coconut shrimp, which are not what you think of when you hear the title. These weren\u2019t fried with spiky coconut sticking out; rather they were in a bowl of creamy coconut milk with fresh spices, and tasted much healthier than the usual way.<\/p>\n I brought the grilled mango salmon to Mr. X because he\u2019s my salmon expert, and he said this was the most outrageously \u201cwow\u201d food he\u2019s ever eaten!!! We\u2019re thinking of selling our house and taking an apartment down the block from Kassava! (And then Tattie could just stay with us.)<\/p>\n Four luscious desserts.<\/p><\/div>\n We really didn\u2019t have room for dessert, but they were actually light enough to end the meal with a taste of sweetness, so we went for it.\u00a0I\u2019m basically a chocolate girl, but this cuisine doesn\u2019t really specialize in that flavor, so the other girls were on these. [Note: they do have red velvet cupcakes, but they were out of them the night we went.]<\/p>\n So, this is what\u00a0my pals\u00a0said: the coconut-pineapple ice cream was \u201clight, yet flavorful,\u201d and \u201cnot over-poweringly sweet,\u201d so it \u201cwent great with the other desserts,\u201d especially the \u201cgreat when warm\u201d \u201cpumpkin pie-esque\u201d sweet potato bread. The night\u2019s special dessert, the lemon cake, was \u201clight and moist and crumbly,” while the rhum cake was \u201caromatic,\u201d \u201ccakey,\u201d and \u201cdark and stormy.\u201d (Wow–this is my best group of reviewers!)<\/p>\n This is all from just one visit, and believe me, such a big meal is not necessary over there because it\u2019s all really filling. We just ate as much as we could for reviewing purposes. But, we did miss many menu items, such as the curry dishes, sandwiches, salads, and very popular Jamaican patties. I\u2019ll be happy to go back, many times, as a matter of fact, to sample other dishes to let you know about down the line, so check my dining section from time-to-time for updates.\u00a0And if you eat there yourself, enjoy your meal, Mon!<\/p>\n 8600 W. 3rd<\/sup> Street\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 310-385-0233\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>www.kassava.com<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n \u3000<\/p>\n \u3000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" KASSAVA CARIBBEAN RESTAURANT \u00a0 When I heard that the director of a film I did a few years back, Brothers In Arms, had opened a restaurant, I just scratched my head. I couldn\u2019t imagine was what going on. Turns out that even though Jean-Claude LaMarre seems to have the golden touch with everything he does,<\/p>\n\n
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