Hatchet Hall excels in comfort food and patio charm - Review - Los Angeles - The Infatuation

"If Alice escaped Wonderland and ended up in Culver City, she’d feel at home on the patio at Hatchet Hall. The garden-esque setting involves gravel underfoot, leafy plants spilling out of pots, and more mismatched vintage furniture and ornate plates than a grandparent’s garage sale. And the magical patio is the biggest draw here, where you can gather with a group and pass around rich, buttery, Southern-leaning dishes like they’re snacks at a backyard party. photo credit: Jakob Layman photo credit: Cathy Park photo credit: Jakob Layman Pause Unmute Hatchet Hall has gone through multiple changes in the kitchen over the years (the original chef now runs the spectacular Dunsmoor in Glassell Park), but its Southern-leaning staples have remained as steady as a riverboat. The cornbread is the crown jewel of them all: a cast iron skillet you’ll spot on every table, topped with a golf ball-size scoop of butter. Beyond that, make room for the shrimp and grits in a rich, stewy broth and gnocchi tossed with bacon and crispy potato skins. And because you’ll eventually want something green for your well-being (or maybe just optics), go ahead and order a vegetable, assuming fried green tomatoes smothered in pimento cheese and pepper jelly count. We’re also fans of the main dining room with the look of an 19th-century saloon, and the lantern-lit Old Man Bar at the back of the restaurant—a no-frills whiskey bar that’s perfectly placed for killing time if you have to wait for a table, or for grabbing a nightcap when you’re not ready to go home. But the best seat at Hatchet Hall is always outside, where you can sit under string lights for a long, drawn-out meal, preferably in loose-fitting pants. Food Rundown Cast Iron Cornbread This sizzling cast iron skillet is the centerpiece of every table. And while cornbread might not be groundbreaking, this one is: blistered shishito peppers are baked into it, and a mound of butter in the center sinks into the soft, custardy crater in the center. photo credit: Jakob Layman Fried Green Tomatoes The best of both worlds between a vegetable and a fried appetizer. They’re covered in a thin, golden coating but have a juicy middle that makes it obvious there’s tomato in there. Topped with pimento cheese and hot pepper jelly, they lean hard into the sweet-salty zone. We like them even more at brunch when they’re served eggs-benedict-style with a runny yolk. photo credit: Cathy Park Buttermilk Biscuits These are only available at brunch, but we wish we could order them around the clock. A gust of wind would knock these featherlight biscuits off the plate, but they still manage to pack in the butter. The three spreads—sea salt-sprinkled butter, housemade strawberry jam, and pimento cheese—are excellent separately, but even better when you start layering them like a kid with a paint set. photo credit: Cathy Park Seasonal Salad This salad changes throughout the year and usually comes topped with some kind of fruit depending on the season. And it relies heavily on how good that fruit is. During winter, it’s more generic spring mix with a few chunks of pear and pomegranate seeds strewn in, but during summer when it’s covered in ripe peach slices, it deserves a spot on the table. photo credit: Cathy Park Loaded Baked Potato Gnocchi This tastes like someone exploded a baked potato onto a plate of gnocchi, and we respect the chaos. It’s loaded up with bacon, cheese, and crackly shards of potato skin that remind us of crumbs at the bottom of a chip bag. photo credit: Cathy Park Shrimp & Grits More shrimp than grits, and we aren’t complaining. These guys have their heads on and are plump and briny, while the grits are borderline molten, perfect for catching what’s dripping off the shrimp. photo credit: Cathy Park Apple Brandy Braised Short Rib This is a hefty dish that’ll make you sluggish, and we’re not sure if it’s worth the slowdown. The short rib is on the dry side and pulls apart in strands like string cheese, which requires using the corn polenta and horseradish crème fraîche to lubricate each bite. photo credit: Cathy Park" - Cathy Park