Son of a Gun: Excellent Lobster Roll + Fried Chicken Sandwich = Happy Camper

I've always been a big fan of Animal, a veritable shrine for hard-core carnivores like me. When I heard the dudes behind Animal had opened a seafood-centric restaurant called Son of a Gun, I knew 1) I had to go, and 2) I would like it. I finally made my way there and I was not disappointed.

I mean, behold this cutest little lobster roll that has the perfect amount of lemon aioli and celery with the super soft bread toasted on the sides just so. Ok, I admit I was taken by the way it looked (adorable) but it also tasted great. The little chip it came with played the role of salt as the lobster was seasoned mildly. They were meant to be eaten in concert to marvelous harmony in your mouth.

Everything was very good but one semi-revelation (because a full-blown revelation would be jamon iberico de bellota at the Bazaar) was the octopus confit salad with chick peas, radicchio and fennel. I've had duck confit but who knew one could make confit out of octopus? The octopus was soft and had a thin crust on the outside with slightly charred edges, as if it were straight off the grill. Combined with the chick peas and other vegetables in a light tangy vinaigrette, it was the perfectly refreshing summer salad.


The oysters on half the shell were good but perhaps because it was raw, I wasn't as wowed. It came with freshly grated horseradish, a red sauce and a vinegar-y sauce but I only used lemon. I'm a purist when it comes to oysters. If it's fresh enough, it shouldn't need any embellishments, so to speak.

I had read that the fried chicken sandwich is good and while a bit puzzled at this menu item at a supposed seafood specializing joint, we ordered it.

When it came to the table in all its imposing glory, my dinner companion and I were at first a tad intimidated at how we would attack this scary looking concoction.

The fried chicken wasn't immediately visible, buried underneath a heap of spicy cole slaw dotted with thin slices of jalapeno and what tasted like picked red onions.

Once we found it and took a bite out of that sandwich, wow, that was one excellent fried chicken. It was probably smothered in buttermilk and then fried in lard or something to have it be that crunchy and delicious.

The interesting thing was that it didn't feel too heavy because of all the slaw with the light dressing and the kick in the slaw gave it another fantastic edge that I loved. The bread, oh, the bread -- a perfectly toasted brioche bun that looked and tasted great.

I was so tempted to try other dishes other message boards and reviewers raved about like shrimp toast, but I decided to reserve that and other goodies for my next visit, when I'll bring an army of friends so we can try every single dish on that menu. Really.

The dessert menu was just meh so we were going to skip dessert when our server suggested the sugar plum sorbet. I think it was one of the best sorbets I've ever had in LA. The first bite tasted just like a really sweet and juicy plum except it was in sorbet form and really refreshing.

The communal tables were a bit tight quarters but it was also nice seeing what others were getting and we influenced each others' choices and, in some instances, even shared food. Our neighbors were having some benton's country ham with honey butter and cornbread and offered us the cornbread since neither of them could eat it. After they insisted, we couldn't resist, and that cornbread was pretty awesome. It hardly needed the butter, although the buttah certainly didn't hurt.

I'm impressed. I'm returning. Thumbs up to the dudes.