DineLA 2009: Spago. One of DineLA's Best Deals.

Just last week LAist released tips on how to get the most out of dineLA and one of their points is to not go for restaurant week menu offering dishes not originally on their regular menu.
At Spago, none of the dishes (minus desserts) offered are on the regular menu - you can get on-the-menu New York Steak for a hefty supplement of $35 though.

Does this mean Spago dineLA is not a deal?

Spago, one of the longest-standing LA's star eateries, the flagship of the Wolfgang Puck empire. Overhyped, you say? Let's not forget the Michelin stars this place got (before Michelin decided to abandon our city) and the fact that Nancy Silverton of La Brea Bakery and Mozza and Mozza hailed as a pastry chef from this place. Fact is, Spago got famous for a reason, and it managed to maintain that reason.
Not to mention they have one of the best patios in town.

Now, the deal. Let me see here. Burrata fig salad with jamon serrano and either poussin or kurobuta pork chop+dessert seems worthy of a $45 Spago meal to me.
If you actually look at their regular menu, you'd notice that their cheapest entree offered is $38. A $45 3-course Spago meal? That would be impossible without restaurant week!

Yeah, but they might give you crappy dishes, smaller portions, etc, so let's see what you actually ate.

Fig salad with burrata and jamon serrano.
Great figs, great burrata, great jamon. I am not sure about the combination of it all though. I certainly loved the burrata with the jamon and the greens, but not with the figs. I ended up eating the figs separately.

Kurobuta Pork Chop.
Smaller portion? I think not. This pork chop was so big I managed to take leftovers home. It was a very good pork chop, quite tender and moist, well seasoned. Great flavor and very complementary sauce and garnish.

Getting the supplements make dineLA much less of a deal.
A sweet corn agnolotti which runs for $19 on the regular menu is available for a $14 supplement.

Amazing agnolotti, though. I stole a couple of bites from PepsiMonster's plate and it was sooo good. It's definitely worth trying, although I'd rather get it as an extra order for $5 more :)

An order of New York Steak is $61 on the menu and available for a $35 supplement for DineLA.
A great steak, no doubt, but I was happy with my Kurobuta pork chop for much less money.

The desserts offered actually do come from the regular menu. I got the Apple Cider Upside Down Cake.

The cake had a great flavor but it was a bit too dry for my taste. I should've remembered these types of cakes are generally too dry for my palate. A lot of people seemed to like this though.

PepsiMonster got the Dobos, 12 layer chocolate and praline cake with nutella gelato.

I like his dessert much better, the chocolate buttercream layer was very smooth but you get just a teeny crunchiness. Great taste and texture.

We had a great meal overall. $45 for this 3-course meal (plus leftover for lunch, mind you)? I'll take it any day.

Spago
176 N Canon Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 385-0880
http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/restaurants/fine-dining/3635