Freddy Smalls - Cured Meats And Hip-Hop | Los Angeles

Cured meats and hip-hop beats in West L.A.

We spent the '90s searching for the perfect hip-hop song.

This decade, we're dedicated to unearthing the perfect terrine.

We found a confluence of these disparate passions at Freddy Smalls, a newly opened bar and restaurant located on an unloved stretch of Pico Boulevard in West L.A.

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The soundtrack is exclusively old-school hip-hop, with A Tribe Called Quest dominating the playlist, and the restaurant's Baller Board (pictured; $19) is the best array of cured meat we've encountered of late. A silky oxtail terrine was the beefy standout, the braised strands of meat so soft as to dissolve when smeared across a piece of pretzel toast.

In the kitchen is Charlie Parker, the onetime chef of Oakland's Plum.

If the soundtrack and Baller Board hadn't clued you in, this is a destination for dude food. There's bone marrow in the Reuben ($19) and a smoked egg yolk nestled in the steak tartare ($12).

At Freddy Smalls, the braggadocio spirit is broadcast from both the speakers and the plate.

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Freddy Smalls, 11520 W. Pico Blvd., West L.A.; 310-479-3000 or freddysmalls.com

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