Rate-A-Restaurant, #136 in a series

(Flickr pic by ExperienceLA.)

Restaurant: The Hungry Cat

Location: 1535 N. Vine (in the "Shops at Schwab" complex) (Hollywood)

Type of restaurant: Seafood


(Flickr pic by Karen From the LBC.)

We stipulated: My friend Lisa was in town, and was game to try anything. I wanted to try something new, plus run an errand in Hollywood. The Hungry Cat was fine -- as long as Lisa, who's about 7 months pregnant, didn't eat anything raw.

They stipulated: But you better like seafood; other than a burger on the menu, it's all from the sea or from a shell next to the water.

What we ordered: Starters: 1/2 lb. peel 'n eat shrimp -- we peel 'em ($18); I got the fish sandwich of the day -- open-face salmon, with fries (market price), while she got the steam clams (market price)

High point: The shrimp is fantastic -- perfectly seasoned and quite delicious.

Low point: I wish I could have been more impressed with the open-face salmon sandwich, but it was rather ordinary (basically, a piece of salmon placed atop a toasted piece of bread). In hindsight, there are plenty of other things I could have tried on the menu.

Overall impression: The Hungry Cat is unusual -- tucked away in the Sunset and Vine complex behind Borders (which means parking is terrible), it's not the kind of restaurant you'd expect to see hidden next to a Bed Bath & Beyond or Baja Fresh. But the menu is definitely interesting, although small. I'd be curious to try other things.

Chance we will go back: Still, I'm not sure I will anytime soon. I just didn't quite get into it. Can't quite put my finger on the why -- perhaps because it was lunch, and therefore cocktail-free.

(For our complete list of nearly 140 restaurant reviews, visit our companion Rate-A-Restaurant website.)