Fig Restaurant, Santa Monica

Fig Restaurant at the Fairmont Hotel in Santa Monica has a great happy hour; half-off everything. I happened to stop in on the recommendation of a colleague of mine for a pre-dinner snack and drinks with good friends, Monica and Jackie.

Lamb meatballs with kale in a tomato sauce and Nduja with pickles and toast were the two apps we ordered. The meatballs in sauce were really good, as good as anywhere I’ve had them up in San Francisco, somewhat similar to Marzano’s in Oakland, just without the spicy characteristic. The meatballs were moist, well seasoned and the tomato sauce was solid.

The Nduja was also good, but I admit, I’ve never had it with pickles. I've only had Nduja at BarBacco in San Francisco or at my house courtesy of Boccalone. I don't think I'll serve it with pickles at my house. I might consider serving it with some form of marmalade or something other than a dill pickle.

The Fig Bar for a light app and a drink during happy hour is a good choice if you’re in Santa Monica.

Update on Thursday, December 29, 2011 at 7:08AM by The Cured Ham

As I have some of the smartest readers in the world (I sound like an online version of late-night radio), I recently transposed two letters in Nduja, the 'd' and the 'j" specifically. But I still don't like it with pickles. Thanks to Scheherazade in New York for the correction.