Neighborhood: Miracle Mile
Luna Park Restaurant has always had a special place in my heart. A sister restaurant to the SanFran original, it is one of the few LA hotspots that have managed to be both popular and trendy, but not take it all too seriously. I fell for Luna months before I was actually able to visit. Why? Just check out the menu online – the focus is not only on quality food, but serving it up in fun and inventive ways. Is there any place else in town where you can order up a drink called “You’re a Pepper” – and receive a tray with a miniature (and adorable) bottle of Dr. Pepper, a pocket-sized Vanilla Absolut vodka, and a tiny jar of organic vanilla syrup? It’s you that gets to mix up the ingredients – and there’s enough here to make two glasses worth.
Luna Park has always kept the entrée prices reasonable for the quality of cooking you are getting – the delicious BBQ glazed pork chops with cigar onion rings are the most expensive item on the menu, and they’re only 20 bucks. Everything else – the pastas, the pizzas, the fish and the chicken – are all around the 15 dollar range.
Now, the menu just got sweeter – Luna Park has introduced their dinner Blue Plate Special – a select entrée from the regular menu, for just $10.00-$12.00 . In the beginning, this was just a Monday deal. However, the night proved so popular that they’ve expanded on both sides – you can now order up the blue plate Sunday through Tuesday. Talk about helping you over the start of the work week.
The pork dish I mentioned has been known to pop up here, becoming a half price steal. The delicious Moroccan spaghetti – pasta with lamb and beef meatballs served in a hearty red sauce – has been given the blue-plate treatment too. Vegetarian? They’ll always have a blue-plate option waiting for you as well.
In true Luna style, the blue plate special is served on an actual blue plate… and offered with a rotating $5.00 drink special, served in matching blue glassware. Isn’t it worth it just for the fun of it all?
No matter what night you dine here, or what you end up ordering, I must mention the dessert that made Luna Park famous – the Make Your Own S’mores. Before haute menus everywhere began introducing their own fancy-pants version of the camping favorite, Luna Park’s guests were dipping homemade graham cracker cookies into marshmallow fondue. Inevitably, someone I’m dining with will remark “it’s just not the real thing”. Maybe, but unless you have convenient access to a roaring campfire in your home, this dish remains a must-try for S’mores lovers everywhere.
So, let’s review – fun atmosphere, kooky cocktails, $10.00-ish entrée specials, and S’mores you can make as gooey and chocolaty as you wish. My Monday-workday blues are definitely forgotten about here – all it takes is a blue plate, a good price – and melted marshmallow.
(P.S. – need a good Sunday brunch spot, but don’t feel like dealing with a crowd? Somehow Luna Park’s Sunday brunch remains undiscovered by the masses. Great menu, cheap mimosas, and pretty close to empty. Eat it up before the secret gets out.)
Link: http://www.lunaparkla.com/
Cost: Blue plate special entrée offered Mon-Tue, dinner only $10.00 - $12.00. Blue plate special drink $5.00. "You're a Pepper" cocktail $9.50. S’mores dessert (for 2-4) $8.25.
See website for regular menu/cocktail prices.
Note: Metered parking (free after 6pm) available on La Brea, but sometimes tough. Valet parking is offered at Luna Park and is worth the price if you can’t find street parking in the immediate area.
That's definitely a nice offer!
Luke
Posted by: private jet charter | May 17, 2010 at 09:26 AM