RESTAURANT REVIEW: Tanzy

10840 Wilshire Blvd. (inside the iPic Theatre) | Los Angeles, CA 90024 | (310) 307-7004 | www.tanzyrestaurant.com | Prices: $$$

You’re at the base of a high-rise on busy Wilshire Boulevard but you’d never know it. Tanzy, the restaurant located inside the iPic Theater overseen by Chef Sherry Yard, manages to bring the feel of the natural world to a concrete jungle.

This sensation is even more present when dining in the “Cocoon Lounge” – a space enclosed in 100-year-old vines imported from Bali. The dim lighting, walnut bar and leather upholstery make you want to sink into a house-infused vodka cocktail.

The tangerine or cherry-infused vodkas commonly found on liquor shelves aren’t even in the same realm as Mixologist Adam’s concoctions. Take the Dirty Martini for example, a savory potion of olive tapenade swirled into parmesan-peppercorn-fennel-infused vodka. You’ve never had it this dirty or delicious.

The fire pit on the patio is the best location to sip Under the Tuscan Sun, preferably as the sun is setting. This golden-hued golden-hour martini is made of carrot-saffron vodka and honey sour topped with a dollop of lemon sorbetto. It’s not as desserty as it sounds.

Nature abounds in the cocktail and hand-crafted juice selections as well as the lunch, brunch and dinner menus. Chef Bryan Podgorski comes by it quite organically thanks to his tenure at French Laundry under Thomas Keller. A portion of the menu is devoted to a list of local growers. The Italian-inspired food is prepared with the finest seasonal ingredients.

As my dining companion Randy and I were well into our Maria D’Amalfi Bloody Mary – similar to a Canadian “Caesar” made with San Marzano tomatoes, clam juice, porcini broth and lemon-infused vodka – a bowl of P.E.I. Mussels made its way to our table leaving a trail of garlicky steam behind it.

The tasty broth flavored with white wine, fennel, thyme and a dash of Calabrian chili oil was too good to waste, and we promptly requested a few slices of grilled bread.

As we alternated between dunks of bread and meaty morsels of mussel, out rolled the Housemade Meatballs. The balls were made of prosciutto, mortadella and pork shoulder topped with a light San Marzano tomato sauce. They were unusual and unusually scrumptious.

While Randy ate pan-seared Halibut from a shallow bowl, I dove into a tangle of house-made Bucatini All’Amatriciana. The crispness of the skin sealed in the moistness of the fish. A light drizzle of olive oil over the fennel, olives and tomato unified all the flavors. It was a simple dish – not the most exciting thing on the menu – but for an eating marathon like ours, it was just right.

The bucatini was dominated by the guanciale (pork jowl). It took me right back to Tuscany – or was it the glass of hearty Super-Tuscan vino? Next time I order this dish, I will opt for the larger portion and with any luck it will be raining outside.

We ended the meal on a sweet note. We passed on the lovely Italian house-made liqueurs – Pistachio Cello, Cioccolato Cello and, of course, Limoncello – to name a few. Try as we might, we couldn’t refuse the silky Torta di Cioccolato or Panna Cotta served with Harry’s Berries.

After a feast like that, I could think of nothing better than to take a breather in the comfort and luxury of the leather reclining seats in the adjacent iPic Theater. Full disclosure: watching a movie in the iPic is like flying first class – once you try it it’s doubly hard to go back to coach.

Cradled in the lap of luxury – blankets and all – we gripped bags of warm gourmet popcorn as our waiter explained the high-tech menu tablet built in to our seat. We ordered Naanchos – an enticing Indian twist on nachos – and cocktails delivered in shakers; and just for tradition’s sake, warm cookies served mid-movie. What did we see, you are wondering? The 100 Foot Journey – a movie about food, of course.