Seeking the Ever-Elusive Tasty Tapas

On a Thursday night, we’re dining at LA Paella on San Vicente just south of La Cienega, and the civilized-looking couples at the table behind us have just let out a series of joyous whoops. The underlying cause of said whoops is obvious: sangria.

It comes out from the bar in large glass pitchers, a deep, dark, almost opaque wine red. Serious looking stuff. Goes down like punch, apparently.

Except for the occasional ebullient whoops, this new Spanish restaurant and tapas bar has a cozy, intimate atmosphere; there’s lace hung in the windows, shelves of Spanish ceramics, a cabinet of wine. Classical guitar music fills the room, votives flicker. The Spanish waiters are charming. We dispatch a basket of crusty bread and small ramekins of olive-caper tapenade and pungent aioli while deciding what to eat.

The menu is lengthy. In addition to hot and cold appetizers, there’s an entire page of tapas, those small plates of food invented in Spain so that nobody would drink on an empty stomach.

Tapas always sound like such a good idea, but it has been difficult to find consistently good ones in and around Los Angeles. Due to the quantity and variety of most local tapas menus, it must be difficult for tapas bars to make every small plate focused and interesting.

Whatever the problem, LA Paella is not exempt. Some of the tapas here are quite appealing, others not at all. Tortilla espan~ola, a stacked potato omelet served either hot or cold, is satisfying, as are mushrooms sauteed with discs of spicy Spanish sausage. Artichokes with Spanish cured ham, however, taste like canned marinated hearts heated up with tiny chips of ham--absolutely ghastly. Patatas bravas, potato wedges in a spicy tomato sauce, do pique the appetite, as would grilled shrimp with garlic, if they weren’t so overcooked. Fried calamari melts in the mouth.

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Salads include a simple, juicy plate of tomatoes and slivered onions. My favorite is a lentil salad with bits of orange and fresh walnuts tossed in a quenching orange vinaigrette.

All five paellas require 30 minutes of preparation and must be ordered for a minimum of two people. With an assortment of tapas and a pitcher of sangria, the wait is a snap. But if you’re in a real hurry, you can always phone in and order ahead. The shallow pans of the famous saffron-infused rice are brought to the table, shown with a flourish, and then artfully spooned onto plates by the waiter. Paella Valenciana has a little bit of everything in it--chicken wings, calamari, shrimp, mussels, clams, string beans. It’s tasty and full of surprises--the creaminess of the diced squid, a pleasantly salty fleck of ham.

Unlike most of the people who try their hand at this dish in Los Angeles, the cook at LA Paella is restrained with the saffron (too much imparts a bitter, medicinal flavor); his rice is just yellow and fragrant enough. The dish, authentic and flavorful as it is, requires that everything be cooked to death: Shrimp and shellfish, especially, are more well done than our contemporary tastes dictate--mussels have the texture of crumbling foam rubber, shrimp are tough.

I also tried the fideua, a Catalan dish made with a kind of clipped vermicelli noodle instead of rice. This version too has good flavor, very cooked seafood and considerable grease.

If you can’t talk someone into having paella with you, there are a dozen meat and fish entrees. A whitefish with bay leaves has a strong fishiness. Lamb chops are tender, moist and come with string beans wrapped in bacon. A lovely, rare filet mignon in a peppercorn sauce has roasted potatoes and fresh asparagus on the side. The mixed grill is mostly a bust: the skinny beefsteak leathery, the pork chop and chicken breast too dry.

Desserts have a charming, homemade aspect. Chocolate mousse, served in a bar glass, is dense and barely sweet. If you’re not already full of rice, there’s a nice, milky rice pudding dusted with cinnamon. Best of all, however, is a trembling, creamy, orange-flavored creme caramel.

* LA Paella, 476 S. San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 951-0745. Open for lunch Monday through Friday. Open for dinner Monday through Saturday. Beer and wine served. Major credit cards accepted. Dinner for two, food only, $35-$75.