The Hungry Cat

• Cuisine(s): American, California, Seafood
  Hours: Sun 11am-3pm, Sun,Sat 5pm-11:30pm, Mon-Sat 12pm-3pm, Mon-Fri 5:30pm-10:30pm
  Price: $$
• Payment Types: MasterCard, Visa, American Express
  Features: Patio/Sidewalk Dining, Takeout, Private Party, Catering
  Serving: Dinner, Late Night, Lunch
• Alcohol: Full bar
  Reservations: Accepted, Recommended
  Parking: Validation Available

Description

If you prize your sanity, try never to bring up the subject of lobster rolls with a New England native. If you haven't managed to edge away, you will be apprised how long the lobster must be boiled, how coarsely it must be chopped, and the exact brand of mayonnaise essential to the end result. You will also probably hear a dissertation on the top-loading hot dog bun that will turn your knees to water - I suspect the subject of top-loading buns was the secret to the Celtics' lockdown defense in the playoffs last spring. But when you taste the lobster roll at Hungry Cat, a first-class seafood restaurant near the corner of Sunset and Vine, a buttery, abstracted rendition of the New England beach-shack standard transformed into a split, crisp, rectangular object about the size of a Twinkie, you may be persuaded that the lobster roll is worth the fuss. In Maine, the $20-plus it costs would buy you a lobster the size of a small pony. But we are in Hollywood, where the next acceptable lobster roll may be 2,800 miles away. The Hungry Cat is a civic treasure, a place to drop into for a dozen oysters or a bowl of shrimp, a crab cake or a bowl of chowder, a glass of Picpoul de Pinet or an expertly mixed cucumber cocktail.