November 11, 2015: Talula's Garden

Christal ended up taking the clinical skills portion of her boards examination in Philadelphia so that she can attend Julie's wedding in December, so I went ahead and made a reservation at Talula's Garden for the night after her test. I forgot how I heard about it, but it was in my restaurant bookmarks for Philadelphia and it seemed like it was fairly kid friendly online, which was important since we had Luke with us.

The weather was really pleasant so we ended up sitting outdoors in their alley/patio area. They had plants and Christmas lights creeping up the walls and outdoor heaters next to every table, which gave it a very cozy feel. We decided to go with the chef's tasting menu because it had a good variety of dishes that were on the normal menu and we could try more dishes that way.

The first course was a big eye tuna tartare with local apple, celery and parsnip. Most of the tuna tartares I have had lean towards an Asian flavor profile but this one went in a different direction. There was a smear of smooth parsnip puree on the bottom of the plate that the tartare was piled on top of and it added an earthy sweetness to contrast the sweet and tart apple and crispy celery. All three of these elements did a wonderful job of complimenting the tuna, which stood out in the dish. The tuna was super fresh and had a deep ruby color to it and it was diced larger than normal for a tartare so that it was kind of in between a typical tartare and a poke, which I thought brought out the firm texture of the fish more. A squeeze of fresh lime to finish the dish brought it all together perfectly.

Big Eye Tuna Tartare w Local Apple, Celery & Parsnip

Next we had duck rillettes with candied walnut, orange and roasted grape. We each received two quenelles of the duck rillettes that contained a generous amount of shredded duck. Underneath were purees of orange and roasted grape and on the side were some sliced grapes. Both of the purees and the sliced grapes were just sweet enough to balance with the savoriness and fattiness of the rillettes and the candied walnut added another sweet element as well as a pleasant crunch for textural contrast. The only criticism I had for this dish was that I would have loved to spread it all on a warm piece of crusty, chewy bread, but otherwise it was a delicious rendition of duck rillettes.

Duck Rillette w Candied Walnut, Orange & Roasted Grape

The third course was black pearl salmon with sweet potato, baby turnips, shellfish-saffron nage and caviar. The salmon had a really crispy skin and the flesh was still medium rare and moist. The sweet potato and turnips were firm yet tender and the tops of the turnips were left on, adding a slight bitterness to the dish. A small dollop of caviar was placed on top of the salmon, which added a salty richness to the dish that seemed to make it a little more luxurious. The shellfish-saffron nage was poured into the bowl at the table and it was almost a whole other dish in itself. It was obviously packed with shellfish and saffron flavor, but it also had some spiciness in the background that amped up the whole dish. After I had finished the salmon I grabbed a spoon and finished the nage too. It was pretty much like a fish course and a soup course all in one.

Black Pearl Salmon w Sweet Potato, Baby Turnips, Shellfish-Saffron Nage & Caviar

The pasta course happened to be their special of the night. It was a house-made farfalle pasta with gorgonzola, crispy maitake mushrooms and pistachio and citrus zest bread crumbs. The pasta was well made and had a very nice chewy and tender texture. There was just enough gorgonzola to get the flavor and not overwhelm everything else. The maitake mushrooms were definitely the crispiest mushrooms I have had without having any breading or batter on them and to top it off our waitress told us that the owner had foraged them that day.. They had a pleasant meaty texture and an earthy flavor that went well with the gorgonzola and pasta. The pistachio and citrus zest bread crumbs added a welcome crunch to each bite as well as the citrus flavor to balance with the rich gorgonzola cheese. For me the maitake mushrooms made the dish.

Housemade Farfalle & Gorgonzola w Crispy Maitake, Pistachio & Citrus Zest

After the pasta they brought out some bread for us. It was a house-made brioche roll with a cranberry butter that was melting on top. The brioche was warm and fluffy, almost cloud-like. The cranberry butter was bursting with cranberries and had chunks of cranberry that tinged the butter pink. The cranberries brought out the sweetness in the brioche and they were a winning combination.

Housemade Brioche w Cranberry Butter

The next course was roasted quail with braised kale, parsnip-Anaheim chili hash, pickled beech mushrooms and a mustard jus. The quail was moist and succulent with a flavorful rub on the skin. It had been partially deboned, which made it much easier to eat. The kale was kind of mixed in with the parsnip-Anaheim hash and it all had a nice flavor. The parsnips were tender, earthy and sweet and the Anaheim chilis added just a hint of spicy heat to the dish to excite the taste buds, but not overwhelm them. The kale was tender and added a nice chlorophyll/vegetal flavor. There was a small amount of butternut squash puree under the hash, which had a velvety texture and added a little more sweetness to the dish. The pickled mushrooms had a crunchy, yet soft texture and added some needed acid to compliment the quail as well as the vegetables in the hash. The mustard jus was spooned around the dish and it provided a salty, umami punch that elevated the quail and really highlighted its meatiness.

Roasted Quail w Braised Kale, Parsnip-Anaheim Chili Hash, Pickled Beech Mushrooms & Mustard Jus

The last savory course of the evening was the meat course. It consisted of a petite butcher filet with buckwheat polenta, chard hearts and a Bermuda onion agrodolce. The medium-rare beef medallions were good, but it was all the accompaniments that really made the dish a success. The buckwheat polenta had a chewier, more substantial texture than normal polenta and it was well seasoned with a lot of herbs mixed throughout. The chard hearts were very tender and had a nice sweet flavor. The Bermuda onion agrodolce tied everything together. It had whole rings of charred Bermuda onions along with a sweet, sour and savory sauce, which makes sense since agrodolce means sweet and sour in Italian. The acidity and sweetness of the agrodolce lifted the flavor of the beef and enhanced the whole dish.

Petite Butcher Filet w Buckwheat Polenta, Chard Hearts & Red Onion Agrodolce

We had the cheese course next. It included Humboldt Fog from Cypress Grove Chevre, Hummingbird from Doe Run Dairy, Oma from the Von Trapp Family's Jasper Hill Farms, and St. Agur from Auvergne, France along with some various fresh and dried fruits, pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of honey. Each of the cheeses were excellent and they were all different styles. The Humboldt Fog is a goat cheese that I am very familiar with and was as good as always. The Hummingbird was a Robiola-style mixed milk cheese, which was soft and oozy with a mild flavor. The Oma was a washed rind cow's milk cheese that was a little more pungent with a soft pudding-like texture. The St. Agur was a double-cream blue cheese made from cow's milk. It had a smoother texture and more mild flavor than a Roquefort, but was still plenty strong and flavorful. My personal favorite by the smallest of margins was probably the St. Agur, but all the cheeses were delicious.

Cheese Course w Humboldt Fog, Hummingbird, Oma & St. Agur

For dessert we had PB and J doughnuts with Concord grape jam, peanut mousse and salted peanuts. The doughnuts were yeast-raised and fluffy as a cloud, yet they still had a slightly chewy texture. They were rolled in granulated sugar that added some crunch and sweetness. The grape jam was well balanced with a little bit of tartness to counteract the sweetness in the doughnuts. The most surprising component of the dessert was the peanut mousse. It had a pleasantly strong peanut flavor without overwhelming or being too sweet and it almost seemed lighter than a normal whipped cream. Both Christal and I were surprised at how good it was and we both would have ordered this dessert just for the mousse. The salted peanuts helped to reinforce the overall peanut flavor in the dessert.

PB & J Doughnuts w Concord Grape Jam, Peanut Mousse & Salted Peanuts

We finished our meal off with the petit fours, which were squares of dark chocolate ganache with mint syrup. The dark chocolate was rich and smooth with the consistency of chocolate truffles. The mint syrup was homemade with minced fresh mint throughout the syrup. It wasn't too sweet and it provided a refreshing finish to the bite of dark chocolate.

Dark Chocolate Ganache w Mint Syrup

Christal and I were both impressed with not only the food, but also the atmosphere and service at Talula's Garden. They accomodated Luke really well without making us feel bad about bringing our baby along with us. I think the evening also provided Christal with a little bit of an escape with everything that her mom has been going through. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Philly.

Food 4.5/5
Service 4.5/5
Christal's Rating 4.5/5
http://talulasgarden.com/

October 23, 2015: Trois Mec

Trois Mec is a collaboration between three of the most popular celebrity chefs in Los Angeles. Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo's stable of restaurants include Animal, Son of a Gun and Jon & Vinny's, all of which have garnered rave reviews. Ludo Lefebvre used to have the Ludo Truck, which specialized in Provençal style fried chicken. The three have subsequently collaborated on Petit Trois, which is right next door and is a more traditional French bistro experience. Needless to say Trois Mec has been on my shortlist of restaurants to try since they debuted in 2013, but because you have to reserve a table by buying a ticket instead of booking a reservation it was always hard to remember to try and get tickets on the day they were released. The price of the ticket includes the tasting menu, tax, and tip/service charge. The restaurant itself is fairly small with about 28-30 seats total and about 1/3 of them being at the bar where you have a great view of all the chefs in action. We had two bar seats that were lower than the rest and just inside of the door, so it wasn't the most ideal spot, but it really didn't take away anything from the experience.

The dinner started out with five "snacks" that were meant to be finger foods. The first snack was buckwheat popcorn with rice wine vinegar. Christal absolutely loved this. The buckwheat was crispy and when mixed with the vinegar it had the familiar flavor of salt and vinegar chips. Christal really enjoyed having that familiar flavor profile with a familiar ingredient that was prepared in an unfamiliar way.

Buckwheat Popcorn w Rice Wine Vinegar

The next snack was a pistachio tart with wild herbs. This was a really fun bite because you could pop the whole tart in your mouth and it had a really clean flavor. The crust was nice and buttery yet still very crisp and the herbs were a refreshing finish to the mouthful, but I was expecting the flavor of the pistachios to dominate and come through. For whatever reason the pistachio flavor seemed to be kind of muted, but it was still a very pleasant snack.

Pistachio Tart w Wild Herbs

The third snack was foie gras poached in a matsutake broth. Once they said matsutake broth I expected a very subtle and aromatic broth that filled my sinuses with that characteristic matsutake flavor, but instead the broth had a dominant flavor of ume or shiso, which overpowered any hint matsutake that was there. The foie gras was supple and smooth and the flavor of the broth helped to cut through the fattiness making it seem much lighter on the palate. Overall I would say it was a successful dish and the broth itself was very good, but the description was too misleading for me, so it kind of threw off my perspective of the dish as a whole. Unfortunately I forgot to get a picture of this snack.

After the foie gras came crispy tapioca with parmesan and passion fruit. It came out as an unassuming square of crispy golden brown fried tapioca, but when I bit into it the inside yielded to soft tapioca with a salty hit from the parmesan cheese. As I was finishing my first bite and about to swallow a hint of passion fruit aroma came out of nowhere. It was a really interesting sensation to have the passion fruit show up just when I had forgotten that it was supposed to be there.

Crispy Tapioca w Parmesan Cheese & Passion Fruit

The last snack was a smoked hay custard with orange blossom honey and bee pollen. The custard was silky smooth and a little bit rich, but when eaten by itself it did not seem to have much flavor. The orange blossom honey was mixed with rice wine vinegar I think, which made it sweet and tart and you could still smell and taste the orange blossom aroma. The bee pollen added a nice little crunch and a subtle floral flavor. When eaten all together it was a pleasant bite that had a nice combination of richness, sweet, sour, aroma and richness. Unfortunately I forgot to get a picture of this too since the last three snacks all came out at once and I was busy trying to remember what each snack consisted of.

The first "real" course of our meal was tomato sushi served with country bread and tomato pulp mixed with olive oil. The tomato sushi consisted of thin slices of heirloom tomatoes draped over some seasoned rice with a creamy vinaigrette, olive oil and seasonings sprinkled on top. The tomatoes were perfectly ripe, the rice was cooked well and seasoned nicely, and the dressing had some rice wine vinegar in it, which helped to mirror some of the snacks from before. There was something bitter in the dish that I thought was one of the seasonings sprinkled on top, but it helped to balance out the sweetness of both the tomatoes and the dressing and was a pleasant surprise. I wouldn't say this dish was a real stunner, but it was a good plate of food that showcased produce at its peak.

Tomato Sushi

The tomato pulp and olive oil with country bread almost seemed like a palate cleanser to me, but I thought it showed the resourcefulness of the kitchen. The bread itself was really good. It had a crispy yet chewy crust and the inner crumb was moist and fluffy, but could still stand up to the soupy tomato pulp. Like the tomato sushi, the tomato pulp obviously showcased the tomatoes at their peak ripeness and it made for a pleasant side dish.

Tomato Pulp & Olive Oil w Country Bread

Next came beet tartare with smoked eel, cured egg yolk and horseradish crème fraîche. The texture of the tartare wasn't quite as soft as beef, but the beets were tender and it was seasoned well. The smoked eel gave the dish a pleasant hint of smokey, fishy flavor that seemed to add some substance to the dish. The horseradish crème fraîche gave it a nice creamy, tart flavor and spicy hit. The dish also came with a wedge of rösti, which is basically a really crispy hash brown, and it added a really nice textural contrast to the soft beets and creme fraiche. I could not really taste or detect the cured egg yolk, but that didn't take anything away from how good the overall dish was.

Beet Tartare w Smoked Eel, Cured Egg Yolk & Horseradish Cream

A kabocha squash cake with mojo verde, bottarga and toasted sesame was the next dish to come out. The kabocha cake was definitely not what we were expecting. It had thin crispy outer layer and the inside had the texture and consistency of fresh mochi and the flavor reminded me a little bit of the turnip cakes you get at dim sum. The mojo verde added a ton of flavor with pronounced garlic, citrus and cilantro flavors and with each bite of the squash cake we were dragging it through the mojo to get as much as possible. The dish was finished with some julienned green onion and pea shoots that added a nice fresh flavor to lift the dish.

Kabocha Squash Cake w Mojo Verde, Bottarga & Toasted Sesame

The protein portion of the meal was a grilled Kurobuta pork loin with green cabbage, bok choy and juniper. The pork was moist and cooked perfectly. The green cabbage was made into a smooth, creamy puree that highlighted the sweetness of the cabbage and didn't have any of the sulfury flavor that cabbage can sometimes have. The bok choy was char-grilled, which brought out some bitterness to balance to sweetness of the cabbage and richness of the pork. On the side was a cube of what I thought was compressed melon that was infused with the juniper. The juniper paired well with the pork and it added an added sweetness to the dish. As good as the dish was it probably was the least enlightening or exciting dish of the night.

Grilled Kurobuta Pork Loin w Green Cabbage, Bok Choy & Juniper

The dessert course was chocolate with burnt avocado mousse and parmesan cheese. From the first bite Christal couldn't stop raving about it, which is saying something because she isn't the biggest fan of rich, chocolatey desserts. The description was a bit misleading in that it had about five different chocolate components along with the avocado mousse and the parmesan cheese. The bowl was lined on the bottom with the avocado mousse and then a quenelle of chocolate ice cream was laid on top, chocolate ganache truffle pieces were scattered around, a blanket of chocolate mousse was spooned on top, a chocolate soil was sprinkled around the perimeter of the bowl and then a chocolate foam was piped over everything, completely covering it all, and the parmesan cheese was grated to finish. We both really enjoyed how the dessert didn't feel super rich and heavy and it wasn't too sweet, highlighting the balance between sweetness and the natural bitterness of the chocolate. The most amazing thing to both of us though was how all the different textures and temperatures of soft chocolate worked together and created a dessert that we will remember for a long time. Each bite was different depending on which chocolate elements were present in that bite. The chocolate foam had a cloud-like, fluffy texture to it, the soil added a hint of crunch and density, the chocolate mousse was a silky, smooth component, the truffle pieces had a firm, yet tender texture to them and the ice cream was nice and cold and the melted ice cream actually added another texture to the whole dish. The avocado mousse provided some added richness and fruitiness and was a great compliment to all the chocolate and the saltiness of the parmesan cheese helped to tone down the sweetness and balanced the whole dessert.

Chocolate w Burnt Avocado Mousse & Parmesan Cheese

To finish our meal we were served chantilly tarts and cream puffs for the mignardises. They were both very good and a traditional ending to a great meal. Overall we were both impressed with the meal as a whole and neither Christal or I had any real negatives at any point in the evening. I would have to say that Trois Mec exceeded my expectations quite easily and we both thought it was in our top three restaurants that we have visited in Los Angeles.

Chantilly Tarts & Cream Puffs

Food 5/5
Service 5/5
Christal's Rating 5/5
https://troismec.com/index.php

October 10, 2015: Birch

Today was cousin Julie's birthday so we had a potluck breakfast at Jeffrey and Jenny's in the morning and then Julie, David, Uncle Vic, Christal, Luke and I went to dinner at Birch. Julie had texted me earlier in the week for recommendations for dinner and of the places I listed to her she chose Birch. Chef Brendan Collins recently opened Birch after closing Waterloo & City last year and his new restaurant has been getting a lot of positive attention. They recommended ordering family style, which we were planning on doing anyway and with our slightly larger group we were able to order most of the dishes on the menu.

We started with the chicken liver and foie gras mousse with toast. The mousse was everything you expect out of a liver pâté, it was silky smooth, well seasoned and the gamey flavor of liver was not too pronounced. It also had a currant or cherry jelly layer on the top that added a hint of sweetness to help balance the gaminess of the liver and the cornichons lent some acidity to cut through the richness of the mousse. The bread that came with the mousse was toasted well with a crunchy crust and a light, airy texture with a nice chew to it.

Chicken Liver & Foie Gras Mousse w Toast

The fuyu persimmons with burrata, huckleberries, macadamia nuts and butter popcorn came out next. In my opinion the dish may have been mislabeled because it came with a very generous amount of burrata and the fuyu persimmons seemed like more of a complimentary component to the dish than the focus of the dish. Most burrata-centric dishes that I've had usually come with about half the amount of burrata than what this dish came with so the portion size here was a refreshing surprise. Along with the persimmons and huckleberries they also included what I thought were some diced pickled apples on top of the burrata. Maybe I missed it in the portion that I served myself, but I did not detect any of the butter popcorn in the dish. When everything was spread on the grilled bread that was included it all seemed to balance out nicely with the tart sweetness of all the fruits countering the creamy richness of the burrata. The macadamia nuts added a nice crunch and nuttiness to the whole thing that rounded out the dish.

Fuyu Persimmons w Burrata, Huckleberries, Macadamia Nuts & Butter Popcorn

The next dish that came out was the brussel sprouts with crème fraîche, crisp smoked pork belly, pecan and maple. The sprouts were nicely caramelized and perfectly tender. The pork belly was tender and succulent with a hint of smoke on the inside and the outside was fried and crispy when you bit into it. The pecans had a light maple glaze on them that accentuated the sweetness of the brussel sprouts and the nutty flavor and crunch of the pecans blended nicely with the pork belly and sprouts. The crème fraîche was supposed to be there to add some creaminess and acidity to the dish, but for me it did not seem real cohesive to the overall experience. The mound of brussel sprouts and pork belly was topped off with a few chicharrónes that added an additional crispy, indulgent touch to the dish. I would have enjoyed the dish a little bit more though if some vinegar had been incorporated into the dish instead of the crème fraîche. Something like apple cider vinegar would have paired extremely well with both the pork and the brussel sprouts and brought the acidity to cut through the richness of all the fatty pork belly.

Brussel Sprouts w Créme Fraîche, Crisp Smoked Pork Belly, Pecan & Maple

After the brussel sprouts the Spanish octopus with blistered shishito peppers and hummus was brought out. The octopus was extremely tender with a wonderful chargrilled flavor. The shishito peppers were tender and had the characteristic mild pepper flavor and were tossed in a vinaigrette, which added the acidic bite that all seafood requires. The hummus was not a typical hummus. It had a more course texture than other hummuses and the flavor reminded me of a romesco sauce. The plate was garnished with what seemed to be a squid ink puree, which added a earthy, briny flavor to the octopus. 

Spanish Octopus w Blistered Shishito Peppers & Hummus

The lobster capellini with san marzano tomato and basil was our next dish to come out of the kitchen. The capellini was a house-made squid ink pasta that had the perfect combination of al dente chew and tenderness to it. The lobster was cut into a small dice and finished in the san marzano tomato sauce before it was tossed with the squid ink capellini and it was all topped with what I assumed was a lobster foam. The lobster was cooked perfectly so that it was soft and tender with the sweetness of the meat coming through clearly and no hint of rubberiness at all. The tomato sauce was well balanced with a healthy amount of basil flavor that complimented the sweet, tangy tomatoes perfectly. The foam gave the dish a nice hit of shellfish aroma that permeated your sinuses when you took a bite.

Lobster Capellini w San Marzano Tomato & Basil

Our last seafood dish was the monkfish tikka masala with rice cracker and lime pickle. The monkfish was cooked on a skewer with onions and then served over a pool of tikka masala sauce with the lime pickle spread on the side of the plate and the rice cracker draped over the whole thing hiding it all from view. The monkfish was moist and tender and really soaked up the tikka masala marinade. The rice cracker was a nice crispy addition to the dish and the lime pickle added a nice contrast to the tikka masala sauce. Overall we all felt this was one of the weakest dishes. I think we were all kind of expecting a more modern take on a tikka masala, but it turned out to be a pretty traditional interpretation with the monkfish substituting for chicken.

Monkfish Tikka Masala w Rice Cracker & Lime Pickle

They brought out the butternut tortellini with crispy duck, orange, ginger, endive and seared foie gras next. The tortellini was generously stuffed with a rich, smooth butternut squash puree and the pasta was slightly thicker than normal, but it worked well with the amount of puree. The duck was nicely cooked, tender and tasted excellent, but the piece i got was not very crispy. The orange and ginger were perfect accent flavors to both the duck and butternut squash. The seared foie gras added an indulgent richness to the whole dish and kind of took it to another level.

Butternut Tortellini w Crispy Duck, Orange, Ginger, Endive & Seared Foie Gras

The last savory dish we ordered was the pork shank with palm sugar, black garlic hoisin, butter lettuce and za'atar flatbread. It was one of the more impressive looking dishes we ordered, with the whole slow roasted pork shank laying out on the platter with the flatbread rolled up next to it and all the garnishes surrounding. The pork itself was succulent and so tender you could cut it with a knife. The za'atar flatbread was a soft, pillowy, tasty vehicle to deliver the pork into your mouth. They also included a spicy sriracha sauce and some pickled carrots and cucumbers that helped to cut through the fatty richness of the pork. When it was all combined together, with the flatbread and butter lettuce enveloping the pork and pickles with hoisin and sriracha spread throughout, it was an incredibly satisfying experience. 

Pork Shank w Palm Sugar, Black Garlic Hoisin, Butter Lettuce & Za'atar Flatbread

Julie's favorite dessert of the two we ordered was the peanut butter spring roll with chocolate and banana. It was basically a spring roll filled with a peanut butter mousse set on top of a chocolate mousse, sliced banana and a banana ice cream. I personally thought the dessert was good, but it didn't wow me. The spring roll was nice and crispy and both the mousses were silky smooth and the banana was nice and sweet, but I came away from it feeling like it was kind of basic. 

Peanut Butter Spring Roll w Chocolate & Banana

The other dessert we got was the sticky toffee pudding with burnt sugar ice cream. I personally enjoyed this dessert more, even though it was a little on the sweet side. The sticky toffee pudding was very moist and had a nice toffee flavor and a pleasant texture. The burnt sugar ice cream made the dish for me. It had a wonderful bitterness to counterbalance all the sweetness in the pudding as well as providing a cold element to the warm dish. They finished the dessert off by topping it with a nest of fried pastry that provided a nice crunch. Overall I didn't think the desserts really lived up to quite the same high standard that all the savory dishes met, but they were still very good. 

Sticky Toffee Pudding w Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

When Julie picked Birch for her birthday dinner I was extremely excited to go and for me it met all my expectations. It had been on my shortlist of restaurants to try since it opened earlier this year and most everyone really liked it. Both Julie and David said they really enjoyed it and Julie even said that it exceeded her expectations. Christal on the other hand just thought the food was good, but it wasn't her favorite. She felt like everything was a little too rich for her tastes and looking back at our meal all the dishes had at least one component that she isn't the biggest fan of, but she said she still enjoyed the meal. I think from now on I'll try and add her rating for the restaurants we go to, and I may have to go back and edit all my restaurant posts and add her ratings retroactively too. Anyway, we were also busy most of the dinner trying to calm Luke down. While we were walking to the restaurant a fire engine sped by with its horn blaring and woke him up from his nap. Luckily he stayed quietly awake for about the first third of the meal and then he started to get fussy, mainly because I think he was overtired. Then when we were leaving the restaurant and he was calmed down two more fire engines drove by with their horns blaring and irritated him even more. Fortunately he fell asleep within a couple minutes after we started driving home. 

Food 4.5/5

Service 4/5

Christal's Rating 3/5

http://birchlosangeles.com/

September 19, 2015: Redbird

Since Luke was born Christal and I hadn't been on a true date night. We were finally able to pick one of her free weekends and plan a proper night out to LA and it just happened to coincide with Luke being 2 months old as well as Christal passing her step 2 boards exam. Since Luke hasn't liked it when Christal eats anything spicy or even heavily seasoned with spices we decided to go to Redbird, thinking that it might have fewer spicy options. Redbird is the new restaurant from celebrity chef Neal Fraser and it is located in the Vibiana cathedral rectory building. It has been on my short list of restaurants to try in LA since it opened in December of 2014.

We arrived a little bit before the restaurant was officially open so the hostess showed us to the bar to wait until the staff was ready for us to be seated. Once we sat down they brought us an amuse bouche, which happened to be a cocktail. Unfortunately I can't remember what was in the cocktail exactly, but I think it had some vermouth, white wine and something else, and it was really good. It was a rose pink color and had a good balance of fruit and booze.

Christal ordered the New Caledonian prawns with ginger, lemongrass, Thai basil, kaffir lime, glass noodles and duck espuma for her appetizer. The prawns were cooked perfectly, retaining their firm yet tender texture and sweet flavor. The broth was packed with Thai flavor from the ginger, lemongrass, basil and kaffir lime and I'm sure some of the savoriness came from some fish sauce in there as well. The glass noodles added some extra body to the dish as well as a slight textural change, but they were a little hard to pick up with just a fork and spoon. Christal and I both thought a pair of chopsticks would have helped immensely. In my opinion the duck espuma did not seem to add much, other than maybe some richness, but I felt that the complexity of the savory broth pretty much silenced the foam, although it did help the presentation of the dish.

New Caledonian Prawns w Ginger, Lemongrass, Thai Basil, Kaffir Lime, Glass Noodles & Duck Espuma

The braised goat gemelli with rapini, garlic bread crumbs, poached egg and Fresno chili was my first course. The gemelli pasta was nicely al dente and the braised goat extremely tender. The rapini added a nice bitterness to counteract the sweetness of the tomato sauce and the poached egg acted almost like a second sauce when the yolk was broken open and oozing all over the pasta. Fortunately the chili was not so hot that Christal couldn't have at least a bite, but there was enough spice there to remind you that there was some chili in the dish and not just as garnish on top. The garlic bread crumbs at some much needed crunch and helped to balance the entire dish out, both in texture and in flavor with the toasty sweetness of the garlic.

Braised Goat Gemelli w Rapini, Garlic Bread Crumbs, Poached Egg & Fresno Chili

Ever since we ate at La Toque in Napa Christal has loved venison, so once she saw that Redbird had venison she had to order that for her main entree. The dish was New Zealand venison with Umbrian lentils, squash flan, chicory and huckleberries. Overall it was a good dish, but not spectacular. The venison was cooked to a perfect medium rare and had been rested well so that the juices weren't bleeding onto the plate. The lentils were tender, but not mushy. The squash flan was rich and smooth with a strong butternut squash flavor and vibrant orange hue. The huckleberries added a nice sweetness to compliment the very faint gaminess of the venison. The chicory was sauteed so the bitterness was muted and there was some puffed oats which added a little crunch to the dish. None of the elements were bad, in fact they were all good, they just didn't seem like they all went together seamlessly.

New Zealand Venison w Umbrian Lentils, Squash Flan, Chicory & Huckleberries

When I had scouted the menu the thing that caught my eye the most was the rabbitchetta with Anson Mills polenta, pea tendrils and thyme sauce. I assumed it was basically the rabbit version of porchetta, which is one of my favorite things ever! It turned out to be more of a rabbit sausage wrapped in bacon or pancetta. The bulk of the rabbit was a highly seasoned farce stuffing with a loin of rabbit on the side and it was all wrapped tightly with the smoked pork creating a roulade. The bit of loin in the roulade was fairly small and the flavor of the rabbit was kind of drowned out by the flavor of the rabbit farce and the smoky pancetta. The farce itself was very tasty with a background of sage and the texture was light and soft, yet dense and toothsome at the same time, but it too was drowned out by the smokiness of the pancetta. The polenta was starchy and rich, owing to heaps of butter I'm sure, and the pea tendrils were tender and sweet. The thyme sauce was very savory and unctuous and was a perfect gravy for the polenta. Like the venison dish, everything on the plate was good, but the balance was off due in large part to the smokiness of the pancetta or bacon. I think if the rabbit had more of the sweet cuts rolled in it and a little less farce as well as being wrapped in a different protein/fat the whole dish might have been better off. Then the flavor of the rabbit could shine and the unctuous sauce could help tie the polenta and pea tendrils in with the rabbit. Instead it felt like the polenta, pea tendrils and sauce all meshed well together while the rabbit was stuck sitting in the smokehouse with the bacon.

Rabbitchetta w Anson Mills Polenta, Pea Tendrils & Thyme Sauce

We ended up ordering two desserts that sounded really good to us. The first was baklava with nectarines, pistachios, phyllo and yogurt sherbet. It was a visually stunning dish because the phyllo was shredded and formed into a bird's nest and then fried and the pistachio clusters were scattered around it and a perfect quenelle of the yogurt sherbet was placed on top of the nest. The nectarines were sliced and served fresh and for some reason they hid them under the phyllo nest. It was a very nice dessert with plenty of crunchy elements from the crispy phyllo pastry to the honeyed pistachio clusters and had all the elements of a traditional baklava, but again it just did not seem completely cohesive. Maybe it was the tartness of the fresh nectarines, but it just seemed to be missing something to help remind you that this was baklava.

Baklava w Nectarines, Pistachios, Phyllo & Yogurt Sherbet

The second dessert we ordered was the pain perdu with peach, brioche and brown butter ice cream. The brioche pain perdu was perfectly caramelized with an outer crust that noisily crunched as you cut into it and a soft, buttery interior. The peaches were roasted as well as turned into a puree and some candied nuts were sprinkled around the plate to add some extra crunch and textural contrast. There was also a powder sprinkled on the dish that I thought was a brown butter powder, but it was almost too subtle to tell. The brown butter ice cream added a cold counterpoint to the warm pain perdu and roasted peaches, but it too was very subtle with the brown butter flavor. The biggest criticism of this dish for me was that the piece of pain perdu was very small and the ratio of brioche to everything else skewed heavily to everything else with the peaches winning out.

Pain Perdu w Peach, Brioche & Brown Butter Ice Cream

Overall Christal and I really enjoyed our first night out without Luke. The service was attentive, without being overbearing and the venue was unique and refreshing. The food was very good, despite the very small criticisms we had and it lived up to my expectations. Both first courses were our favorites of the night and seemed to have the cohesiveness and balance that was lacking in the other dishes.

Food 3.5/5
Service 4/5
Christal's Rating 4/5
http://redbird.la/

June 24, 2015: Mélisse

Since Christal was in the midst of some end of rotation tests during our second anniversary we ended up celebrating it a week late. I had been wanting to try Mélisse for a long time, probably several years before dental school, so we decided to give it a try. Mélisse has been one of, if not the highest rated restaurants in the Los Angeles area and the chef/owner, Josiah Citrin, has been highly acclaimed for all of his work at the restaurant. When I made the reservation I let them know that we were celebrating our anniversary and they gave us a nice box of chocolate truffles as a gift. We ended up ordering the four course menu instead of the ten course menu because Christal thought she would be too full halfway through the ten course menu, and she was probably right, since she was pretty full at the end of the four course meal.

Happy Anniversary!!!

The meal started with a couple of amuse bouches, the first of which was tomato, goat cheese and pistachio two ways. One way was a fresh cherry tomato with a thin layer of fresh goat cheese encompassing it and sprinkled with crushed pistachios. This preparation was very simple and highlighted the tomato with the goat cheese playing more of a complimentary role. The second preparation was a liquefied goat cheese enrobed in a tomato gelée and sprinkled with pistachios. With this preparation the goat cheese was the star and the tomato was the complimentary player. They were complete opposites of each other, one was the definition of simplicity and the other was the leading edge of modern cuisine. They both showcased the ingredients in extraordinary ways and the flavors were crisp and clean.

Tomato, Goat Cheese & Pistachio Amuse Bouche

The second amuse bouche was a ridgeback shrimp with espelette pepper and mint and a cucumber chawan mushi with orange gelée. The shrimp was super fresh with a sweet, bright flavor and a firm, crisp texture. I had trouble discerning the espelette pepper, but the mint added a nice complement to the flavor of the shrimp. The cucumber chawan mushi was the most enlightening thing about the whole dish. It had the perfectly silky, smooth texture of a great custard and was packed with cucumber flavor. It was sweeter than traditional chawan mushi and the sweetness of the cucumber stood out. The orange gelée added the savory element to the chawan mushi. It was a very thin layer, and it was so savory it almost had a tomatoey flavor to it.

Ridgeback Shrimp w Espelette Pepper & Mint and Cucumber Chawan Mushi w Orange Gelée

For her first course Christal chose the Santa Barbara spot prawns with crème d'oursins, celtuce and citrus chive butter. The prawns were cooked perfectly. They had a firm, yet tender texture and a sweet, briny flavor that really fresh seafood tends to have. The crème d'oursins, or sea urchin cream, gave the dish a smooth richness, while the citrus chive butter contributed the acidity and herbaceous richness to compliment the prawns. The celtuce added a vegetable crunch and green freshness to the dish. Everything married together seamlessly and after the prawns were finished we just wanted to soak up the remaining urchin cream, butter and broth at the bottom of the bowl with the basil brioche buns they gave us.

Santa Barbara Spot Prawns w Crème D'Oursins, Celtuce & Citrus Chive Butter

My choice for the first course was the egg caviar with soft poached egg, lemon-chive créme fraîche and American osetra caviar. This dish was one of chef Citrin's signature dishes for a long time. Caviar and eggs are a classic combination and it was easy to see why. The salty richness of the caviar with the soft richness of the soft poached egg meld together with ease and the lemon-chive créme fraîche provided the acidity to lift the whole dish. While I was eating it I was wishing I could just dip my spoon into the eggshell and scooping it all out endlessly.

Egg Caviar w Soft Poached Egg, Lemon-Chive Crème Frâiche & American Osetra Caviar

Christal ordered the Stonington Maine halibut with green chickpeas, Bloomsdale spinach and porcini mushroom velouté for her fish course. The halibut was cooked perfectly, bringing out the firm, flaky texture that is a trademark with halibut, and it was still extremely moist. The green chickpeas and spinach were minced into a course paste that added an interesting texture and nutty flavor to the dish. To me the mushroom velouté was the clincher for the dish. Maybe it's because I love porcini mushrooms, but the velouté sauce lifted the halibut with the earthy richness of the porcinis and its smooth texture mirroring the silkiness of the fish.

Stonington Maine Halibut w Green Chickpeas, Bloomsdale Spinach & Porcini Mushroom Velouté

My fish course was the lobster bolognese with fresh capellini, basil and brown butter truffle froth. This was another of chef Citrin's signature dishes and perhaps the dish he is most known for. When they brought the dish out the froth was piled high on top of a generous cylinder of the pasta and the waiter suggested cutting off individual bites so that the froth would keep its integrity. The capellini was nicely al dente retaining a nice chewy texture yet still tender at the same time and the amount of tomato sauce it was tossed in was just right. Each noodle was sufficiently coated, but the sauce did not overpower the pasta and you could taste just a hint of basil in each bite. The lobster in the dish was more than a sufficient amount, with each bite having several pieces of the sweet, succulent meat and the brown butter truffle froth added a nutty richness to each bite that helped balance the acidity of the tomatoes and the herbaceousness of the basil. Overall the entire dish was perfectly balanced and left me wanting more.

Lobster Bolognese w Fresh Capellini, Basil & Brown Butter Truffle Froth

For her meat course Christal chose the dry aged New York steak with braised beef cheek, sprouting broccoli, Nantes carrot puree, nasturtium and red wine herb jus. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare and it was packed with beefy flavor that only comes from dry aging. The only slight criticism was that it could have been a little more tender, but the flavor and succulence of the meat more than made up for it. The cube of braised beef cheek was fall-apart tender, yet it still held its shape with ease when we cut into it. The red wine herb jus was the perfect sauce for the steak. It had a deep brown color and it was full of the unctuous mouth feel of collagen from long simmered bones and the flavor was rich, savory and packed with meaty flavor. The broccoli and nasturtium added a nice bitterness to offset the richness of the beef and jus and the carrot puree added a refreshing sweetness to bring the whole dish together.

Dry Aged New York Steak w Braised Beef Cheeks, Sprouting Broccoli, Nantes Carrot, Nasturtium & Red Wine Herb Jus

I decided to go with the 21 day aged Liberty Farms duck with eggplant, black olives, young leek and black walnuts. The skin on this duck was probably the crispiest skin I have ever had on a duck dish that wasn't Peking duck. The fat was rendered out nicely so that the skin itself was nice and thin and the flesh was cooked to a medium rare with plenty of moisture still remaining in the meat. The black olives were neatly piled onto the eggplant, which made for a salty bite that helped cut through the rich duck meat. The young leek was nicely caramelized, and it brought out the sweetness of the allium and enhanced the sweetness in the duck. The black walnuts were ground into a black paste that had a musty, rich, nutty flavor that brought out the earthiness of the aged duck. There was also a seasoned salt and a spice mixture that were sprinkled on the plate that both lended an added complexity to the dish.

21 Day Aged Liberty Duck w Eggplant, Black Olives, Young Leek & Black Walnuts

For a side dish the kitchen sent out pommes puree, or mashed potatoes. They were luxuriously rich and you could taste that the potatoes were laden with butter. The texture was silky smooth and made you want to just keep spooning it into your piehole.

Pommes Puree

Christal ordered the apricot parfait with lemon verbena, lemongrass, ricotta and meringue for her dessert course. The parfait itself had a pastel orange color to it with a soft, creamy texture and a pure apricot flavor. The sorbet on top had a delicate lemongrass flavor that was very clean and refreshing on the palate. There was a "broth" that they poured around it that was yogurty with a lemon verbena finish. The ricotta was whipped and piped onto the plate in little dollops and when you ate them they had a fluffiness to them and then kind of melted away. The whole dish was topped off with crispy meringue sticks that added a really nice texture contrast to everything else in the dish.

Apricot Parfait w Lemon Verbena, Lemongrass, Ricotta & Meringue

My dessert was the "tarte aux fraises" with rose geranium, sheep's yogurt and graham cracker. It was basically a deconstructed strawberry tart and it was delicious. The strawberries were vine ripened and at the peak of their ripeness, which made the decision to leave them raw key to the whole dish. The rose geranium was used in something I had never seen before. It was white and it was like a cross between a marshmallow, a foam and a paste that had a slight chew to it. It provided a nice subtle accent to the dessert. The sheep's yogurt was used in the ice cream/frozen yogurt and it had a nice rich flavor while still feeling pretty light on the palate. The graham cracker was housemade of course, and the slabs were nice and thick with a substantial crunch to it and gave the dessert a perfect textural contrast. There were also shards of what seemed like strawberry glass sandwiched throughout the dessert, which had a really concentrated fresh strawberry flavor. The whole dish was garnished with a strawberry syrup, a vanilla pastry cream and of course the requisite leaves of mint, all of which added flavors to the overall dish as well as to the presentation.

"Tarte Aux Fraises" w Rose Geranium, Sheep's Yogurt & Graham Cracker

Lastly they served us mignardises and petit fours to finish the meal. The salted caramel bon bon had a luxuriously rich salted caramel encased in perfectly tempered dark chocolate. The orange pâte de fruit had a strong orange flavor that was followed with a citrusy tartness that gave it a pleasant balance. The canelé was deeply caramelized and crunchy on the outside and soft and custardy on the inside with a generous speckling of vanilla beans throughout. In my limited experience with canelés this one was flawlessly executed. The last bite of the night was a lavender macaron with a white chocolate filling. They did a great job in using the lavender flavor with restraint so that the macaron didn't taste like soap and the white chocolate also helped to dissuade you from having any thoughts of toiletries when you at it. It was a wonderful bite to finish with because it had just a hint of richness from the white chocolate and the lavender macaron had a crispy yet soft texture and was light on the palate.

Mignardises & Petit Fours

The service over the entire meal was superb. The wait staff did a wonderful job of showing up just before you thought you needed them and the whole staff did a good job of making us feel comfortable in a first class restaurant that could have easily felt pretentious or pompous.

Food 5/5
Service 5/5
Christal's Rating 5/5
http://melisse.com/