Remember how 80's movies parodied the gourmet restaurant boon? In L.A. Story, a new French cafe named L'Idiot served microscopic bites on giant plates, and everyone continued the charade in order to appear refined. That was my experience at Lazy Ox Canteen.
Plate after plate arrived at our table with scant, mediocre-flavored nibbles. We had already dropped $40 on dishes that didn't make the equivalent of one appetizer, and we were hungry. Realizing we'd have to spend a few hundred just to stop the grumbling in our bellies, we bit the $40 tab. Throwing down our cash, we walked out and down the street to King Taco.
For the record, I adore small plate restaurants. You can experience more flavors and share with your friends. But Lazy Ox Canteen doesn't hold a candle to the diverse fun of Susan Feniger's Street or the gourmet seriousness of Mario Batali's Mozza. Both Mozza and Street offer better quality and fairer portions, and their chefs have a lot more hype than Ox's Josef Centeno. So let's throw ego out the window and be a little less stingy with portions. Lazy Ox is taking advantage of the downtown L.A. renaissance and all the proud but clueless yuppie/hipster hybrids whom are new to the area. A downtown address and industrial interior does not a restaurant make. Sooner or later, they will catch on. 
