Son of a Gun
lobster roll, celery, lemon aioli
shrimp toast sandwich, herbs, sriracha mayo
fried chicken sandwich, spicy b&b pickle slaw, rooster aioli
frozen lime yogurt, graham crumble, toasted meringue
Happy to have visited Animal before California put an end to foie gras I knew it would only be a matter of time before I made it to Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook’s Son of a Gun and after lunch plans with a friend fell through on Monday I found myself only a few blocks away at Beverly Center and decided to make the walk, arriving at the restaurant only thirty minutes prior to the end of lunch service only to be welcomed like an old friend by the waiter who, for whatever reason, remembered me from my visit to Animal over a year prior.
Seated at the head of a long communal table in the center of the rustic, nautical themed room while music played above the din of a slowly diminishing lunch crowd I perused the daily options and after some debate decided to skip the daily offerings and instead mark my first visit with the restaurant’s four signature items, a seemingly safe approach met with mixed results.
Beginning first with what worked, both the $7 lobster roll and the $12 chicken sandwich would prove to be ‘best in category’ contenders – the chicken sandwich enormous, crisply fried, and impressively complimented by its condiments while the tiny lobster roll was perhaps a bit overpriced despite the impressive quality of the butter poached crustacean atop a brioche bun, yet worth it none the less – at least once. Far less wowing, the shrimp toast sandwich struck me as a nice concept, but in reality it was just far too greasy – both the toasts and the mayo offering a slick mouth feel that felt sloppy whle the sriracha’s heat made the shrimp largely undetectable.
Moving on to dessert, a $6 steal arrived in the form of a dollop of frozen yogurt over buttery streusel, alongside a smear of smoky meringue – the flavor of the dish something like smores meets key lime pie and entirely delicious. Probably a restaurant better suited for dinner and a larger party to allow for a broader range of sampling I cannot say I’d rush back to Son of a Gun considering the price-tag but at the same time I certainly would recommend it (save for the Shrimp Toast) as a good option for those who happen to be in the area.