Friday, January 25, 2008

Little Dom's: What's up with the ladies' room?

Looking for a place to have a really intimate chat with your galpals? Look no farther than the communal ladies' room at Little Dom's, which features side by side commodes for conversational ease. At first I thought maybe one was a bidet, but no...so what's the deal with these?

Anyway, we had a quick taste of the new Little Dom's the other night...it was super-crowded with insanely hirsute dudes, cute young things, and everyone else in Los Feliz who has eaten at Farfalla one too many times. After a rather lengthy wait despite our reservation, the hostess kindly sent over two glasses of Prosecco to ease our pain, which was a nice gesture. Matt, who liked the old-fashioned Italian East Coast style menu, was very happy with how his meatball and mozzarella sandwich, served on a panini-type roll, held together as a unit without dissolving into messy pieces like many meatball sandwiches. OK, maybe $14 is a little pricey for a meatball sandwich, but it came with an arugula salad on the side, and of course you're also paying for those cool vintage speakers and kitschy fish on the walls. I had two appetizers -- first was a ring of baby beets topped with a meltingly good round of burrata, the creamy flavor nicely cut by the light vinaigrette on the beets. The other appetizer was shrimp and fried artichokes with a mint-laced dipping sauce, and it was like the best possible bar food -- bits of fried artichokes and shrimp dipped in the lemony sauce were just the sort of tapas-like thing I love, although I could probably have eaten twice as much of it. I like how the menu toggles between basic stuff like spaghetti and meatballs and more modern dishes like bluefish with cavolo nero, although one more interesting pasta might be welcome. We just wanted a light meal, so no dessert, but butternut squash fritters -- now that sounds tempting.
With its comfy, instantly-aged decor and casual buzz, Little Dom's is a welcome addition to the neighborhood -- but make a reservation if you want to dine between 7:30 and 8:30.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Nordic Fox in Downey as side by side toilets in the ladies' room as well. I also took a photo.

Of course, the Nordic Fox has been there since the early 60's at least!

Anonymous said...

hey thanks for including those toilet pics! i love me some potty humor when reading about good food!

Anonymous said...

Hmmm. Why is it this picture brings to mind Senator Larry Craig? I blame the wall, Senator. Not your fault, it was the wall.

Anonymous said...

my guess is - two waste lines were in the floor prior to ADA requirements. Now - one wc is accessible (without a stall) and well i guess they wanted to use the other to increase efficiency and embarrassement. looks stupid.

black toilets? feels like scarface pomo. bangs and parachute pants required

Ellen Bloom said...

Sounds like a good place. Is it expensive?

My motto: You can't eat atmosphere.

I miss out on a lot of fancy schmancy places, for sure.

Pat Saperstein said...

Hi Ellen,
It's mid-priced, I guess you'd say. Full entrees are $16-$24, and there's sandwiches and burgers for $14-$15 at dinner. They're not open for lunch yet, but the prices will be a bit lower then. The drinks are kind of pricey, though.

Anonymous said...

August 17,2008: Far too crowded, noisy and warm. Server failed to record one of our party's ordered meals. Three of four had a meal. Brown butcher paper over the tables enhances nothing. Food was OK but nothing special. Way overpriced. Would not return under any circumstances.

Anonymous said...

If you are looking for a quiet, intimate dinner, Dom's is not the place. It is far too noisy. I could not carry out a converstion without repeating myself.The dinner menu is extremely limited and disappointing, and the portions are small. If you are looking for a hearty meal, this is not the place. The pasta papparelle with sausage was good with the green salad with radicchios. However, it is difficult to decide what to eat due to the limited choices. If you are a wine lover like me, don't even try to bring in a bottle even though the corkage fee is very reasonable. There is not enough food and variety to go along with that $50-$70 Barolo or chianti....I will not dine there again.