The Hungry Cat
Posted September 12th, 2008 by Meg
The Hungry Cat is a cute / hip seafood restaurant in Hollywood (Sunset and Vine, behind the Borders Bookstore). My roommate and I went in the mid-afternoon to have a peaceful lunch outside. The service was smooth and the staff friendly. The main purpose was to try their cocktails more than anything else. And that we certainly did, trying 5 out of the 8 cocktails offered. On their drink menu, the Thirsty Cat Menu, they offer both “Classic Cats” and “Seasonal Cats.” I have added * next to our cocktails that were Seasonal Cats.
We Drank
*The Hot Tamale - Reposado tequila (rested tequila; 2 months to 1 year in large vats or oak barrels), lime & orange with fresno chili simple syrup
*The Slice - Boomsma gin, watermelon, basil & fig vinegar
Cucumber Martini - Hendrick’s gin, cucumber juice & fresh lime
Greyhound Proper - Plymouth gin, fresh grapefruit juice & candied grapefruit
* H. C. Sazerec - Sazerec rye whiskey, dash of H.B. Pastis, Peychaud Bitters & lemon
I enjoyed all the cocktails. My favorite was probably The Greyhound Proper, The Hot Tamale, or The Slice. The Cucumber Martini started off weird, but as the ice melted the drink became exponentially tastier. The H.C. Sazarec was also good, but I am a new whiskey drinker, so I let my roommate drink most of it. The main point is that you can’t go wrong ordering a cocktail from their menu, especially from their “Seasonal Cats” section.
We Ate
1/2 lb peel n’ eat shrimp - we paid a few dollars less for them because we peeled them ourselves; interactive eating!
Oysters - From Rhode Island and New Zealand.
Marinated Mussels
The Pug burger - with bacon, avocado and blue cheese
My favorite was the shrimp, but the mussels and oysters were also exquisite. I preferred the Rhode Island oysters over the N
ew Zealand, but they were both yummy. Since I am new to shellfish, I enjoyed the fact that we were able to order them in whatever quantities we pleased. We initially ordered two of each type of oysters and two mussels, but loved the mussels so much that we ordered more for the table. The Pug burger was good, but too well done (we asked for medium rare, but there was nothing pink about it). It was also a vertical nightmare to eat, requiring burger surgery (burgerioplasty) on the burger in order to get a decent bite.
The owners, David Lentz and Suzanne Goin, know what they are doing; they also own these other hip Los Angeles restaurants: AOC, Luques, and Campanille. Suzanne is opening up a new restaurant in Brentwood, which I am crossing my fingers to be just as amazing as the other restaurants. 
In the end, the seafood and cocktails were delicious and I can’t wait until we go back.
The Hungry Cat
1535 Vine St
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 462-2155