Langan’s Pleases Lobster Expert

My friend Robin has turned up her nose at half the lobsters in California. “They don’t taste like the ones we have in New England,” she always says as she wantonly abandons the poor creature on her plate. But here she is in the brand new Langan’s Brasserie in Century City, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., (213) 785-0961, with a grilled lobster before her and a big grin on her face. “It tastes like lobster,” she is exclaiming, “it actually tastes of the sea.”

Langan’s has won her heart. She likes the huge manly room with its long bar and its palm trees and its shiny hardwood floors. She doesn’t even mind that the service is on the slow side. She likes the shellfish starters (oysters, clams, cracked crab and so forth) and the eclectic menu. This begins with appetizers like spinach souffle with anchovy butter, pheasant sausages with chestnut dressing and garlic soup. It goes on to entrees that are as simple as fish and chips (served in a little paper box) or as fancy as paillard of veal with mascarpone and pine nuts or . . . grilled lobster. “It’s no wonder they have good lobsters,” I can’t resist telling Robin. “Chef Lydia Shire, a Boston native, is sharing the kitchen with Jonathan Parker, who was the sous chef at New York’s Le Bernardin, the country’s most celebrated fish restaurant.”

“I knew there had to be a reason,” she replies. “This is the best lobster I’ve had in California.” And although she carefully wraps up her lobster and takes it home, I notice that she makes a pretty good dent in the steamed chocolate pudding with raspberries.