ADRIFT ON AN ISLAND OF GOOD TASTES.Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic Most Carib-Jamaican eateries around town are small storefront operations. The new Coley's in North Hollywood is exactly the opposite. As the second Coley's (the other is in Inglewood) in the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. area, this is a spacious, full-service restaurant complete with a bar area, extended dining room and banquet facilities. Owner-chef Donald Coley coley Noun Brit an edible fish with white or grey flesh [perhaps from coalfish] , a restaurateur res·tau·ra·teur also res·tau·ran·teur n. The manager or owner of a restaurant. [French, from restaurer, to restore; see restaurant. in L.A. for 24 years, sticks mainly to tried-and-true Jamaican fare, but he rounds out his menu with a couple of Cajun-Creole items, offers a market-price lobster-tail dinner recipe that is finished with a stroganoff stroganoff Noun a dish of sliced beef cooked with onions and mushrooms, served in a sour-cream sauce Also called: (beef stroganoff) [after Count Stroganoff, Russian diplomat] sauce and has mainstream American sandwiches such as tuna salad, roast beef and grilled chicken breast for locals looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a quick snack. Not too far away, also in the East Valley, the former Ginja Lions in Studio City, also primarily Jamaican, has changed ownership and is now called Friedel. This little cafe, with just a handful of tables, has effectively continued with the prior menu except for a few deletions and will be introducing an updated bill of fare shortly. Meanwhile, at Coley's, there are several homey starters and entrees worth trying, along with a festive, rich, rum-flavored fruit cake ($4.25) that reminds me That Reminds Me is a series of programmes broadcast on BBC Radio 4 where someone (usually) connected with comedy talks about their life for thirty minutes in front of a live audience. tastewise of the traditional English Christmas pudding. The Coley's kitchen makes mild curried chicken and brown stew chicken plates ($11.75 each) and a satisfying, spicy oxtail ox·tail n. The tail of an ox, especially when used for food. ox  tail dish ($15.25). The jerk chicken ($11.75) won't come up fiery unless you ask for it that way. Ditto for the curried goat ($13.75) here, quite good but moderately seasoned. An interesting main course fish plate is Coley's rendition of ackee ack·ee n. Variant of akee. Noun 1. ackee - red pear-shaped tropical fruit with poisonous seeds; flesh is poisonous when unripe or overripe akee and codfish ($15.95) that reveals the soft but firm, yellow-toned interior of this tropical tree fruit called ackee that is more legume-like than spongy spongy /spon·gy/ (spun´je) of a spongelike appearance or texture. spong·y adj. Resembling a sponge in appearance, elasticity, or porosity. in texture. Mixed with cod flesh, it provides an adventurous departure from the norm and is listed at Coley's as ``Jamaica's National Dish.'' Most plates are crammed full of food, usually featuring a rice and bean mixture, vegetables, fried plantains and a doughnut-like piece of Carib festival bread. But no matter what you order as a main course, start a meal here with a few bites of Coley's beef, chicken or veggie Jamaican-style patties ($2 each). And if you're daring enough, you'll dip them into a small puddle of Scotch Bonnet Scotch bonnet n. A cultivar of the tropical pepper Capsicum chinense having irregularly shaped, yellow to red fruit that is among the hottest of all peppers. [From the shape of its fruit.] hot pepper sauce Noun 1. pepper sauce - for venison: brown sauce with sauteed vegetables and trimmings and marinade and plenty of pepper Poivrade sauce - flavorful relish or dressing or topping served as an accompaniment to food (bottles provided). It's Coley's wake-up call. Larry Lipson, (818) 713-3668 larry.lipson@dailynews.com FRIEDEL CARIBBEAN-ASIAN CUISINE Food: Three stars - Service: Three stars Where: 11320 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. Phone: (818) 763-8100. Meals/hours: Open for lunch, dinner and snacks from from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily except Monday. Food type: Jamaican/Caribbean. Cost: Starters from $3.75 to $10, entrees from $8.75 to $17.75. No desserts. Credit cards: MC, V. Patio dining: No. Parking/valet: Free parking in lot. Full bar: No alcohol license. Wine/Corkage: No. Music/entertainment: No. Takeout/delivery: Yes on takeout, no on delivery. Reservations: Taken. COLEY'S CARIBBEAN-AMERICAN CUISINE Food: Three stars - Service: Three stars - Wine: One star Where: 10842 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood. (Also at 300 E. Florence Ave., Inglewood.) Phone: (818) 761-4944. (Inglewood: (310) 672-7474.) Meals/hours: Open for lunch, dinner and snacks from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Champagne brunch served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, lunch buffet served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. Food type: Jamaican/Caribbean. Cost: Starters from $2 to $7.75, entrees from $10.75 to $18, desserts from $2 to $4.25. Credit cards: All major. Patio dining: Yes, in rear. Parking/valet: Free parking in rear lot. Full bar: Yes. Wine/Corkage: Limited list of popular brand varietals ($20 to $50) and some unnamed. No vintage dates. 11 offerings by the glass. Red Stripe Jamaican beer. Corkage cork·age n. A charge exacted at a restaurant for every bottle of liquor served that was not bought on the premises. corkage Noun a charge made at a restaurant for serving wine bought elsewhere : $4. Music/entertainment: Live island musical entertainment Friday and Saturday nights. Takeout/delivery: Yes on takeout, delivery service soon. Reservations: Helpful. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Donald Coley has just opened Coley's Caribbean-American Cuisine in North Hollywood. His Inglewood branch has been around for 24 years. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion