I’m a firm believer in the separation of church and state.
But sometimes, when your church is arguably LA’s best French bistro, the state intervenes.
Such as today.
Because today, the day I had planned on a long and leisurely lunch at Church & State, was the day the Department of Public Health chose to inspect the restaurant. On top of that, Chef Walter Manzke was not in the kitchen and, from what I gathered from a subsequent tweet, neither was his sous chef. Evidently the kitchen was a little flustered.
To be fair, I’d eaten at Church & State a couple of months earlier on a night that Chef Manzke was again not in the kitchen and the meal was spot on. One of my top 7 or 8 meals of 2009.
But today things were just a bit off. A couple of dishes came out under seasoned. Not a fatal flaw but a lack of quality control in the kitchen. I put it down to a bad day, knowing the high standards this kitchen can deliver.
But I wasn’t going to let the state (okay, county to be pedantic) spoil what was to be a great lunch with fellow food bloggers FoodforFel, the Foodie EngiNerd and our friend Libby.
I’ve loved the decor, atmosphere and attitude of Church & State ever since I first visited the restaurant. Built in a converted warehouse loading dock, it’s all exposed brick, red painted walls, worn black columns, and subway tile, criss crossed by low hanging strings of Edison bulbs. It’s at once unpretentiously welcoming, magically romantic and of its location in the loft district in Downtown LA. It evokes a time and place I only dream I’ve visited and a menu that brings comfort to the imagined Francophile in me.
As does a cold Affligem Blond.
We started with the steak tartare with mesclun salad and pommes frites. The steak was well prepared, hand cut leaving a pleasantly solid texture. But this was one of the dishes that could have done with more seasoning. I remember reading an interview recently with Chef Walter Manzke where he said his favorite ingredient to cook with was sea salt. Perhaps his kitchen could have been more liberal with it in this dish.
The pommes frites were, however, very good.
We moved on to the terrine de foie gras with port wine gelée and toasted brioche. Here was a dish I’d eat everyday for breakfast if I could. The foie gras terrine was soft and buttery, the port wine gelée pleasantly sweet. Spread on toasted brioche, it was like an adult PB&J. But make that a FG&J.
Next up was an off-menu dish, the sea urchin with olive oil and paprika on baguette. I love sea urchin, usually in the form of uni sushi. I love the sweetness of it. Unfortunately this was masked by the taste of the olive oil in this dish with the delicate sea urchin being an afterthought. I didn’t really think this dish worked. But we ordered it more out of curiosity (being off-menu) than anything else and there was much more deliciousness to come.
Next came the escargots de bourgogne (snails baked in garlic and parsley butter) I had longed for since missing out on them on my first visit to Church & State. I love their presentation in individual ramekins topped with puff pastry. I love the anticipation of pulling the top off and letting the steam escape. Like a little Christmas present of escargot. But, like with so many Christmas presents, I was disappointed. I had hoped for Ferragamos but instead got Steve Maddens. These could have again used more seasoning and more garlic.
The moules mariniere (mussels in white wine) that followed were, however, pretty good. The broth was flavorful, the mussels plentiful and fairly plump. Mollusc to mollusc, I definitely preferred these over the snails. More pommes frites and aioli accompanied.
We also ordered the tarte de saumon fumé (smoked salmon tarte) with leeks and lemon creme fraiche. Not a dish I would have usually ordered but that’s the beauty of dining with others. I loved the simplicity of this dish. Good quality smoked salmon, a good crispy base, seasoned well with herbs and a drizzle of creme fraiche. A lighter counterpoint to some of our other dishes.
Next was one of the must have dishes at Church & State. The moelle de boeuf (roasted bone marrow). I’ve had the bone marrow at Animal, at The Gorbals, and at numerous other restaurants around town. Church & State’s are very good. But what sets them apart is the tart chimichurri sauce they serve with it. Bone marrow is all about texture and fat but top it with the chimichurri and the acid cuts right through it. Spread on toasted brioche, it’s a dish that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
And lastly, we came to the dish that people can’t get enough of. The oreilles de cochon, or crispy pig’s ears served with a bearnaise dipping sauce. Not usually on the lunch menu because they can’t keep up with the demand, ask and you shall receive. What I like about Church & State’s pig’s ears is that they are not cut into thin strips but left as large triangles. Cooked to a tender gelatinousness, coated and deep fried, you can see and taste the actual pig’s ear. This is a dish for people who want to know they’re eating pig’s ears and not disguise it. Dipped into the bearnaise, it’s a dish you pair with beer, not wine.
We had decided to pass on dessert but the kitchen, perhaps sensing that some of the dishes were not quite up to par, sent out a dessert sampler of every dessert on their menu. The cherry and nut tart, the apricot tart, the pot de creme au chocolate, the creme brulée, and the panna cotta with tangerine granita. I loved the freshness of the tangerine granita after the fat of the pig’s ears and I can’t go past a creme brulee. The pot de creme was very rich but had a great caramel sauce on top. Both tarts were also good but perhaps not my preferred choice of desserts.
By this time, it was approaching 3:30pm and the restaurant had emptied out and returned to a relaxed pace. We lingered over the last of our drinks, waiting for the rain outside to subside, and reflected on the meal.
Would I give it an A?
Well, the Department of Public Health apparently did.
Me? I’ll wait for my third visit to pass judgment.
And hopefully the next time Chef Manske will actually be behind the stove.
Church & State 1850 Industrial StLos Angeles, CA 90021
(213) 405-1434
For us non-breeder, LA transplant types, Christmas eve dinner usually involves making a reservation rather than a ham.
In terms of special occasions, it’s up there with birthday dinners and New Year’s Eve. And don’t even get me started on Valentine’s Day.
But after 12 months of fine dining, where do you go that’s going to excite you? That has an appropriate sense of occasion? That is memorable and is, in some sense, special?
This year we picked Petrossian.
And we felt like Christmas had come early.
Well, slightly early. Say around 9pm on Christmas Eve. So perhaps three hours early.
Stepping into the dining room of Petrossian is like stepping into a classic Hollywood black and white movie. The color palette of the decor is stark. Black banquettes, white walls, blond wood chairs and the tables and lower walls covered in a black textured finish resembling caviar. Black and white prints of Marilyn, Brando, Bette Davis and co decorate the walls. The only concession to color is a single red rose in a black vase on each table.
I happen to like its simplicity. It’s classy more than austere. Romantic yet reverent.
And on this night, very quiet.
We were the only reservation for Christmas Eve.
Not that the kitchen wasn’t busy. Apparently they had been catering several Christmas parties all day.
But tonight we had the whole restaurant to ourselves.
Normally I’d say an empty restaurant was a bad sign but on this night it meant we had the full attention of Chef Ben Bailly. I’d met Ben recently at Marcel Vigneron’s Hatchi tasting and shared a cocktail with him afterwards at the Tar Pit opening. We chatted and I learned that he had worked in the kitchens of Joel Robuchon in Monaco and Paris amongst several others, helping Robuchon open half a dozen restaurants around the world, and was most recently the sous chef at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Vegas. Given that my meal at L’Atelier was my best meal of 2009 and that, somehow, Petrossian had flown under my radar for this long, I knew I had to experience his food.
Ben, on the other hand, learned that I liked to eat.
So when he came to our table to chat, he asked if we’d like to order off the menu or leave it in his hands. Basically the offer of a chef’s tasting. Given that we were the only diners in the restaurant that night, make that a private chef’s tasting. Of course we accepted.
Now bear in mind that there is no tasting menu offered at Petrossian. Their regular menu is set out in appetizer and entree sizes. So really, it was the fact that we were the only diners coupled with the fact that Chef Bailly just loves to cook that allowed him the time to create this menu for us.
And so began a tasting menu of some of Petrossian’s signature dishes and greatest hits.
We started with a hibiscus champagne and a Petrossian roe sampler. The hibiscus champagne was a festive way to kick off Christmas dinner. A rosé champagne with a dried hibiscus flower at the bottom of the flute, adding not just visual interest but a fruity flavor.
The roe sampler was a selection of caviar, trout and salmon roe served with blinis and creme fraiche. For those of you unaware, Petrossian is a producer of fine Russian caviar, with some caviars costing up to $600 per oz. That’s about one serving. The roe sampler was as good as you’d expect from a company of this pedigree. The sampler allowed you to taste the flavor of each roe, which varied from subtle to briny.
Next up was the caviar pizza. Creme fraiche replaces the tomato base, which is topped with chives, capers, red onion and dollops of caviar. One of the most decadent pizzas I’ve had, the caviar was a treat but, for me, the real taste sensation was the creme fraiche base. I don’t know how tomato will ever compete again.
That was followed by a tasting of two soups: a classic cold borsht and a wild mushroom cappuccino with braised chestnut. The wild mushroom cappuccino (or perhaps macchiato in our tasting size) was densely earthy yet frothy. Warm and very satisfying.
The cold borsht served in a shot glass was a revelation. Admittedly not a fan of borsht, I loved this interpretation. The addition of red peppers to the soup gave it a sweetness and crispness on the palate I’ve found lacking in most other borsht I’ve tasted.
Following the soups was the crispy shrimp “papillote”. The “paper” in this “papillote” was a wonton wrapper and the shrimp wrapped and fried crispy, then served with a chili ginger sauce and a passion fruit sauce. This could almost have been an interpretation of a Thai dish but the surprise for me was the passion fruit sauce. Looking like mustard zig zagged across the plate, it was actually sweet and tasted exactly like passion fruit. Dipping the shrimp alternately in the chili ginger and the passion fruit sauces brought a different type of sweetness to each bite.
Next was a dish I had drooled over on many food blogs. The foie gras salad. A thick slice of foie gras terrine over a square bed of chopped haricot verts and toasted walnuts with four streaks of a black truffle vinaigrette reduction. But this time it looked different. The foie gras terrine was itself streaked with veins of black truffles. Not usually on the menu, the foie gras terrine with black truffles is available only by special order. Lucky for us, a high profile customer had ordered a whole terrine ($300) for her Christmas dinner and Chef Bailly had made one for his own Christmas celebration. He was gracious enough to cut a slice from his own Christmas terrine and serve it to us, so in a way we actually shared his Christmas meal with him! What’s not to love about this dish? The foie gras is silky and rich, the haricot verts crunchy, the veins of truffle decadent, and a few flakes of fleur de sel adding an occasional punch. It also looks beautiful on the plate, its square upon a square within a square within a square plating appealing to my most basic OCD tendencies.
By this time I was starting to wonder how many courses Chef Bailly was intending to bring out. We never really discussed that but he knew from our previous conversation that I was no stranger to 8, 12, 15 or more course dinners. But I was starting to hit a serious dining wall here. When he next came to our table, I told him I was surrendering soon. But there was still so much on the menu I wanted to taste. The foie gras creme brulee, the black truffle mac n cheese. Secretly, I think he was waiting for me to tell him when to stop. I have a feeling that if I had kept eating, he would have kept cooking. But he told me he had one more plate I had to try.
And that was the Napoleon tartare. A thick square of hand chopped steak tartare, topped with a layer of black caviar, topped with another thick layer of steak tartare and topped off with yet another large dollop of caviar. The raw meat married with the briny caviar was superb. Truly decadent. And if it was at the beginning of the meal, I would have devoured the whole plate myself. But given that my dining companion had already stopped eating and that I had approached, reached and passed my point of fullness, I did my best and shoveled, picked at and coerced half of that large square of raw meat and fish eggs into my belly.
And then I did what I haven’t done in as long as I can remember. I raised the white flag. Chef Ben Bailly had done what no other chef in recent memory had done. He had defeated me.
But I wasn’t going to get away that easily. After pummeling me into submission with the Napoleon tartare, Ben sent out two desserts. A Sicilian pistachio creme brulee and a vanilla panna cotta with white peach espuma. Now, I haven’t met a creme brulee I haven’t liked so with a second wind, I tackled dessert.
At this point I barely remember the specifics of the desserts. Only impressions. The satisfying crack of the bruleed top, the distinct pistachio flavor, the quality of the vanilla in the panna cotta, the sweetness of the peach espuma. But I do remember that I ate it all.
And with that, I was done.
Ben came out to see how we enjoyed the meal. We talked about his dishes, about his working with Robuchon, about Christmas and New Year plans, about great meals we’d enjoyed in the past year. Then he excused himself. He had to get home and start preparing his own Christmas Day meal. He also had a Christmas present for his girl. And it was fast approaching midnight.
By the time we got home that night, Ben had already tweeted a photo of him shucking oysters in his own kitchen. I guess that’s the life of a chef.
And then it was Christmas. And we’d just had our last great meal of 2009.
This review is for A. My partner in dining, my partner in indulgence and my partner in life. Here’s to many more great meals in 2010.
Petrossian West Hollywood 321 North Robertson Boulevard West Hollywood, CA 90048 (310) 271-6300
LudoBites 3.0 was no sequel. It was a reboot.
Come knowing that and you’d leave happy. But come expecting a sequel to LudoBites 2.0 at Breadbar and you might as well have gone to watch JJ Abrams’ Star Trek reboot expecting to see William Shatner.
All the familiar dishes from LudoBites 2.0 were gone, replaced by a completely new line up. Oxtail polenta? Gone. Foie gras croque monsieur? Gone. Ludo Fried Chicken? Well, that one made a comeback in a different form.
Kinda like Leonard Nimoy as Spock.
In fact, don’t even come expecting to see Kirk in the captain’s chair. LudoBites 3.0 left the confines of Europe to explore Asia and Mexico. Kimchi, udon, dashi, miso and mole took center stage, befitting the pop-up restaurant’s move to Royal/T, a Japanese cosplay cafe. It’s as if Sulu had taken over the bridge and reprogrammed all the food replicators.
But that, really, is the mission statement of LudoBites. It allows Chef Ludo Lefebvre to create and explore cuisines without the normal constraints of running a restaurant. To seek out new tastes and new cultures. To boldly go where no man has gone… okay, perhaps I’m taking this metaphor too far.
On to the food. In the words of Chef Ludo’s famous countryman, Jean-Luc Picard, “Make it so!”
We went on the second night of the limited 13 night engagement.
The menu changed over the course of LB 3.0 but, on this night, Ludo opened with his caramelized curry peanuts. More a snack than a course, these would have been perfect with an Asian beer. A Tiger or a Singha, perhaps. Just something to nibble on before the meal.
Next up was the scallops with brown butter, pineapple and squid ink powder. The scallops were fresh and plump, with the pineapple adding a sweet and tart acidity. I did pick up a bitter element though that no one else at my table seemed to detect. I’m guessing this was a function of the squid ink powder.
This was followed by the bread soup with poached egg and a gruyere marshmallow. The bread soup had a strong, smoky bacon taste. Delicious but I had been expecting more of a toasted bread flavor from what I had previously read. Luckily, I prefer the taste of bacon to bread.
Next was a confit of pork belly with pickled mustard seeds, vadouvan apples and frisee. The pork belly was good. Tender with a firmer skin.
The fifth course was the Monterey squid with chorizo oil, kimchee puree and eggplant “paper”. Talk about Korean-Mexican fusion. But the dish worked. The squid was tender with just enough give and, eaten together with the chorizo oil and kimchee puree, brought a complexity to the dish.
The dish that followed was, surprisingly, my favorite of the night. Veal udon, kombu dashi, mushrooms and sesame seed miso. I say surprisingly because here was a Japanese-inspired dish prepared by a classically trained French chef. But the veal was tender, the broth flavorful and with depth, and the addition of mushrooms, shallots and the sesame seed miso complemented but never interfered with the main flavor palette of veal and dashi. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, this dish probably best exemplified LB 3.0 – a French experimental pop-up in a Japanese neo-pop cafe.
In contrast, the next dish was exactly the kind of dish I’d expect from Chef Ludo. The foie gras beignet with yellow celery root remoulade. I read Ludo’s tweet about this dish on his recent trip to France and knew I’d taste it sometime on his menu. And, after all, what is LudoBites without some foie gras? This dish tasted exactly as I had imagined. The salty, offally, fatty, almost melted foie gras paired with the sweet fried goodness of the beignet. This dish should go into the LudoBites Hall of Fame along with the foie gras croque monsieur, oxtail polenta, Ludo Fried Chicken and caviar panna cotta.
Next up was the wild striped bass, garden vegetables and yuzu aioli. The bass was well cooked and the vegetables certainly colorful but my mind was still on the veal udon and foie gras beignet.
The marinated hanger steak with crunchy escargot, baby corn, bok choy and black olive mole followed. Here was another dish I liked a lot. The hanger steak was nicely pink in the middle and well marinated but it was the mole that Chef Ludo had only learned to make a few weeks ago that stood out for me. Okay, I’m no expert in regional moles but the fact that Teenage Glutster’s mom (who Ludo learned the recipe from) gave it her seal of approval was as good a sign of authenticity as any. Yes, he added his own touches but the slight sweetness of the complex mole was a perfect accompaniment to the hanger steak. The baby corn still in the husk was a nice touch and made for a beautiful plate. The crunchy escargot were more for texture than taste, I think. Honestly, I felt they were extraneous but they did add a nice textural contrast when eaten with the steak in the same bite.
The traditional cheese course was replaced by the Fourme d’Ambert tourte with red pear and a honey-balsamic sauce. One of France’s oldest cheeses, the Fourme d’Ambert had a milder blue cheese taste. Baked in this tourte with a thick bechamel sauce, the result was wonderfully nuanced and yet apparently simple. Definitely greater than the sum of its parts. I’d take this over a cheese course any day.
Onto desserts, the first dessert was a pistachio rice milk, lemon pound cake and coffee chantilly. Honestly, this dessert lost me. Texturally, the pistachio rice milk and the coffee chantilly were similarly soft and mousse-like. It’s like a dessert that could have been good had been pureed into the texture of baby food. This was the only dish that we left partially eaten.
I’ll put it down to bad code in the food replicators.
We finished with the chocolate mousse with coconut sorbet soup and rum bananas. The photo doesn’t do this dessert justice. Yes, it looks like a bowl of melted ice cream but the chocolate mousse had a distinct kick of jalapeno in its tail, which was soothed by the coconut sorbet soup.
So there it was. The end of another LudoBites adventure. It’s hard not to make comparisons with LB 2.0. Sure, there were dishes I missed. But there were also dishes here I’d definitely add to a “best of” LudoBites menu.
But ultimately, LudoBites 3.0 held out the promise of further exploration and experimentation when Ludo returns with version 4.0 and eventually his bricks and mortar dream.
And I’ll be there as eager as I was for this incarnation.
Until then Chef Ludo, live long and prosper.
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 559-6300
Someone explain to me how Marcel Vigneron was, until recently, only the sous chef at The Bazaar?
And while they’re at it, explain to me how Ilan beat him in Season 2 of Top Chef to win the title? I’ve eaten at The Gorbals and there really is no comparison. It’d be like Hosea Rosenberg beating Michael Voltaggio.
Okay, I exaggerate. But only just.
Speaking of Michael Voltaggio, I was at his Hatchi tasting in July and wondered how Marcel’s meal would measure up. After all, Marcel was Michael’s sous chef at The Bazaar until earlier this year.
Last night, Marcel more than held his own. His Hatchi tasting was close to flawless. Imaginative, exceptionally well executed, complex and, ultimately, totally satisfying. As good as, if not better than, meals I’ve had from more celebrated chefs in recent times.
Someone give this man his own restaurant. Or perhaps they already have.
Marcel opened his eight course tasting menu with an amuse bouche of a pomegranate blueberry spherification. Perhaps the most iconic representation of molecular gastronomy, it was a perfect introduction to those unfamiliar with Marcel’s style. A shimmering and mysterious dark blood red sphere served on a Chinese soup spoon. Take it whole into your mouth and pop the sodium alginate polymer skin. Inside, pomegranate juice and a whole blueberry. Perhaps a little vodka and it would have been perfect.
Luckily for me, my Negroni cocktail arrived just in time. Gin, Campari and Antica Formula vermouth, garnished with orange rind. Displaying the bitter herbaceous quality of Campari, this cocktail was very well mixed by Devon Espinosa, mixologist at The Tasting Kitchen in Venice and cocktail alchemist for the night. I also got a lesson in and taste of his Coca Cola spherifications for his Coke in Manhattan cocktail. I imagine this is how they’ll drink Coke in space.
The first course arrived. Hamachi sashimi with espelette, momo chan, kumquat and iceplant. The hamachi was clean and fresh, dressed simply with some sea salt, espelette (those red chili flakes) and, I think, yuzu. The momo chan (the green Japanese baby peaches) added a sweet touch and sat under slices of kumquat, which lent that slight bitterness of citrus rind. The dish was then garnished with iceplant and red seaweed.
Next up was the dayboat scallop with cauliflower couscous and seaweed. I loved this dish. The scallop tasted as good as it looks, with just a bit of crunch of sea salt. The pickled seaweed added a nice dimension, the cauliflower cous cous added texture and the purple, pink and yellow dots of cauliflower puree around the plate added pure whimsy.
Third course was a langoustine ravioli with thom khai foam, avocado wrapped mango, petite basil and coconut milk powder. Another great dish. Our plates also came with an additional piece of crispy fried fish, which I noticed wasn’t included in some diners’ plates, making this almost two dishes in one. The fish was fried crispy with skin on. It was linked across the plate by a delicious thom khai foam to the langoustine ravioli, which was garnished with the petite basil and basil seeds. The langoustine ravioli itself was firm with a generous serving of langoustine on the inside, reminding me more of a Chinese dim sum gow gee than a traditional ravioli. Between the fish and the ravioli was the avocado wrapped mango. Sweet dices of mango wrapped in slices of avocado, this was a great counterpoint to the strong Thai flavor of the thom khai foam. Sweet, refreshing, simple. It was sprinkled with coconut milk powder, which tasted, unsurprisingly, of coconut milk. Combining the fish with the foam, the ravioli with the foam, the ravioli with the mango, and the fish with the mango all brought new dimensions to this dish. Truly a tour through South East Asia on a plate.
Leaving Asia, the fourth course was a Lyonnaise salad of frisee, “nesting” egg, bacon, sherry vinaigrette and endive. The egg, “nested” in crispy wonton strips, was a playful rendition of this classic. The bacon was good, as was the endive and frisee and vinaigrette but after the taste sensations of the previous three courses, this one seemed a bit safe. Safe but still beautifully executed and plated.
Next was the miso honey black cod with nasturtium textures and sesame oil powder. A broth was then poured into the bowl tableside. The honey in the miso glaze lent a sweetness to the fish. A sweetness that may have been overpowering in a larger serving but, for this small serve, was perfect. The sesame oil powder, made with the addition of tapioca maltodextrin, dissolved in the broth adding a nice slick of oil to it. The nasturtium was presented three ways: a flower, a leaf and a peppery puree.
Course five was a vadouvan lamb with flavors of tzatziki, lavosh, pickled onion and sumac. The lamb, looking rare and fatty, was beautifully cooked, the vadouvan crust adding an earthiness and spice. I must admit, there was too much fat for me and I did end up trimming much of it, but the lamb was delicious. The tzatziki, cucumber balls, pickled onion and toasted lavosh were all welcome accompaniments but the lamb was definitely the star.
The final savory course was the grass fed “corned beef” – a sous vide short rib, textures of corn, Saul’s pastrami and black trumpets. The sous vide short rib was thick cut and tender, sauced with a black trumpet mushroom sauce. Corn was prepared in three textures: baby corn, a corn puree and popcorn. I loved the corn puree on this dish. Some of my fellow diners felt it was too sweet but I loved the sweetness it imparted to the short rib when eaten together. The pastrami, named after Saul Cooperstein at SBE, and interestingly also served by Michael Voltaggio in his Hatchi menu with a short rib, was loved by some of my companions but I felt it was extraneous. The dish, for me, was really the combination of the short rib and the corn puree.
Dessert was a green chartreuse souffle with a vanilla bean ice cream. Just prior to this point, I did step away to chat to some friends and returned to a deflated souffle, so the photo doesn’t represent the souffle when served. I did see it come out to other tables and it stood high and proud. It was, however, moist and fluffy with a nice baked crust. As you reached the bottom of the cup, the alcoholic taste of the green chartreuse became increasingly pronounced until the last couple of bites seemed soaked in it.
Dessert was followed by little macarons and cubed marshmallows. In the vein of Marcel’s beautiful and sometimes whimsical plating that evening, I decided to stack these into a small tower. Because I’m old enough to play with my food.
Lastly, we were brought the famed Dragon’s Breath, now only served at The Bazaar’s private dining room, Saam. Small rolls of popcorn dipped in liquid nitrogen. Pop them into your mouth and the warmth causes you to breathe smoke, hence the name. Unfortunately these were not prepared tableside so by the time we ate them, there was no more smoke. But they did bring another serving and instructed us to eat them immediately. We got the requisite smoke, although it was more a wisp than a cloud, but nevertheless still fun and interactive.
That rounded out one of my most memorable meals of the year. Imaginative, playful, beautifully executed and plated, and a gastronomical tour through Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the future of food.
Marcel left The Bazaar just weeks before his Hatchi tasting. I’m looking forward to seeing where he resurfaces.
And I’ll be there with reservations.
Hatchi at Breadbar with Marcel Vigneron 10250 Santa Monica BoulevardLos Angeles, CA 90067 (310) 277-3770
Kerry Simon is known as the Rock n’ Roll Chef.
But as far as rock stars go, he’s the culinary equivalent of Bryan Adams. Well crafted, familiar and accessible. A working class dream in a million dollar venue.
Don’t get me wrong. Bryan Adams is more successful than most musicians will ever be. Has more fans, sold more records, played more shows than most. But on the international stage, he’s no Bono.
And I have to admit, the thing that pushed me to try Simon LA was Restaurant Week. Which is basically the culinary equivalent of scoring cheap tix.
The venue itself was kinda sexy. Like a darkened nightclub meets a haunted forest. We sat down to the support act. A glass of prosecco, which got us suitably warmed up for the headline act.
Kerry Simon opened his set with a jumbo lump crab salad with avocado, micro greens and a grapefruit vinaigrette. Maybe not the most innovative dish but very tasty. The crab was chunky and the salad was well dressed. For a reluctant salad eater, I polished this dish off.
Next up was the grilled skirt steak with balsamic roasted root vegetables. The skirt steak was left nicely pink in the middle but with a heavy sear. The marinade was well caramelized. To my palate, it reminded me of Malaysian satay. I loved the sweetness of it. There was ample jus to keep the meat moist and the vegetables were simply cooked but delicious. The dish was comforting, hearty and left me wanting more. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
For his encore, Simon broke out some more crowd pleasers. Cheesecake and cotton candy. The cotton candy was a fun element but, obviously, insubstantial. Still, a playful addition. The cheesecake came out looking like a scoop of ice cream on top of a crust. But it was indeed cheesecake. An incredibly smooth and creamy cheesecake. Not what you’d think of as a traditional cheesecake presentation but I loved this dessert.
Looking back over the meal, I can’t say that there was any one dish or component that was particularly outstanding or challenging. It was like a collection of greatest hits. Perhaps safe but very enjoyable. And that’s what Kerry Simon does. Food we know and recognize but executed very well. So well that you can’t help but like it, even if you’re not wowed.
Much like Bryan Adams.
I still find myself singing along to “Summer of ‘69″ whenever it comes on the radio. I can’t help it.
And I’m willing to bet a lot of you out there do too.
I guess, despite myself, I’m a fan.
Simon LASofitel Los Angeles
8555 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 278-5444
I should learn to be less trusting.
I’ve already learned the hard way not to trust them when they say, “Trust me, I’m a lawyer.” And that’s coming from an ex-lawyer, so you can trust me.
I am inclined to believe “Trust me, I’m a doctor,” and even “Trust me, I’m a Michelin starred chef.”
But I’m starting to question “Trust me, I’m the executive chef at a celebrity chef’s Las Vegas outpost.”
You see, the Chef’s Tasting menu at Fleur de Lys is not listed. You tell them if you have any allergies or if there’s anything you don’t eat. Besides that, you’re in the chef’s hands. In this case, Executive Chef Steve Wolf.
Now, here’s the thing. I’m not really sure if the ever changing chef’s menu is really Chef Hubert Keller’s menu, Chef Wolf’s menu, or Chef Wolf channeling Chef Keller’s menu. So I’m not really sure where to lay the blame for a meal that was, well, hit and miss. Don’t get me wrong, there were some outstanding dishes. But there were also some dishes that missed the mark enough to make me question if they were coming from the same chef.
Photo courtesy of Stuck in Customs on Flickr
Let’s start with the positives. The restaurant is absolutely beautiful. A towering space with walls of stacked stone, heavy floor to ceiling dark curtains, an imposing second floor wine cellar behind glass, and an “eye” of orange roses watching over a dining room of white tablecloths and brown leather banquettes and chairs. It’s masculine and luxurious and opulent.
The service is also top notch, finding that balance between attentiveness and unobtrusiveness.
And the menu had some high points. Some very high points. But the lows brought it back down to earth.
We started with an amuse of dungeness crab and avocado sphere in a watermelon gazpacho. If the amuse was to capture the essence of the meal, I would have been very happy. It was delicious, tart and refreshing. It held out the promise of a great meal.
We moved on to the 1st course of ahi tuna tartare over a shaved fennel slaw in ginger ponzu, topped with a fennel seed tuile. An ahi tuna tartare seemed like a safe, if uninspired choice, to start the meal. I’ve had many, as I’m sure you have, and this one was good without being remarkable. The fennel slaw beneath it was a nice touch, giving it some textural difference but the ginger ponzu sauce was overpoweringly sour.
Next up was the truffled onion soup with a braised duck ragout and shaved black truffles. The braised duck ragout was served in a small rolled crepe in the middle of the dish, with the soup poured around it. This dish was the highlight of the meal. The onion soup was sweet and rich, with the taste of the truffles coming on in the end notes. The truffles were more pronounced in the crepe itself. I’m not sure if any seafood stock was used in the soup but it tasted remarkably like a lobster bisque.
Third course was veal and Yukon Gold potato ravioli with a sunchoke foam and English peas. The potato ravioli were very soft and tender and the veal jus lent a concentrated meaty flavor to the dish. Another good dish.
The next course was hamachi with a ginger aromatic foam and tempura scallions. My first and lasting impression was that the ginger foam was salty. So salty that the hamachi tasted like a meat dish. This is one of the dishes that really threw me with the heavy handedness of the seasoning.
The final meat course was the Colorado rack of lamb with charred corn cous cous, mango chutney and a carrot curry sauce. The lamb was on the rare side of medium rare, just how I like it, but again the sauce was a salt lick. Salty to the point of obliterating the other tastes. The addition of curry introduced an odd flavor profile into the meal. I can’t say it tasted like an Indian curry, for one, and, secondly, it just seemed incongruous with the rest of the tasting menu. If I didn’t know better, I’d have wondered if that plate had come from the same kitchen or even restaurant. To be fair, our waiter did offer to have the chef prepare another dish for us more to our liking but, at this stage, we were approaching fullness and opted to move onto dessert.
The intermezzo was a passion fruit and coconut sorbet on a streusel crust in a coconut soup with tapioca balls, strawberry, kiwi and plantain. I loved the coconut soup with tapioca balls. Just like an upscale boba and a perfect palate cleanser after the two salt bombs. The sorbet was also very good. This course set the meal back on track.
Dessert was sauterne marinated pears on a cinnamon crust and cinnamon ice cream with a walnut sesame crisp. The ice cream was good but the highlight was the cinnamon crust the dessert sat on. Delicious. The kitchen also sent out two glasses of complimentary sauterne to pair with the dessert to make up for the lamb dish. A nice gesture and a nice way to end the meal.
Finally, a small tray of lemony madeleines with a chocolate dipping sauce.
And an autographed copy of Hubert Keller’s book “Burger Bar”, a rose from the aforementioned “eye” and personalized menus of the night’s meal. A nice touch even if a couple of the courses on the menu were not what we had received.
So there you have it. A meal, on the one hand, that exercised some restraint in bold flavors and two dishes that exhibited a heavy handedness in their seasoning and discordant flavor profiles.
But who am I to judge?
Just trust me. I’m a food blogger.
Mandalay Bay3950 Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89119 (702) 632-7777
Campanile is a brunette in a city of blondes.
Not just any brunette. A brunette that has settled down for 20 years in the same home.
No wonder I’d driven past her countless times and not noticed.
But step through the doors of her home, and this is one classy lady. And what a home it is. Once owned by Charlie Chaplin, no less. It’s like eating in the enclosed courtyard of a Spanish mission.
But you’re not here for the architecture. You’re here to taste her.
To take her into your mouth. To chew, to extract, to savor.
Why don’t you pour yourself a glass of 2004 Alban Vineyards Roussanne and make yourself comfortable?
Let’s start with the appetizer. Poached egg with a porcini mushroom cream. Served on a slice of toast with some simple greens, this seems like an odd start to dinner.
Or is it an invitation to stay for breakfast?
I think I like that idea.
And it is an ideal breakfast dish. A perfectly poached egg, mushrooms and toast. There’s something luscious about piercing the skin of her egg and allowing your yolk to spill out.
Honestly, one of the best renditions of a poached egg I’ve had in recent memory.
But the egg was just a starter.
You hunger for something more. You’re here for the main course.
That’s right, you want to taste her clams.
Specifically, steamed mussels, fingerling potatoes, fennel and tomato confit. Mmmm, it tastes of the sea with the tomato broth adding a bright sweetness. The fingerling potatoes with a melted cheese sauce on top add a density to the dish.
But the broth is delicious. You could sop up those juices all night.
But you’re not done yet.
You still need to eat her pudding.
A dainty, compact bourbon bread pudding with caramel sauce and creme fraiche. On the top, folds of bread burst and spread apart, a thick bourbon caramel sauce oozing into its crevices. But dig deeper into her pudding and you’ll find its depths to be soft and sweet and custardy.
If you like your pudding creamy, feel free to add some creme fraiche.
Finish off her pudding and relax in the afterglow of the meal. Feel free to discuss it with the friends you just shared it with.
She won’t mind. She likes to share.
Campanile, thanks for reaffirming my passion for brunettes.
I might just call you Mrs Robinson.
624 S La Brea AveLos Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 938-1447
Tom Colicchio is no Picasso.
Not that I think he’d ever aspire to that. After all, he named his restaurant empire Craft, not Art.
He’s more of a craftsman. An American artisan. More in the vein of a Charles Eames or a Frank Lloyd Wright than a European master. If not in reputation then at least in aspiration.
And that artisanal viewpoint is carried through to his food. An emphasis on seasonal and sustainable ingredients. Family style service. A hearty meat-centric menu.
Walking into Craft, it’s hard not to be impressed by the dining room. All woods and curved surfaces, it’s like a welcoming cave lit with what seems to be a hundred Edison bulbs. Perhaps a nod to another great American artisan.
This was a meal shared with friends. Pepsi Monster from Right Way to Eat, Fel from The Food Ledger, Austin from Living to Eat, a friend G. (who is ex-Patina) and the girl. Fittingly, all the dishes were served family style.
We started with a selection of breads, two servings of endive, apple and pecan salad, and two servings of the smoked salmon rillette.
The endive salad was good. Fresh, crisp, with a light tart dressing. It felt clean.
I also enjoyed the salmon rillette, served with lavash bread. The smoked salmon gave it a nice earthy taste. I’m a big fan of patés and rillettes and am always happy to start a meal off with them.
For entrees, three of us ordered the roasted beef sirloin and it was also served family style. Given that Craft is known for their meats, this was a dish I was looking forward to. Honestly, I liked it but it was nothing special. I mean, it was well prepared, still nicely pink in the middle, and seasoned but not a dish I’d return for. Granted, one of my slices was the end slice so it was somewhat dry and overdone. I did try a bite of one of my companions’ braised beef short ribs and it was delicious.
The sides – mushrooms, potato gratin and market vegetables – also served family style, were very good though. The gratin was creamy with a nice crust. Rich and cheesy.
The mushrooms, simply prepared, tasted of herbs and earth.
But the desserts were where Craft shone. Definitely not what I had expected, always having thought of Craft as a mecca for meat. But pastry chef Shannon Swindle deserves the recognition for this meal.
Also served for the table, we shared the raspberry and almond buckle, the Columbian chocolate coupe, donut holes with caramel and chocolate dipping sauces, a selection of six ice creams and sorbets, and caramel corn.
I’m predisposed to love any meal that ends with sorbet and donuts. I eat donuts so infrequently but somehow ordering them at a restaurant legitimizes them and makes them less bad for me. At least, that’s my justification. I also like my ice creams and sorbets served separately, so the flavors don’t mix when they melt. Picky, I know, but I don’t want my fruit flavors laced with chocolate.
The ice creams and sorbets came out in six separate cups. Banana, apple, vanilla, cacao chip, cinnamon and raspberry. All were delicious. You could really taste the individual ingredients. The apple tasted like frozen apple sauce, the banana tasted like real banana, and the cinnamon (which you can buy at $24/quart) obviously used a good quality cinnamon.
The Columbian chocolate coupe was essentially a chocolate mousse atop a whipped cream topped with candied orange zest and what tasted like Oreo crumbs. Given that I’m not a big chocolate fan, I really enjoyed this dessert.
The raspberry and almond buckles, similar to a muffin with a streusel topping, were served warm and were deliciously moist.
And, of course, the donut holes and the caramel corn. The donut holes were warm, soft and sugary. You really didn’t need to dip them. But I did. And they were good. What more can I say about donuts? Ditto caramel corn.
What I can say though is that it was a very homey way to finish off the meal. A meal, served shared, that was as much about the company as the food. A meal that left me satisfied and happy with the world.
And if that is not art, then it’s a fine craft.
10100 Constellation BlvdLos Angeles, CA 90067
(310) 279-4180
I feel like I’ve just woken from a dream.
A strange dream in a dark candyland populated by well dressed smiling monkeys, impossible chandeliers and clouds of liquid nitrogen.
And this man.
Marcel from Top Chef.
The words “Savor Life Slowly” repeating faintly but insistently in my mind.
I’ve emerged from the world of José Andrés, where food is art, art is ironic, and irony is for sale.
Parts of the meal are coming back to me. I remember flashes of brilliance, whimsy and contradiction. Textures and tastes that deceived and surprised. Dishes that reminded me of a history not my own.
But ultimately the experience of a meal that was greater than the sum of its parts.
Let me try to paint a picture.
Nitro Caipirinha. Rising out of a fog of liquid nitrogen like a caipirinha in slushee form. Prepared tableside, liquid nitrogen is stirred into the caipirinha until it reaches its desired consistency. That being the consistency of delicious.
Papas Canarias. Salty wrinkled potatoes with a mojo verde. If baked potatoes are good, baked baby potatoes are better.
Mussels, canned with olive oil, vinegar and pimenton. The salt of the sea meets the sweetness of tomato broth meets the acid of vinegar.
White asparagus, yogurt and black olives. A tiny forest of asparagus trunks rising from a can. Desolate. Resolute.
Embutidos platter. Chorizo, lomo and salchichon. Jamon Serrano Fermin. Dry cured ham, sliced thin. Folded onto a slice of Catalan style toasted bread, lathered with a tomato salsa and manchego. A taste of Spain.
Endive, goat cheese, oranges and almonds. A perfect bite to cleanse the palate. The crunch of the endive, the soothing goat cheese and the brightness of orange.
“The ultimate Spanish tapa!” Ensaladilla rusa. Potatoes, carrots, mayo, tuna belly. If José Andrés wants to call this the ultimate Spanish tapa, who am I to argue?
Brussels sprouts, lemon purée, apricots, grapes, lemon air. The tart preparation belies the bitterness of the brussels sprouts. Surprisingly light.
Bunuelos. Codfish fritters with a honey alioli. Battered fish, in any language, tastes good.
Sea scallops with a romesco sauce. Sweet. Perfectly caramelized. Simple and flavorful.
Japanese taco. Grilled eel, shiso, cucumber, wasabi, chicharron. Thinly sliced cucumber replaces the tortilla. José Andrés does Japanese masquerading as Mexican.
Organized Caesar. Caesar rolls topped alternately with a quail egg yolk and parmesan. You say organized. I say deconstructed. Everyone fights over the quail egg.
Watermelon tomato skewers, Pedro Ximénez reduction and lemon dressing. A visual treat. It tastes like it looks. Watermelon and tomato.
Boneless chicken wings with a green olive purée. Andrés does fried chicken. The Colonel should take note.
Butifarra Senator Moynihan. Catalan pork sausage, white beans and mushrooms. Frank and beans Spanish style, if you will.
Beef hangar steak, piquillo pepper confit. Seared medium rare. Juicy and pink.
“Philly cheesesteak”. Air bread, cheddar, Wagyu beef. Essentially thinly sliced Wagyu over a puffed bread with cheese. Don’t ask for cheese whiz.
At this point, I’m stirred from my slumber and lead into some half-dream room. Glass bells cover perfect groups of candy, like some laboratory of sugar. The Alchemists tried to turn lead into gold. Here the ingredients are sugar, flour, eggs and cream. The results are just as alluring and desired as the precious metal.
Sweet Little Snacks.
Creamy Chocolate Heart. Coffee and cardamom. Dense. Rich. Chocolatey. Good.
Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta. Apricots and muscat gelatin. Dig down. Scoop up. Taste. Repeat.
Ice cream and sorbet. Orange, peach, strawberry. Refreshing.
Traditional Spanish flan. Vanilla and fruit. A classic to end the meal.
And with that, the dream gives way to waking.
Save for a final image. A beautiful girl resting her head on a concrete pillar. “Soft Like Silk”.
I wonder if she shared the same dream.
SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills 465 S La Cienega BlvdLos Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 246-5567
Sometimes you need to go for a full three hours to feel satisfied.
Variation after variation, experimentation upon experimentation. Pushing the boundaries of taste and sensation.
But sometimes you only have 45 minutes to cut to the chase, knock it out and hit the road.
That was the case with Nobhill Tavern.
After consecutive 3 hour tastings at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon and Fleur de Lys over the past two nights, I had 45 minutes for a final meal in Vegas. It was either that or stop on the drive home at Baker or Barstow and their fine dining options are limited. And by limited I mean non-existent. There was no way I was ending my Vegas eating adventure with drive-thru.
And then Nobhill beckoned. Inviting, warm, familiar. And with the promise of quick and easy satisfaction.
Who was I to say no?
Walking through her doors, I was welcomed by a comfortable and warmly lit space. On the right are semi-private booths, separated by glass and curtains. On the left, a long narrow wooden bar with padded leather stools, rows of bottles and glasses lining backlit bookcases behind it. Explore further and the space opens into a larger dining room at the rear of the restaurant. I chose the private booth for our brief liaison, something I would highly recommend. Decorated in warm shades of brown and tan, leather, suede and wood, Nobhill Tavern feels at once neighborhoody and familiar. Kinda like Cheers for foodies.
The food here is Michael Mina’s take on modern American tavern fare. It serves as a counterpoint to Mina’s other Las Vegas restaurants: Michael Mina (the Vegas outpost of his signature San Francisco restaurant), Stripsteak (steak) and Seablue (seafood).
Being on a tight schedule, I skipped the foreplay of appetizers and cut right to the main course. Braised short ribs with whipped potatoes, a Worchestershire sauce and glazed mirepoix. The short ribs were deliciously tender, moist and flavorful. For a simple dish, one of the best executions of braised short ribs in recent memory. The mashed potatoes were creamy and silky smooth, forming a perfect pillow under the generous square of short rib and soaking up the sauce as it flowed off the meat. The glazed vegetables and greens were good too but I was here for a different kind of satisfaction. And this dish did not disappoint.
My dining partner ordered the American Kobe burger, “secret sauce” and balsamic onions, with a side of fries. As good as my short ribs were, I have to say this was one of the best Kobe burgers I have ever had. Nothing too fancy in its construction, basically just patty, lightly toasted sesame seed bun, with some caramelized onions, tomato and “secret sauce” (i.e. some form of mayo), it was the quality of the patty that really made the burger. Again, moist, dripping with flavor, and well seasoned. The fries were also excellent. Thin cut and double, maybe triple, fried for crispiness. We actually took the remainder of the fries with us for the road.
I would have stayed for a drink but couldn’t linger. Payment was made for services very well rendered and a generous tip for extras.
I hit the road feeling both satiated and excited to come back for a longer session next time I’m in Vegas. In the meantime, I’ve already made a booking for XIV back in LA.
But sometimes a quickie is all you need to leave Vegas a winner.
MGM Grand3799 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 891-7337
