For my homeboys birthday, his wife invited all of us out with them to Citizen Smith. Its a resturant / bar, well here, ill just post this from the site. But first Happy Birthday to Theo!

 

Given free reign by owner Andrew Belchic to interpret his “bistro for everyman,” Thomas Schoos Design has envisioned a destination that plays upon stark urban contrasts – young and old, light and dark, then and now. Entrances are marked by distressed, antique wooden doors. The Cahuenga Avenue entry opens to a mammoth mahogany bar that runs the length of the dining room, set off by smoked mirrors that reflect the glimmer of Schoos’ signature wall of candlelight. The opposite wall cradles individual, private booths, backed from floor to ceiling in geometric patterns of cowhide – an homage to Piet Mondrian that finds itself repeating throughout the space.

Designed to be altered as the dinner hour meets the late night, the tables are removed and replaced by ottomans, creating intimate, clandestine lounging space. Above, the ceiling treatments reflect the locale of the establishment, with wrought iron chandeliers encased in glass cubes, illuminating transparent photographs of Hollywood residents current and past. The in-your-face glamour of old Hollywood is reawakened in the adjoining dining room, distinguished by a massive bar and wall-sized mirror sheathed in sterling silver. The private Candle Lounge accommodates thirty guests. Diners are seated around one communal table, fashioned from two immense, antique wooden doors. A tangle of tree limbs descends from above, washing the room in a twinkling of candle light.

Thats a bit much on it, but very accurate. I like this place, even though the food is a bit pricey, but good as hell. I regret not finishing off two of my big ass chicken strips, that sadly did not come with no kinda fries. But its all good because the fact that thier Mojitos came in glass jar / bottles ( to be pictured ) was great!! All there drinks do infact. I dont know why, but i really did enjoy the hell of that.

As far as the Mojito though, it was pretty damn good! One of the best ive had in a while. Thats right, im well on my way to becoming LA's Official Mojito taster. lol

We went on a Thursday night, and the place wasnt exactly empty but no where near packed at 11pm-ish Finding parking for this place might be a pain in the ass, or if youre smart like Theo and his wife, you could valet. I managed to miss that some how lol.

I like this place id go again.

Citizen Smith
1602 N Cahuenga Blvd Hollywood, CA 90028 (Directions)  
Phone: 323-461-5001 Fax: 323-461-5003

PIX:

Theo and his wife Chasity

The Snazzy Glass I spoke on

These chicken stripes were hella big and juicy as hell. The Honey Mustard sauce was bangin too!



Theos Cajun Shrip and Chasitys Mac-n-cheese. Both very tasty. The Cajun sauce was pretty good with my chicken strips too!

Some how I always forget how much I like this place. Then I sit down and look at the menu, and remember why I dont frequent the place. Not saying its expensive. But if you dont have 20 bucks for you, keep it movin. Other than that though? I dont eat beef or pork, but as far as I know everything on the menu is good as hell. I dont think Ive ever had anything from this place i didnt like. The bbq chicken potato skins appetizer... GGGGEEEZZZUUSSS.

On my last visit I ordered the Freshwater Idaho Rainbow Trout, and you can get it prepared a few different ways. I can remember how I ordered mine. I just remember something about it being marinated and then something else on top of that. It was pretty damn good. Along with the mashed potatoes.
I used to have a friend that worked here as a bartender, he used to make the best effeng mojitos ever in life. This place has a pretty good happy hour, so we used to go up there and order appetizers and get hooked up with a few free drinks. On top of the ones we paid for. Needless to say, Ive stumbled out of that place in the middle of the after noon on a Wednesday a few times lol. It goes down.

I highly recommend this place if you got the money to spend. If you want to do something a little different. Be warned though, 2 things. For one, it was cold as hell in there, and usually is. Two, well, I dont mean to be a jack ass, but depending on who you are, you might immediately notice the group of people that frequent the place. Not that there is anything wrong with the crowd. I just know a couple of people who wouldnt go because of the people who hang out there. Which is pretty skanless. But I kind of understand lol. Dont bother me though.

So, for our inaugural TGP event, we headed over to Mr. Cecil's Ribs in Sherman Oaks. I've been there a few times before, and by the name we obviously knew the specialty was ribs.

http://www.mrcecilscaliforniaribs.com/

Myself and a few others were there early, and let me tell you, the bartender hooked us up something lovely while we were waiting for the rest of the Republic to show up. 4 buck imports, and DAMN well made Mojitos started the dinner off nicely.

After we all settled down, the table ordered a slew of different things. For those who were undecided on ribs, hot links, or whatever else, there's Jonathan's Selection. A sampler of ribs, St Louis style ribs, semi-dry wings, chili, pork and beans, and hush puppies definitely would fill most folks up. I'd say that's one of their best dishes, a little bit of everything.

I've had the selection a couple of times, so I had my way with a hot link sandwich, which was a pretty shitty idea. The hot link itself is GREAT, the bun, not so much. It was on a plain ass bun, like from Food 4 Less or some shit. So overall the taste was mediocre, and the fries were eh. From now on I'm sticking to the ribs, which is definitely the specialty there.

The ribs themselves I believe are dry rub, but I'm no rib expert. I just know the shit tastes good as hell. There's an offering of two different bbq sauces, one that's sweet and one that's tangier with a bit more spice.

In terms of the sampler, the wings are top notch, and I AM a wing snob. They're dry and covered with just the right amount of spicy wing sauce, which isn't too vinegary.

All in all, a good experience. Stick to the ribs, sampler, and wings though, and you're good money.

Oh yeah, almost forgot about the cornbread. Also pretty damn good. nice and moist but not too dense.

Retro out!