Michele StuevenDinner service has made its debut at Fanny’s, the restaurant and café at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, and there’s no lack of drama brought to the table by executive chef Raphael Francois.
Walking into the main dining room of the two-story, 10,000-square-foot space that includes an art deco style bar, it’s surprisingly easy to forget that you’re in a museum. And it doesn’t hurt that the expert Hollywood lighting makes everybody look and feel like a star as models and agents table hop.
L.A.’s favorite mixologist Julian Cox has curated a fun Tinseltown-inspired list of cocktails which includes the All About Eve (Lo-Fi aperitif, red plum, lime and shiso granita), the Easy Rider (Ford’s gin, kumquat, kiwi, lime and almond) and the hypnotic Blank Panther (black currant, Avua cachaca, Byrrh, seasonal spices and fruit with Meyer lemon “air” and an edible sugar-dusted orchid).
Beef tartare (Michele Stueven)
The drama continues with stunning hamachi and salmon crudos, a 32-ounce tomahawk and a standing Côte de boeuf roast that gets wheeled out on its own cart and carved at your table. The beef tartare is an over-the-top creation reminiscent of Mt. Crumpet, combined with beets under a blanket of parmesan. In keeping with Hollywood’s culinary and cultural traditions, more live performance elements will be added in the New Year including tableside Caesar salad preparation, a martini cart and Crepe Suzette cart.
Named after Fanny Brice, the movie, vaudeville, theater, and radio star portrayed by Barbra Streisand in her Academy Awarding role in Funny Girl, the restaurant exudes glamor in the refurbished 1939 May Company art deco building space that once hosted fashion shows during its Hollywood heyday.
Here’s hoping they’ll add the cobb salad that was created by Bob Cobb at the Hollywood Brown Derby and resurrect Chasen’s famous chili as a nod to those iconic celebrity haunts and watering holes of L.A.’s culinary past.
Fanny’s Hamachi Crudo (Wonho Frank Lee)
The Black Panther (Michele Stueven)
Fanny’s dining room (Wonho Frank Lee)
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