• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • recipes
  • drink
  • dining out

The Delicious Life logo

menu icon
go to homepage
  • recipes
  • drink
  • dining out
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • recipes
    • drink
    • dining out
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Los Angeles » Loooong Overdue Return - Jiraffe Restaurant

    September 2005 Los Angeles

    Loooong Overdue Return - Jiraffe Restaurant

    jiraffe restaurant, santa monica, ca - roast pork loin

    Jiraffe Restaurant
    502 Santa Monica Boulevard
    Santa Monica, CA 90401
    310.917.6671
    www.jirafferestaurant.com


    It had been a long time since that first time I went to Jiraffe, eight years ago. It was a date, an evening that started a mini-relationship that had a not-so-pretty ending. There was a bottle of wine, probably a salad in there somewhere, and I'm guessing dessert – I don’t remember certain details because I’ve probably selectively blocked them out of my memory as negative associations. But I do remember the pork chop I had – nothing like the dry, overcooked, flavorless cardboard I had eaten before. My memory of Jiraffe was a very bad relationship, but an incredibly tender, flavorful pork chop.

    It’s eight years later and Jiraffe is still serving the exact same dish, in the exact same setting on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and 5th. The space is small, but airy and spacious with ceilings that reach up through the second floor. The seats against the giant floor-to-ceiling windows that wrap around two sides are ideal, so they were already taken when we walked into the restaurant at prime time without a reservation. We took a table in the center of the dining room, which was fine with me. I sat at a window table eight years ago.

    jiraffe restaurant, santa monica, ca - blood orange martini
    blood orange cosmo-fruity, but still tasty

    Jiraffe has a specialty cocktail menu, but I handed it off to him without looking at it. I don’t hate that stuff, but I find it very rare that those $$$ drinks are anything but overly sticky sweet alcoholic Kool-Aid garnished with a fruit salad. I stuck with Citron/soda, then teased him for ordering a cosmopolitan. But I did yield a little and tasted it because it was made with blood oranges. It was surprisingly tasty. A little fruity for before dinner, but tasty nonetheless. I snapped a photo sans flash, which I’m sure he didn’t notice. Not that having a camera glowing ready on the table wasn’t noticeable enough.

    Even if all I was going to do was taste one tiny bite and take the rest of it home, obviously I had to order the pork chop. But, I didn’t have to do it. He ordered it and also suggested I select several more dishes we could share. How did he know? Of all the entrees of fish, steak, chicken, how did he know about the pork chop? How did he know that I don’t like to order one thing and eat it all myself? How did he know that it never tastes good unless it’s someone else’s? Probably because I told him. Can’t leave a good dinner to chance. LOL! We ordered a salad, two starters, and the pork chop.

    Lemon vinaigrette on the frisee salad was a little too tart for my taste by itself, but one whole bite with the dressed greens, a wild mushroom, a sliver of the shaved cheese and a piece of the oily-crisp garlic crouton was the perfect delicious combination. It’s just too bad that the mushrooms were few and far between. With two other salads on the menu, next time I won’t feel that I have to get the wild mushroom salad. And do you mind real quick if I just scoot the plate over this way next to the candle real quick before we finish it all? Another photo, but even though it was sans flash, I think he noticed.

    jiraffe restaurant, santa monica, ca - wild mushrooms on baby frisee
    even frisee looks good by candlelight
    jiraffe restaurant, santa monica, ca - purple peruvian gnocchi with florida rock shrimp
    purple peruvians are really just lavender

    Gnocchi is normally not a choice I would have made, but I wanted to see how purple Peruvian potatoes would turn out. In the dim lighting of the restaurant, it was difficult to see, but with a quick shimmy of the candle, I could see that they weren’t purple, but subtly lavender in color, almost gray. The gnocchi were soft and slightly sticky as I would expect, very different from the rock shrimp that had a barely perceptible snap on the outside, then a clean firmness on the inside. Both were fairly mild in flavor, relying on tomatoes in both a dollop of thick, jam-like tomato sauce on top, and in the thinner, creamy sauce underneath. On the menu, one is called “concasse” and the other “nage” but I’m not smart enough to know which is which yet :) Smart, no, but gutsy? Yes, gutsy enough to use my flashbulb this time, otherwise, even the bright red Florida rock shrimp would look dull.

    jiraffe restaurant, santa monica, ca - seared scallops
    this is where i got the point - scallops

    I didn’t quite "get" the julienned apples with the seared scallops and braised endive at first, but with a few more tastes that included the cider flavored sauce on the plate, I understood. That’s where I understood all three plates we had tried so far at Jiraffe – visually playful with colors and textures, flavors that balance all four taste regions on the tongue, and fragrances that stand out just enough that if they weren’t there, you’d notice. Endive is bitter, but made less so by braising in a sweet and salty cider sauce that also makes you appreciate the sweet-tart of the apples. Fresh crisp of the apple is similar to the seared crisp on the scallops, but also makes you notice how much more the inside flesh is soft, smooth, and richly textured. The subtle charred flavor on the scallops then comes back against the deepness of the endive's braise, and the whole thing continues in a miniature flavor whirlpool.

    jiraffe restaurant, santa monica, ca - pork chop
    the adopted sibling dish-pork chop
    jiraffe restaurant, santa monica, ca - herb sprig garnish from pork chop
    autumnal herbs in seasonless so cal

    At last, the pork chop, and yes, in eight years, it hadn’t aged a bit. Thick, hearty cuts of pork arranged on a platter the size of Wyoming with an enormous pile of wild rice; in all aspects o
    f its appearance, it didn’t look at all related to its delicate sibling dishes we had already ordered. Wow, kind of like me and my sisters. But in its perfectly balanced flavors and textures, it was clear they were all from the same family. The rice had that natural combination of herbaceous subtlety and nutty chew that only comes from wild rice, which I can say I like without being hypocritical, since wild rice is not really rice ;) As thickly cut as it was the pork was tender and I wish I had more descriptive words about what it tasted like, but I don’t. How does the fact that I simply wanted to pick up the bone from which the meat had been removed and gnaw on it for a few minutes sound? It tasted like that.

    But I didn’t do it, since engaging in flashbulb fantasy was punishment enough. And that was after I spied the Chef out of the corner of my eye and asked for his autograph on the menu to put right next to the one I kept from eight years ago. Yes, yes. Some girls have Justin Timberlake. I have chefs. :)

    Even when I don’t have room to breathe, let alone dessert, I usually still order one to share, if for nothing else than to see something pretty to end the evening. But I didn’t allow myself to give in to his insistence because...the “w.” Remember the "w," Sarah! Banana cream pie? No way would we just order one of my ATF desserts and only taste it. How about warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream? Are you out of your mind?!? The poor thing wouldn’t make it from the server’s hand to the table before I inhaled the entire thing. No, this time a fruity cocktail will serve its purpose – probably no better for the figure with all the sugar, but at least it wouldn’t feel so sinful.

    And so now my memory of Jiraffe is an an innocent evening...with an incredibly tender pork chop.

    tags :: food : and drink : california : restaurants : reviews : los angeles

    You May Also Like...

    • Rooftop Dancing and Mojitos Don't Mix - Akwa Restaurant
      Rooftop Dancing and Mojitos Don't Mix - Akwa Restaurant
    • Lengua, Chicharrones and Carnitas Tacos at FIG, Santa Monica - The Delicious Daily 01.24.2010
      Lengua, Chicharrones and Carnitas Tacos at FIG, Santa Monica…
    • Kumamoto Oyster at Anisette Brasserie, Santa Monica
      Kumamoto Oyster at Anisette Brasserie, Santa Monica
    « The Only Way to Get This Girl to the Theater
    One of the Greatest Food Cities on Earth - LA? »

    Sharing is caring!

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. LACheesemonger says

      September 22, 2005 at 9:21 pm

      "i had the same dish i had just the other night. i guess the roast pork is a "keeper."

      writing stupid shit over lunch. posting later."

      So this entry is currently dated at Thursday, Sept 15, 2005, but that was one week ago and the actual 'just the other night' was probably a month or so ago? No wonder you don't have any money to pay the rent after making a donation to Katrina relief fund, it's all gone onto the credit cards for all those expensive mixed drinks and high-end restaurants. And here I thought you were going to brown bag it for a month before the W-day; just to get up to date on the blog entries. Can we say FOCD ;-) ?

      "List, like the few restaurants that I have tried and revisit over and over (Campanile, JiRaffe, Hurry Curry, Osteria Latini and the like)."

      Any reviews of these others above, coming up soon?
      No more RiFWoL teasers?

      Can you send me an e-mail 'highlights' of that "stupid shit" you're writing over lunch? ;-)

      Reply
    2. Jessica says

      September 22, 2005 at 10:27 pm

      I've been twice (a while ago) and had the amazing scallops in brown butter both times. Mmm, butter...

      Reply
    3. Rachael says

      September 23, 2005 at 12:39 am

      I love jiRaffe. (I have had a mad crush on Raphael for years too bad he is gone) I am pea green with envy that you have what it takes to photograph the food. that shot is MouthWatering. YUM.

      Reply
    4. anchor says

      September 23, 2005 at 6:38 am

      "writing stupid shit over lunch. posting later"

      Might want to clean up the language if you want to take this food writing thing seriously. Not your usual "Disney" style

      Reply
    5. e d b m says

      September 23, 2005 at 9:33 am

      sarah, i'd love to see your take on this. photos and everything. i'll definitely have to try this restaurant soon.

      Reply
    6. Reid says

      September 25, 2005 at 10:54 am

      Hi Sarah,

      That pork looks so tasty. I'd like to have a bite of it sometime.

      On a somewhat related note -- I thought I ate out a lot, but you seem to eat out more!!! How do you do it?

      Reply
    7. Ziz says

      September 25, 2005 at 10:36 pm

      Actually, I love the language. Good job girl. :)

      Reply
    8. Gloria says

      September 27, 2005 at 4:04 pm

      Hrm, I haven't beent there in 4 years, but had the blood orange cosmo and purple potato gnoochi then. Might have even had the scallops.

      But how was the pork chop?

      Reply
    9. sarah says

      September 27, 2005 at 5:34 pm

      LOL! so funny that their menu stays exactly the same from year to year. guess you just don't need to mess with greatness :)

      the recipe for the scallops is on the website, too!

      Reply
    10. susie says

      September 27, 2005 at 6:49 pm

      i've been wanting to try jiRaffe! and i even have a gift card. just gotta find the time to get there.

      thanks for the great posts.

      Reply
    11. kitchenmage says

      September 29, 2005 at 3:57 am

      What language? The first time I see "shit" on this page is in a comment...

      Reply
    12. Silvia says

      October 05, 2005 at 7:56 am

      Ahh, Raphael... he can be a sweetheart when the occassion calls for it.
      Glad you enjoyed your dinner, it's a great place, albeit abit pricey for the food.

      Reply
    13. hermz says

      January 13, 2006 at 8:16 pm

      Jiraffe is the site of my one and only romantic Valentine's dinner. Also about eight years ago.

      Reply
    14. sarah says

      January 13, 2006 at 8:21 pm

      dayam hot toddy, you are on fire with reading through the delicious life these days!

      *eh* v-day is the WORST holiday of the year. it's 138% "MADE" by hallmark and whitman's chocolates. LOL!

      don't worry - i think i might be planning another anti-v-day dinner party ;)

      Reply
    15. 8 is my lucky number says

      March 12, 2007 at 7:21 am

      I'm not sure when I last went to Jiraffe, and how long it had been since I had gone before. Probably a really long time (for the former) and a couple of years (for the latter), since my one is no longer on the menu. But I ordered it twice, and both times it was amazing. Halibut in a clay pot cooked with herbs. Herbs that made it to your nose in a mad rush as soon as the lid of the pot was lifted. I love Jiraffe.

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Follow Me

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter

    if you shop on Amazon starting from here, TDL gets a teeny tiny affiliate commission!

    just a regular ol' ad

    Recent Posts

    Whipped Feta Recipe

    frui popsicles paletas platter

    How to Serve Popsicles on a Fruit Platter

    grilled avocado lobster cobb salad board

    Lobster Cobb Salad Recipe

    quinoa tabbouleh with kale and cherries

    Quinoa Tabbouleh recipe with Kale and Cherries

    Copyright © 2022 · The Delicious Life