Firefly

I hesitate to label Firefly in Studio City as "American" because they are quite a bit more than that, with both French and Asian flares. Griffin and I went here for an anniversary a while back and I can't wait to revisit. Though it can be a little hard to get into on the weekends (my friends and I were once turned away going for drinks on a Friday because we weren't on the list), but if you have a dinner reservation you should be alright. Luckily, you don't have to be somebody to get a dinner reservation either. When you first walk in to the bar, it looks a bit like a library, but certainly the hippest library you've ever seen. As you pass the bar and the plush bar seating you venture to the back outdoor patio, which looks a bit like something out of a movie. The bricks and ivy mix is charming and a big outdoor fireplace adds flare. There are tables spaced under an awning of stars and little bungalow-like tables line the walls. Behind each table are several little candles lighting the scene. It's all very romantic, hence it was perfect for an anniversary dinner. We started out with a glass of wine each and an order of the cast iron skillet mussels. As I consider myself a connoisseur of the crispy rice dish, we also had to try the hamachi sashimi on crispy rice cakes. I love my crispy rice, but this is the best, far surpassing that of Katsu-ya, Iroha, or Yoshi. The flavors are delicate but crisp and certainly worth the $16 for the appetizer. For dinner, we tried the roasted hen breast and the sea bass. Both were exceptional and the pan roasted mushrooms that were served with the hen were to die for. By the time we finished our meal we were unfortunately too full for dessert because the trio of chocolate custards (i.e. chocolate creme brulee) sounded superb! The whole meal was roughly $100 for the pair of us, but like I mentioned, it was a special occasion and well worth the money. The restaurant is a little hard to find as it's completely covered in ivy, but just look for the valet umbrella down the street from Katsu-ya.

P.s. The restaurant Firefly has nothing to do with the Joss Whedon TV series by the same name (much to Griffin's dismay).

http://www.fireflystudiocity.com/
Since the website isn't very built out, Citysearch has the menu.
http://losangeles.citysearch.com/profile/12252451/#