I wanted to take my partner to a restaurant for a surprise dinner this Friday. I was looking for something different. I told her we were going out for dinner but didn't tell her where. As we are both like Los Angeles history, I had on my mind a retro experience and thought about Traxx, which is located in Union Station, just north of downtown. While the restaurant opened in 1997, the station itself was built in 1939 and the restaurant borrows design elements from that period. After reading a few reviews of the restaurant I sensed that we weren't going to have a superlative experience, but probably at least a positive one. If the food didn't do it for us, I expected the surroundings to at least be a treat.
I didn't make reservations, since it was unlikely to be crowded. Union Station primarily serves Amtrak passengers, Metrolink commuters and subway riders, and Traxx isn't cheap. I imagined only a small percentage of the traffic moving through the halls of the rail station would seriously consider stopping there, except for a drink. The large number of empty tables confirmed my suspicions. Traxx actually has a bar closer to the entrance of the station and the main restaurant, which consists of a main--and very well air-conditioned--room, and seating outside. The restaurant is on an interior corner the main thoroughfare of Union Station and both entrances afford good views of the goings on within the building. While we sat inside primarily due to the heat there were also no other patrons seated outside and we didn't want to be the only ones. The interior space of Traxx is nice enough: it mirrors the sturdy style of the station, yet also has muted design elements reflective of its 1997 inauguration and the warmth of a recent paint job.
Traxx has a small wine list, but I did notice a few memorable inexpensive wines, like the Riesling from my hometown, Bonny Doon Vineyard. To keep with the retro experience, we went with martinis from their bar: vodka for her, gin for me. While the drinks were well mixed, the olives were of mediocre quality: hard and flavorless. Dommage!
The menu is divided into small plates (soup, salad, appetizers, etc.) and large plates (main dishes). The high prices gave me pause: I almost considered suggesting we just have a drink and move on to another restaurant. The desire to experiment, though, won out. We decided to order two of each and share. I'd read in ChowHound that a few foodies recommended the Waldorf salad, the crab cake, and pork chop. We ordered all three, plus the roasted chicken.
Service was a bit slow, somewhat inattentive, but overall about what I expected from my prior research. Our small plates came and the Waldorf salad met my expectations. The apples were crisp, contrasting nicely with the blue cheese, arugula and radicchio. The crab cake was literally a giant puck of crab, breaded, deep-fried, and served on a chipotle remoulade. My wife found the crab cake overly heavy. I liked it, despite it not being very traditional. I'm accustomed to cakes that have some breadcrumb mixed with the crab. This variation was almost solid crab.
Our main dishes were decently prepared, fair-sized portions (though a tad overpriced, even for a couple accustomed to the occasional expensive dinner out). I started with the pork loin chop, which was served with a fig balsamic glaze, spinach, and a tasty, but somewhat dry fig polenta. The pork was juicy and well cooked, though quite fatty. My partner's half-chicken appeared to be a Cornish-game hen and was served in the middle of a large wide bowl of green chili-tomatillo posole. The chicken was moist, and the posole had a very nice texture. It was an unusual combination that would have worked better with the chicken if it weren't dominated by the tanginess of the tomatillo. The menu noted that the chicken was served with a cilantro-almond pesto, but it was lost in the sea of posole. Of the four dishes we had, the hands-down favorite was the small Waldorf salad we started with.
Overall, our experience of Traxx was decent, though far from stellar. I would consider returning, but probably just for drinks and maybe a selection of their small plates. They have a great location, but perhaps like train stations themselves, Traxx may be best as a stopover on the way to someplace else.
Traxx
in Union Station
800 N. Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 625-1999
http://www.traxxrestaurant.com
I didn't make reservations, since it was unlikely to be crowded. Union Station primarily serves Amtrak passengers, Metrolink commuters and subway riders, and Traxx isn't cheap. I imagined only a small percentage of the traffic moving through the halls of the rail station would seriously consider stopping there, except for a drink. The large number of empty tables confirmed my suspicions. Traxx actually has a bar closer to the entrance of the station and the main restaurant, which consists of a main--and very well air-conditioned--room, and seating outside. The restaurant is on an interior corner the main thoroughfare of Union Station and both entrances afford good views of the goings on within the building. While we sat inside primarily due to the heat there were also no other patrons seated outside and we didn't want to be the only ones. The interior space of Traxx is nice enough: it mirrors the sturdy style of the station, yet also has muted design elements reflective of its 1997 inauguration and the warmth of a recent paint job.
Traxx has a small wine list, but I did notice a few memorable inexpensive wines, like the Riesling from my hometown, Bonny Doon Vineyard. To keep with the retro experience, we went with martinis from their bar: vodka for her, gin for me. While the drinks were well mixed, the olives were of mediocre quality: hard and flavorless. Dommage!
The menu is divided into small plates (soup, salad, appetizers, etc.) and large plates (main dishes). The high prices gave me pause: I almost considered suggesting we just have a drink and move on to another restaurant. The desire to experiment, though, won out. We decided to order two of each and share. I'd read in ChowHound that a few foodies recommended the Waldorf salad, the crab cake, and pork chop. We ordered all three, plus the roasted chicken.
Service was a bit slow, somewhat inattentive, but overall about what I expected from my prior research. Our small plates came and the Waldorf salad met my expectations. The apples were crisp, contrasting nicely with the blue cheese, arugula and radicchio. The crab cake was literally a giant puck of crab, breaded, deep-fried, and served on a chipotle remoulade. My wife found the crab cake overly heavy. I liked it, despite it not being very traditional. I'm accustomed to cakes that have some breadcrumb mixed with the crab. This variation was almost solid crab.
Our main dishes were decently prepared, fair-sized portions (though a tad overpriced, even for a couple accustomed to the occasional expensive dinner out). I started with the pork loin chop, which was served with a fig balsamic glaze, spinach, and a tasty, but somewhat dry fig polenta. The pork was juicy and well cooked, though quite fatty. My partner's half-chicken appeared to be a Cornish-game hen and was served in the middle of a large wide bowl of green chili-tomatillo posole. The chicken was moist, and the posole had a very nice texture. It was an unusual combination that would have worked better with the chicken if it weren't dominated by the tanginess of the tomatillo. The menu noted that the chicken was served with a cilantro-almond pesto, but it was lost in the sea of posole. Of the four dishes we had, the hands-down favorite was the small Waldorf salad we started with.
Overall, our experience of Traxx was decent, though far from stellar. I would consider returning, but probably just for drinks and maybe a selection of their small plates. They have a great location, but perhaps like train stations themselves, Traxx may be best as a stopover on the way to someplace else.
Traxx
in Union Station
800 N. Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 625-1999
http://www.traxxrestaurant.com
