Tasting Dinner at The Bazaar

Posted on Nov 30, 2012 under Archives | No Comment

3SLS_Bazaar_Blanca_James_Merrell

There is only one word for Jose Andres The Bazaar.  Amazing.  Food, amazing.  Atmosphere, amazing. Innovative dining, amazing.  His restaurant at the SLS Hotel features over 90 Spanish tapas style plates.  Diners can choose to sit in the tranquil Blanca room, above, with cool white chairs and soft sofas or the livelier Roja room, below, with deep red velvet chairs and an open kitchen.

3SLS_Bazaar_Rojo_James_Merrell

Then there is the food.  The wonderful food.  Eating at The Bazaar is a culinary adventure filled with whimsy, fun and surprise.   I went for a tasting menu that ended up including over 25 plates.  The meal is in my top 5 eating experiences, right up there with cooking with Lidia Bastianich in Italy and chatting with Hubert Keller after he cooked a tasting dinner for me in SF.  So, here is what Dalbert and I enjoyed at the fabulous The Bazaar.

Mixing Caipiroska

Mixing Caipiroska

We started with watching the preparation of our drinks.  First was the nitrogen mixing for the caipiroska, a cocktail with fresh lime sugar and vodka.

Caipiroska

Caipiroska

We started our marathon meal with an American sturgeon caviar and  bagel and lox cones.  These were beautiful and delicious.

caviar cones

caviar cones

Next came the jicama wrapped guacamole with micro cilantro and corn chips.

jicama guacamole

jicama guacamole

Our next course was olives two ways, both modern and traditional.  Both varieties exploded with flavor, one of our faves of the night.

olive plate

olive plate

modern olives

modern olives

traditional olives

traditional olives

Next was an extraordinary dish which tasted like an intensified omelette.  It was called tortilla de patatas the “new way,” with potato foam, egg 63, and caramelized onion.  We mixed this up to fold in the egg.  This was fantastic and another fave.

tortilla de patatas

tortilla de patatas

Next came some buttery King crab with raspberries in a raspberries vinegar.

King crab with raspberries

King crab with raspberries

Next was the Mediterranean mussels.

mediterranean mussels

Mediterranean mussels

Next was the amazing ham served with Catalan style toasted bread.  This is a must order at The Bazaar.  So tasty.  There are a variety of types of ham plates and prices, we luckily got a bit of all of them on our tasting plate.  Delicious.

ham

ham

ham

ham

Catalan style toasted bread

Catalan style toasted bread

We really loved the ham dish especially paired with the outstanding toasted bread.

  • Dalbert and me
  • Dalbert and me
  • King crab bunKing crab bun
  • Next came a series of three steamed bun dishes, including King crab, sea urchin and oxtail.

    sea urchin bun

    sea urchin bun

    oxtail bun

    oxtail bun

    Next was a fish ceviche and avocado roll with jicama, cilantro and coconut.  We were amazed that the outside of the roll was avocado.  Amazing presentation.

    fish ceviche

    fish ceviche

    Smoked yellowtail and crispy rice followed with yogurt, grapes, capers and radish.

    smoked yellowtail

    smoked yellowtail

    White asapargus with miso and walnuts followed.

    white asparagus with miso

    white asparagus with miso

    Next was another one of our faves, the very tasty caprese salad with a modern twist, using liquid mozzarella with cherry tomatoes.  Amazing.

    modern caprese

    modern caprese

    Time for more drinks, so I tried the passion fruit up with orange rum, passion fruit and ginger laurel syrup with a passion fruit foam.  I loved this drink.  Dalbert had the spectacular magic mojito, served in a shaker and strained over cotton candy.  That’s right, cotton candy.

    passion fruit up

    passion fruit up

    magic mojito

    magic mojito

    magic mojito

    magic mojito

    Next was the sauteed shrimp with garlic and guindilla pepper.  We really liked this dish.

    shrimp with garlic

    shrimp with garlic

    Another fave was the yummy croquetas de pollo, chicken bechamel fritters.

    chicken fritter

    chicken fritter

    Seared squid came next with artichokes and chicken escabeche.

    seared squid

    seared squid

    We were very surprised at the next dish.  We both don’t care for brussels sprouts so we were amazed that we loved this dish so much.  Another must order next time we visit.  Brussels sprouts with lemon puree, apricots, grapes and lemon air.  Amazing.

    brussels sprouts

    brussels sprouts

    Another outstanding dish followed, seared Wagyu flank steak with piquillo pepper spheres.

    Wagyu flank steak

    Wagyu flank steak

    Wagyu flank steak

    Wagyu flank steak

    The Bazaar is known for their famous Philly cheesesteak, so we were very excited to see this dish coming.  It was spectacular.  Air bread with gooey cheddar inside topped with Wagyu beef.  We could have eaten these all night.

    So yummy philly sandwiches

    So yummy philly sandwiches

    After all that food we didn’t think we could stand any more, but then came dessert and how could we turn that down.  The Bazaar offers a wide variety of desserts including patisserie desserts, cupcakes, bonbons and candy.  We tasted the yummy hot chocolate mousse with pear sorbeat and salty hazelnut praline, a lovely lemon tart with berries, rice crispy bonbons, and saffron candy with edible paper.

    hot chocolate mousse

    hot chocolate mousse

    lemon merengue tart

    lemon meringue tart

    rice crispy bar and bonbon

    rice crispy bar and bonbon

    the dessert bar

    the dessert bar

    Everything is exceptional at The Bazaar.   Just go.  Located at 465 South La Cienega Boulevard, reservations a must at 310/247-0400.

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