Eater Inside: The Village Idiot
Tuesday, January 9, 2007

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It's a new year, friends, and there are many, many restaurant openings on the horizon. We're all over it, so keep checking back for more Inside looks. See something open in your neighborhood? Just holla.

Behold, The Village Idiot, which very quietly opened on Melrose in the former Chianti space last Thursday. Co-owner Charlie Conrad, chef Lindsay Kennedy, and another partner fashioned The Idiot, as we're already calling it, after the local watering hole/restaurants in London, the kind where anyone could go any time of day for good food, good drink, and good atmosphere. They say the Idiot bridges the gap between dive bar and upscale eatery, combining westside and eastside temperaments. We say you don't have to be an idiot to appreciate that.

More Inside after the jump.

The room is huge and airy, with exposed brick, hardwood floors, a bar in the center, and an open kitchen. The location has good bones---Chianti opened in 1938, and "Gone With the Wind" had it's Oscar party there. In the official PR-ish blurb, the food "has an aesthetic all its own…no fussy French words on the menu, no science experiments in the kitchen, and no abstract art on the plate…food is treated like food at The Village Idiot… and everything tastes of what it is." They're talking bangers and mash, fish and chips, crayfish bisque, warm frisee salad with crispy bacon, and braised pork shank on the menu. They expect to open for lunch in the next few weeks and will stay open until 12am Sun-Fri, and until 1am on weekends.

See more and submit to Eater LA Photo Pool

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