Restaurant 917 Carson

Our visit to Restaurant 917 was exceptional. I dined for lunch with out-of-town friends, but as a local, I was equally impressed. Restaurant 917 is located on the second floor of the Porsche Experience Center in Torrance. Upon entering, everyone is required to sign in at the front desk and obtain a visitor's badge. From there, you walk through a door they unlock, to a hallway and up the stairs. From there, we were cheerfully greeted by the host and met with an amazing dining space with a view of the impressive driver development track, which is extremely entertaining. Equally entertaining was each dish, beautifully presented by the very attentive wait staff. We ordered a variety of appetizers, each one a conversation piece. Each raw, seasonal oyster was perfectly seasoned with apple cider mignonette and their signature 917 hot sauce. Something new I've never tried but thoroughly enjoyed was the Rabbit Mousse. It is lighter and smoother in texture than chicken liver mousse, and was served with candied carrots, balsamic vinegar, and toast. The flavors melded wonderfully, and the carrots complimented it well. We also shared the Fromage Plate and Charcuterie, because we love trying different cheeses and meats from all over. My entree was the Portabello Mushroom Garden. I call it a very "photogenic" dish. I actually ordered it because I saw a gorgeous photo of it on Yelp. I'm not a vegan (although the dish is), but it was a dish so pretty and Instagrammable, I had to have it. My friend had the Pork Shank (which I tried), which was quite a large portion, she actually had some leftover to take home. The Pork Shank came with cheese polenta, which is a nice change from mashed potatoes. Our other friend had the Beef and Dumplings, which I didn't try, but she said it was really good. Make sure you save room in your stomach for the desserts! We love to share and I have trouble deciding, so we got four. If you have to choose one, I would go with the yogurt panna cota!

Unexpected stop here. We were hungry and found this place by chance. What a cool place. Drive your favorite Porsche or eat some amazing food. Service and food was 10 stars.