While traveling to Long Beach CA, I took my flight back to NYC from LAX. After walking around the airport up and down, I finally decided to have my early dinner at this spot before my flight. After that, there were few moments of confusion (on my part). First, I waited at the “entrance” point for several minutes, and no one came to greet me. Then, another customer came and asked if I was waiting. I said yes and he told me there is a seat at the end of the bar. I didn’t realize this is “please seat yourself” spot… Felt a bit silly standing around for a while… Anyways, thanks to the other customer, I went to the end of the bar and sat down. The manager on duty came over and gave me a menu right away, and welcomed me to Sealegs. The bartender also greeted me with a smile.
Feeling warm and welcomed, I decided on what to order. This is the next moment of confusion. I started to look though my photos on my phone, kept wondering when someone is going to come and take my order. But then, as soon as I looked up from my phone, the bartender asked me if was ready to order. I didn’t realize he was trying to be polite and waiting for me to finish whatever I was doing on my phone! This was kinda funny!!! So, it took me a while to get a seat and then to place an order. Good thing I had plenty of time before my flight. LOL.
I started with a nice cocktail, Beachy Peachy Sangria ($15). It is made with Peach Vodka, House White Wine, Pineapple Juice, Simple Syrup, and Muddled Strawberries. The bartender said that he is gonna get fresh strawberry for me from the back and disappeared for a minute. He came back with fresh strawberries and muddled them real good. I was getting excited of the quality of this drink… And it was quite good!!! Very tasty, fruity, sweet and strong! I could really taste the real strawberry, and also nice peach flavor as well.
For food, since I did well most of the time during my travel in Long Beach with fruit/veggie juice and smoothies, I decided to get something decadent. I know, I should keep being good to myself, but I do love to eat… I ordered one appetizer and one main dish from “small plates/sharing plates” section. For appetizer, I chose Truffle Parmesan Fries ($14), made with House Cut Fries, Three Cheese Fondue, and Truffle Oil. This one definitely the “sharing” size, much bigger than I expected!
I have a weak spot for truffles…and fries. So I was happy to get a large portion. Fries had a great aroma of truffle! The cheese fondue was interesting, but it could’ve been a bit more cheesy… They were more like heavy gravy. It did have some shredding of Parmesan, and the quality seemed and tasted high. I still enjoyed it.
For main, I went with The Meatball ($15). This one was also larger than I expected, definitely sharable. It is made with Wagyu Beef, Veal & Pork Meatball, Spicy Tomato Sauce, Burrata Cheese, served with Toast Points. It supposed to have one big meatball in the center, but it looked like four smaller meatballs. Because the meatball was not tightly packed, it fell apart before it was made its way over to me. That was a bit disappointing…
Meatball had real kick to it! But it was a good spicy, packed with flavor! I felt that it was a bit more “watery” than juicy, I assume that caused the meatball to fall apart? The bread was nicely toasted, not too much. It was nice and buttery too. Great accompaniment to the sausage and tomato sauce. It was filling with bread pieces and the large meatball.
I was completely full before I finished, I tried to eat as much as I could, but I just couldn’t fit anymore in my tummy. Also, the meatball was losing its flavor as it cooled down… Considering this is an airport, the food and drink were pretty good, and service was nice and friendly. Speaking of service, I really thought the bartender did a good job. A couple sat next to me wanted to order tacos to share. The bartender explained that the dish comes with three tacos, and asked if they wanted to make it into four tacos, so that it will be easier to share. How considerate!
SeaLegs Wine Bar @ LAX – 200 World Way, Los Angeles, CA 90045