Counter Intelligence: The Hart & the Hunter

Chicken cracklins and hot pepper vinegar.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Brussels sprouts and peanut salad with aged cheddar and bacon sherry vinaigrette.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Sprouting broccoli salad with chili vinaigrette.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Venison carpaccio (the only “hart” on the menu) with horseradish creme fraiche, pickled garlic, gremolata and fennel salad.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

The restaurant name is taken from one of Aesop’s fables, about a deer who admires his antlers and not his skinny legs.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Manager Jonathan Strader tends a table at the Melrose Avenue restaurant. The crowd often spills out into the Palihotel.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Chefs Brian Dunsmoor, left, and Kris Tominaga prepare Southern-inspired food by way of L.A.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Manager Jonathan Strader scans the dining room.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)