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/

May 15, 2015: Tres by José Andrés

It had been a while since Christal and I had gone on a date night and since she is currently on her Psychology rotation we were able to go out tonight. I have been wanting to try Tres for a long time because it is one of José Andrés' restaurants in LA. Andrés is a disciple of Ferran Adrià of elBulli fame. The restaurant is located in the lobby of the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills and it is set up as a kind of lounge/restaurant where you can either order some food, grab a drink or just lounge on one of the couches. The entire hotel, including Tres, has a very trendy decor and some of the accents are pretty flamboyant. Over a fireplace in the restaurant was mounted a clear glass or plastic buck's head and one of the alcoves with a table had a chandelier that looked like it had a ton of melted wax hanging down from it. It was an interesting vibe to say the least.

Christal ordered the head-on prawn salmora with wild mushrooms and Calasparra rice. This is the first time I've ever heard the term salmora and after a little bit of searching on the internet I still can't find what it is, all I know is that it is delicious. The prawns were heavily seasoned with paprika, cumin, garlic and probably a bunch of other spices that my basic palate couldn't pick up on, and then they were sauteed, presumably with olive oil, and placed on top of the Calasparra rice and wild mushrooms. The rice and mushrooms were cooked like a risotto, but it didn't seem as rich or heavy as a normal risotto and acted as a wonderful compliment to the spicy flavorful prawns. The prawns were cooked perfectly with crispy heads and shells and firm yet tender meat. The spiced olive oil that the prawns were cooked in acted as a kind of sauce for the whole dish and when it mixed with the risotto it integrated perfectly adding an additional kick of spices. Eating this dish kind of slapped me in the face and made me remember why I love food so much.

Head-On Prawn Salmora w Wild Mushrooms & Calasparra Rice

For my appetizer I ordered the sea scallops with peanut praline, yuzu and sea beans. The flavor combination was definitely something I have never had before and I would never have been creative enough to come up with on my own. The scallops were seared perfectly so that they were a nice medium rare in the middle and meltingly tender to the bite. The peanut praline was more of a sauce than a traditional crunchy praline, which is what I was expecting. The texture was not the only unexpected trait that the praline hid. To me the flavor was very similar to a mild white miso with the undertone of peanut finishing up at the end and it provided a nice richness to go along with the sweet scallop and salty sea beans. . It was pooled on top of each scallop covering most of the top but allowing the deep caramelization of the edges to show through. The dish was finished off with some sauteed lotus root and a frisee and apple salad with yuzu in the dressing. The lotus root added a nice vegetal crunch to the dish and the salad had the requisite acid to round out the whole dish.

Sea Scallops w Peanut Praline, Yuzu & Sea Beans

Christal was also craving a green salad so we ordered the mixed green salad with tomatoes, pepitas and sherry vinaigrette. It was your run of the mill green salad with a small dice of concassed tomatoes and a couple of puffed pepitas for croutons. It was a nice, fresh palate cleanser, but nothing special. I would have liked just a little more dressing so that I could have tasted a little more of the sherry vinaigrette.

SLS Mixed Green Salad w Tomatoes, Pepitas & Sherry Vinaigrette

I was in a fishy mood so I ended up ordering the seared branzino with fennel puree, wild mushrooms, endive & citrus vinaigrette. To be perfectly honest, this might have been the best branzino dish I have had. They put two filets together with the skin facing out so that it mimicked the fish anatomically, but without the bones, and then they seared both sides until the skin was as crispy as a cracker and leaving the flesh moist and succulent. The fennel puree underneath was silky smooth and its natural sweetness complimented the branzino well. The endive was braised and then caramelized, but it still kept a hint of bitterness to tone down the sweetness from the fennel puree. The mushrooms added a nice hit of umami to each bite and the citrus vinaigrette and grapefruit segments rounded out the whole dish.

Seared Branzino w Fennel Puree, Wild Mushrooms, Endive & Citrus Vinaigrette

Christal said she was in the mood for something rich for her main course so she ordered the braised beef short rib with cheddar grits, cipollini onions and veal jus. The cheddar grits were rich and obviously, plenty cheesy. I kind of expected the grits to be more loose than they were, but the texture certainly wasn't a negative. I think the cipollini onions were braised and orange juice and then caramelized because they had an abnormally orange tint to them and tasted sweeter than what I was expecting, which actually worked out nicely with the rich grits and meaty short ribs. Speaking of short ribs, these ribs were braised perfectly. In the past when we have ordered braised short ribs they have come out completely falling apart and lacking any texture or semblance of beef on more than a few occasions. This preparation is completely fine for a ravioli or tortellini filling, but not for the centerpiece protein of a main course. That being said, the short rib at Tres was cooked perfectly. It was firm enough that it stood up to eating with a fork and knife, yet still tender enough to cut with just the fork and not completely disintegrate. When I ate it the texture was what short rib is supposed to be, meaty yet tender, and not mushy. And to top it off the veal jus added a deeply savory flavor to boost the meatiness of the short rib.

Braised Beef Short Rib w Cheddar Grits, Cipollini Onions & Veal Jus

When we ordered our desserts our waiter was not the person to take the order, instead it was another random waiter that had come by our table once before. Once she took our order she walked towards the kitchen about 10 feet and relayed our order to our waiter. After this happened I started to think back and throughout the meal the service had kind of devolved. It started out normal enough in that they took our order in a timely manner, and our appetizers came out pretty quickly, but after the appetizers our waiter only came by a few more times to check on us. Once we had finished our main courses we sat at the table for at least 15 minutes before our plates were cleared and then probably another 15 to 20 minutes before we ordered desserts. It was a little bit bizarre. Anyway, there was coconut tapioca with passion fruit sauce and mandarin orange sorbet, so of course I had to order that. The tapioca was full of coconut flavor and it was garnished with some toasted coconut and what I think was a coconut milk foam flavored with a hint of mint. The passion fruit sauce was a nice acidic hit to cut through the sweetness and richness of all the coconut. I had thought that the mandarin sorbet would be a nice compliment as well, but for me, the sorbet kind of overpowered the subtleties of the rest of the dish. By itself it was delicious, but when eaten with the rest of the dish it seemed to take over, so I just ate the sorbet separately and then it felt like I got two desserts for one (glass half full right?).

Coconut Tapioca w Passion Fruit Sauce & Mandarin Orange Sorbet

After we finished the coconut tapioca I reminded our server of our second dessert, to which she was unaware. Apparently when the other waiter took our order she failed to relay the second dessert on and our waiter said that she was, "unaware of a second dessert." Once we let her know what Christal wanted it came out fairly quickly. Christal ended up ordering the Greek yogurt panna cotta with apricots and a muscat wine gelee. The panna cotta was not too sweet which was nice and the Greek yogurt added a nice acidity which kept it light. The muscat gelee was a thin layer, but it added a nice sweetness and depth to the dessert. There were two apricot elements in the dessert, one on the bottom and one on the top. The bottom had an apricot gel that had a punch of fresh apricot flavor in each bite. The top had an apricot foam that was similar in texture to the coconut milk foam and had a much more subtle apricot flavor. It was nice to be able to compare bites from the top of the dessert and the bottom and it made the dessert seem bigger than it was.

Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta w Apricots & Muscat Wine Gelee

Once we were done with dessert we waited about another 15 to 20 minutes before our check came, which I found pretty annoying since the Warriors were playing and I wanted to get back home for the second half. If not for the decline in service throughout, the meal would have been just about flawless. Luckily the quality of the food stayed consistent all the way through to the end.

Food 4/5
Service 2.5/5
Christal's Rating 4.5/5
http://slshotels.com/beverlyhills/dining/tres/

April 19, 2015: Superba Snack Bar

This morning Christal and I dropped off Otousan and Okaasan at LAX so they could fly back to Maui. Since we were so far out west I took Christal to Superba Snack Bar for brunch. We had gone to Superba about a year ago after she finished with her tests and I wanted to try it again. This visit was just as good, if not better, than the last time. They said the menu was designed for all the dishes to be shared, which is basically just a restaurant's way of telling you that everything comes out when it is ready.

The first dish that came out was the fried chicken sandwich with jalapeño-pimento cheese and pickled green tomato on a brioche bun. It was a towering architectural achievement of fried chicken deliciousness with a side of homemade potato chips and a pickle spear. The chicken itself was not the prettiest fried chicken, but what it lacked in looks it made up for with flavor. The meat was extremely juicy and tender and the breading was light and super crispy with a spicy kick to finish it off. They put the perfect amount of pimento cheese on both sides of the bun so that you could taste the spicy richness in each bite, but when you bit into the sandwich it didn't all come oozing out. The brioche bun was the only component that was excellent. The bread was soft and rich, but it was slightly more dense than a lot of other brioche buns I've had. The perfect counterbalance to the richness of the chicken, pimento cheese and brioche was the pickled green tomato. They put a nice thick slice of pickled green tomato, which was tender and had the acidity to cut through all the other decadent components of the sandwich. Even with all the outstanding elements of the sandwich the most surprising thing for me was how cleanly we were able to eat it. As high as everything was stacked nothing ever squeezed out the opposite side when we would take a bite, it was pretty surprising.

Fried Chicken Sandwich w Jalapeño-Pimento Cheese, Pickled Green Tomato & Brioche Bun

 The next thing that came out was the bruleed banana with sesame granola, yogurt, brown sugar and cinnamon. It was a really simple dish that was very filling. The granola was nice and crunchy with plenty of shredded coconut, which I liked. The yogurt was really thick and quite substantial. The bananas were topped with the bruleed brown sugar and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon. Once everything was mixed together I felt like I was eating breakfast. As good as it was I probably would not order it again, because when it boils down to it, the dish was basically a very good version of yogurt, granola and fruit.

Bruleed Banana w Sesame Granola, Yogurt, Brown Sugar & Cinnamon

The last dish to come out was Christal's corn bread waffle with fried chicken, hot sauce and maple syrup. I was pretty surprised, and delighted, when Christal said she wanted to order it. The corn bread waffle was hot and crispy on the outside and the inside was moist and tender. Like the sandwich, the chicken on the waffle was not the prettiest chicken I've seen, but it sure was tasty. For this dish they used drumettes from the wings, which were fried perfectly. Both the waffle and fried chicken were doused with warm maple syrup, hot sauce and chives. In hindsight I probably should have asked for a little extra hot sauce, but overall the dish was well balanced between the savory and sweet. Superba's take on the classic comfort food combination with a twist was inspired and made wonder why there weren't more corn bread waffles out there?

Corn Bread Waffle w Fried Chicken, Hot Sauce & Maple Syrup

Food 4.5/5
Service 4/5
Christal's Rating 3/5
http://www.superbasnackbar.com/