Ethereal Desserts and Pricey Tabs at Modern Grill House Odys + Penelope

Welcome to the Good News/Bad News on Odys + Penelope, an amalgamation of the reviews of Quinn and Karen Hatfield's modern grill house from across the blogosphere. Between overwhelmingly positive Yelp reviews and full write ups by all major local media outlets, the grilled meat mecca has received plenty of stars all around. So what's the word?

It's the new critic darling: Jonathan Gold of the LA Times sings its praises, Besha Rodell of LA Weekly drops two stars, and Patric Kuh of LA Mag awards the restaurant a glowing three stars. Jonathan Gold sums it up pretty succinctly:

"I always admired Hatfield's. Odys + Penelope I actually love." [LAT]

Says Rodell: "Here, two very good chefs look to evolve as well. For the most part, it's a pleasure to be privy to their odyssey." [LAW]

Says Kuh: "Quinn and Karen call the place a churrasco, which brings to mind Brazilian restaurants where waiters wearing knee boots serve an endless supply of massive skewered meats. In reality, the churrasco part of O+P's one-page menu is fairly minimal. That doesn't mean it isn't great." [LAM]

Go for dessert first: There's no doubt Karen Hatfield is one of the most talented pastry chefs in town. While some critics and Yelpers may disagree on the execution of the meat, one thing is unanimous: dessert reigns supreme:

"Unless you were to go to Odys + Penelope with a ravenous hunger and a well-conceived plan for eating your way through the savory part of the menu and saving room for sweets, I might suggest you start with dessert. Why? Because there are many chocolate pies in this town, many sticky toffee puddings, many tarts and frozen treats accompanied by the fresh fruit of the season — but very few of them are as beautifully executed as the desserts of Karen Hatfield." [LAW]

"I've ordered her pavlova on every return visit just to see how blissfully surprised my different dining companions are when they taste it." [LAM]

"Karen is the evil dessert genius in this pair, and during our meal, she came by our table so we asked what she recommended.  Her response: 4 people, 5 desserts on the menu, get one of everything!  Our only mistake was not to take her advice, because the three we had were so good, we should have done all five!" [Yelp]

"It goes without saying the deserts are fantastic as Karen continues to uphold her reputation as one of, if not the best pastry chefs in LA." [OpenTable]

Order the sirloin cap: While most Yelpers seem to go with the Wagyup tri-tip, the beefy sirloin cap seems to be the critic favorite:

"But Hatfield dry-ages his meat for a length of time almost unthinkable in Brazil, where freshness is prized over tenderness and the aromas that develop through aging, and the complex tartness of his sirloin cap is profound and delicious." [LAT]

"My favorite cut, however, may be the sirloin cap—also from the churrasco. A few slices are laid out as plainly as at a church supper, the smokiness of the pink meat accentuated by the dab from the small container of horseradish crème fraîche beside it." [LAM]

"It had a very defined meat-tartness, and was a little gristle-y in the fat sections, though the fat was still properly cooked for the most part, and quite flavorful, imbued with a healthy amount of char from the flames." [Chowhound]

Just be prepared to drop some serious dough: While described as the more casual offshoot of the now-shuttered Hatfields, the prices sure come close to $$$$ classification:

"In fact, for all the chatter about the Hatfields going more casual, this restaurant is barely any cheaper than its deceased fine-dining older sibling." [LAW]

"Another thing that pops up: plenty of entrées bordering or surpassing $30. It may be "casual," but O+P is not cheap." [TimeOut]

"All in all, it's a bit expensive for what you get, so I'd suggest going elsewhere for dinner and then coming for drinks and dessert, which are some of the best in the area. " [Yelp]

"We spent a lot more money than planned, but still ended up happy with our dinner." [Yelp]