Finally tried Son of a Gun, the 2nd outpost from the same team behind one of my favorite restaurants in LA: Animal (1, 2). Reservation was difficult when it first opened, I tried a few times and had no luck. Half of the restaurant is a big long communal table for walk-ins, so either show up early or try your luck. Figuring that many would be out of town on the July 4th weekend, we walked in early and got seated within 15 minutes.
While Animal is all about meat and bacon, Son of a gun is all about seafood. Just like Animal, Son of a gun’s menu changes often and consists creative small plates. However the affordable house wine is missing, all the wine at Son of a gun are over $10 a glass. I also noticed that all the tableware are from Heath Ceramics.
Oysters on the half shell
Smoked steelhead roe, maple Cream, pumpernickel – a very interesting and tasty dish. The maple cream is very light and airy, its subtle sweetness taste great with the savory fish roe. It’s a nice little dish to whet the appetite.
Peel and eat shrimp with lime mustard sauce
These are pretty big shrimp. Lots of flavors, can get overwhelming if you “peel” it the Chinese way (i.e. suck it first, then bite the shell off). Very good.
Alligator schnitzel, heart of palm, orange
The breading was perfectly crispy. Though the alligator meat taste kind of generic (aka, taste like chicken)? The portion was generous. The heart of palm salad was good.
Kampachi collar, XO sauce, Pickled shiitake, sword lettuce
A Thai tasting dish, I like this a lot. The fish collar is meaty and well cooked. Generous portion.
Frozen lime yogurt, graham crumble, toasted meringue
At first I thought the left of the bowl was a pattern but it’s actually toasted meringue. Refreshing but I wish there’s more than just one samll scoop of Frozen lime yogurt. How can there be more crumble than yogurt?!
Overall the food is outstanding and I like the seafood theme. Though the limited tables for reservation make it quite an effort to eat here more often. So make sure you either book way ahead or show up early. Also it would be great if they have a lower price house wine like they do in Animal too.
Son of a Gun
8370 W. 3rd Street. Los Angeles, CA 90048. (323) 782-9033
Tags: hip, Seafood, small plate
