Friday, October 24, 1997
Spanish nights
RESTAURANT: Students can get more than a taste of Spain at El
Cid restaurant
By Vanessa VanderZanden
Daily Bruin Staff
You can’t hear the call of velvet-clad flamenco dancers twirling
from the tiny, Spanish villa-esque stage. You can’t feel the lusty,
Mediterranean heat given off by low-hanging medieval chandeliers
and the ruddy warmth of margaritas and pitchers of sangria. You
can’t smell the scent of fresh paella and sauteed shrimp. That is,
until you step inside El Cid.
Hanging on a hillside at the end of Sunset Boulevard, the peak
of this rustic restaurant peeps out onto the street. Although the
entrance to this historic eatery appears as a plain, stuccoed
fortress, dismal and uninviting, through the wide-framed threshold
an entirely new world unfolds.
Upon entering, a long, rust-colored pathway twists and turns
through the front garden. Decorated with healthy plants, the walls
are also strewn with Spanish swords and weathered posters. A tiered
patio, packed with tables and chairs for El Cid’s Sunday champagne
brunch, lounges to one side of the half-enclosed veranda bar.
Finally, the meandering trail opens up to the red-walled front
lobby of the Spanish-style bungalow.
Inside hang autographed black-and-white photos of famous
sneering flamenco dancers who have smashed their heels against the
floor of El Cid’s small stage. The scarlet motif seems to echo the
impassioned classical guitar music emanating through the restaurant
and bar. Here, pitchers of every kind of margarita, from root beer
to peach, are carefully crushed from behind the cozy, mahogany
bar.
Soon, one of the many red-jacketed waiters ushers patrons to
their seats with a friendly smile, offering a huge black leather
menu. From this "literature" comes the knowledge that the
restaurant, originally built in 1900 by film producer D.W. Griffith
to be a movie studio, became a mini-theater hosting various cabaret
shows and concerts in 1950.
Since then, it has welcomed the likes of everyone from Eva
Gardner to Marlon Brando, Mick Jagger to Annie Lenox. And, with
flamenco shows on Friday and Saturday nights at 8, 10 and midnight,
such a guest book seems unsurprising.
Entrance to the show alone requires a mere $9, but for $14 more
one can enjoy a three-course meal with a choice of 11 main dishes.
Though not the most gourmet of feasts, El Cid will fill a belly in
a delightful way. The attentive waiters first bring a basket of
warm white bread rolls. Though not freshly baked, they admirably
begin to kill the first pangs of hunger. Then, a starter salad of
iceberg lettuce, thin strips of red cabbage, slivers of tomato and
onion, and shredded carrots with a light honey-mustard and sesame
dressing whet the palate. Though a meager offering, such a small
quantity feels perfect to begin a multiple-plated meal.
Next arrives a small cup of the soup of the day, which seems to
consist of broth and any excess food the cook may have in the
kitchen at the time. If patrons are lucky, it will be the assorted
vegetable mixture, which includes chunks of carrots, celery, and
zucchini. Although the concoction tastes like a can of Campbell’s,
it certainly warms the body for the heartier entree.
Most meals come served with a side of mildly seasoned rice and
what appear to have been frozen carrots, yellow squash and
cauliflower, which offer an undisturbing side dish to the more
well-prepared central item. The Costa Brave Halibut, a stuffed
filet of shrimp, scallops and herbs topped with a creamy Spanish
Mediterranean seafood wine sauce, lingers delectably in the mouth
long after the initial bite into its smooth, savory texture.
Likewise, the Pollo Gypsy Flamenco, a breast of chicken smothered
in the sinfully spiced green andulucia garlic herb sauce, ruptures
with flavor.
For those seeking a sweet ending to the meal or just a snack to
accompany the show, the final addition of dessert to the evening
makes for a decadent experience.
The Flan with Caramel comes in one of the most solid and
satisfying forms around, despite the potential of flan to be a
runny mess. Likewise, the Cappucino Moussecake, though a much
richer treat after a three-course meal, comes firm, accompanied by
a chocolate-cookie crust that accentuates the soft filling without
being too hard or doughy. Though best served with a cappucino, El
Cid’s whipped cream-laced version has the consistency of a packaged
stir-into-hot-water drink.
Fortunately, what sells El Cid is the mid-dinner flamenco
show.
With a rotating cast of around 15 dancers, most of whom have not
rehearsed with one another prior to the engagement, the small stage
allows for three full skirted dancers to gyrate simultaneously. A
vocalist calls out Spanish songs from the back corner along with a
classical guitarist. Flamenco dancer Pepita, now a grandmother,
drives the packed crowd wild as she saucily flips up her ruffled
skirt, revealing a pair of well-toned legs. Sticking her tongue out
and winking, she embodies the quintessential attitude of the
flamenco dancer – at once beautiful and proud, sensual and
daring.
The other three performers, including UCLA flamenco-dance
instructor Liliana de Leon, take turns clapping their hands and
dashing their spiked heels vehemently into the brittle ground as
though in competition. The hourlong show flies by, fitting into the
atmosphere of El Cid as perfectly as one of the wood-paneled
trick-window frames or the upstairs balcony veering over a set of
antique coat of arms.
A more idyllic setting could not be fathomed for the event, nor
a more obscure location. One of the most well-known and
time-honored night spots in the historic city of Los Angeles, El
Cid shall elude UCLA students no more. So pick up your heels and
embrace the sultry night air of Spain.