Since I wanted to take me to a yarn store in North Hollywood yesterday after work, I figured we might as well make a trip out of it and have dinner there. Having previously looked up restaurants that serve Latin American grilled steaks through Yelp, I knew that there was a Lala's in the vicinity.
We've gone to the Lala's on Melrose Ave. 3 times already because we love the steak there. Okay, I must admit that I actually haven't tried a huge variety of Argentinian steaks, but I know I enjoyed it. The Lala's on Melrose doesn't have any parking, but there are side streets that we usually park on. It's in a corner spot, and the restaurant itself looks really cute. It has a nice big covered patio area on the side that comprises probably half the restaurant's seating capacity. Inside, there's a bar.
The Lala's in Studio City looked much more like a restaurant. There was a patio section, but from what I could see it was just a few tables out in front. Lawrence commented that it looked like a tacqueria, a la Tacqueria Vallarta in Santa Cruz. I could see the resemblance, but this place was undoubtedly nicer. The decor was nice, the lights were dimmed, and there was a small bar area. The one thing we both agreed we didn't like was its location. It was in one of those mini-plazas - with a pet grooming center, cheap Japanese restaurant, etc. The parking lot was tiny, and they offered "valet" parking so they could stack the cars. We opted not to - it was a $3.50 fee and Lawrence didn't trust them with his manual car anyway. We parked on a side street, where the CBS studio was.
Service was friendly, and there were many tables of people, although it was by no means busy. We were greeted and seated immediately upon entering. One of the things I love the most about Lala's is the chimichurri sauce they give you with the bread. The bread itself could use some work, but it does its job as a medium to consume the chimichurri. :) We ordered our typical fare - Lawrence had the Entraña and I had the Entraña al Ajo ($13.95 & $14.95 respectively).
These are just your basic Argentinian grilled skirt steaks. The Entraña al Ajo comes with grilled garlic and parsley on top. All the entrees come with your side of choice: fries, rice, mashed potatoes, or salad. We always take the mashed potatoes! They're delicious and a nice soft creamy consistency. The steaks also come with what looks like a sort of diced tomato salsa thing on the side. I have no idea if it has a name or if it's just salsa. It's just tomatoes and some herbs; adds a bit of tangy flavor to the steak if you eat it together.
Overall, we were very satisfied with the meal. The steaks were cooked a delicious medium-rare by default. The one thing about the steak that I would note, is that it was a little on the oily side, although I wouldn't say the meal was heavy by any means. I don't know if this is specific to Lala's, or if this is a standard feature of Argentinian grilled steaks. Since it was a flat steak and there weren't any huge chunks of fat I didn't mind so much while I was eating. Eating all that chimichurri (it uses an olive oil base) probably did not help. I probably should have gotten some hot tea or coffee to drink afterwards.
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