The Divine Dish

Dinner at Bouchon, Beverly Hills

Posted on Jan 06, 2013 under Archives | No Comment

Named for the particular style of cafe that existed in the province of Lyon for centuries, top chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon features classic bistro favorites and seasonal offerings along with a signature raw bar featuring a wide array of oysters on the half-shell.  Bouchon Beverly Hills is among three in the country (others in Vegas and Napa) and features antique lighting with a French country design.

I recently dined at Bouchon for an article I am writing on the most romantic places in LA.   My friend and chef in training Travis came along, below is what we sampled.

In French bistro style, menus are printed on brown paper and wrapped around each diner’s napkin.

We started off with marinated olives with rosemary and lemon peel.  Bread was warm and served with whipped butter.

I enjoyed a dirty martini with hors d’oeuvres.  Next came a nice selection of oysters.  Bouchon has one of the best selections of oysters, mussels, shrimp, crab, clams and lobster at their raw bar.

We also received a lovely charcuterie board with country style pate with watercresss, cornichons and radishes; chicken liver mousse, salami and prosciutto.

We loved the chicken liver mousse.  This appetizer is huge and can easily be shared by four people.

Next came a lovely bibb lettuce salad.  At first glance it appeared to be just a pile of bibb lettuce with herbs, but when we took a bite the flavor of the house vinaigrette was outstanding and paired perfectly with the fresh crunchy lettuce and scattered herbs.

Our pasta course was the special of the night, an amazing risotto with shaved truffles.  We both loved this dish.

Our main fish course was a pan seared Scottish salmon with braised kale, roasted sunchokes, quinoa and a Meyer lemon emulsion.  Delicious.

Another house specialty is the pommes frites, french fries, that were so good that Travis took the remaining fries that we couldn’t finish home with him.

Desserts came next, all outstanding.  The creme brulee had a crunchy caramelized top, the mille-feuille aux noisettes had perfect layers of chocolate cremeux and hazelnut creme in a coffee sauce with mango gelato, and the house gelatos were light and refreshing.

After dessert, we were lucky enough to get a tour of the kitchen.  The kitchen at Bouchon is spotless.  Paper lines the metal dinner prep areas encouraging chefs to plate neatly and cleanly.  The baking room is huge and pastry chefs work around the clock.  The main prep area also features three flat screen TV’s that offer views of each kitchen at the Beverly Hills, Las Vegas and Napa Bouchon bistros.  Reservations are available at 310/271-9910.

Tasting Dinner at Valentino

Posted on Dec 26, 2012 under Uncategorized | No Comment

Last week I visited Valentino, the Westside LA fixture that has been serving up regional Italian cuisine for 40 years.  The sophisticated eatery is divided into three dining rooms in earth tones with travertine floors and glass chandeliers.  Oenophiles will savor the extensive 130 page wine list of over 140,000 bottles.  Here is what Matt and I enjoyed while we visited Valentino.

We were served a nice appetizer of goat cheese wrapped in eggplant and a tasty arancini made with mixed seafood.

Next came a nice appetizer of scallops carpaccio with baked cherry tomato, pistachios and an anchovy sauce.

Our second appetizer was grilled Mediterranean Octopus with black Sardinian couscous.

Our appetizers were paired with the above two wines, both very tasty.

We were served two pastas, the first a spaghetti with onions, cherry tomatoes and broccolini and the second a nice rissoto with amarone, gorgonzola and caramelized radicchio.

I had the Colorado lamb chop with red wine sauce, potatoes and asparagus.

Matt had the veal with porcini mushrooms and a marsala sauce.

These were paired with the above wines.  Our fave of the night was the Torraccia del Piantavigna.

Desserts were fantastic and included the chocolate semifreddo with chocolate hazelnut ice cream, caramelized banana, the cannoli and the vanilla and praline pudding with almond orange cantucci.

Valentino is located at 3115 Pico Boulevard, reservations recommended at 310/829-4313.

Interview with Chef Duff Goldman

Posted on Nov 30, 2012 under Chefs, Interviews | No Comment

Chef Duff Goldman opened Charm City Cakes in Baltimore in 2002.  His Food Network show “Ace of Cakes” ran for 10 seasons.  Chef Duff recently opened a west coast branch of Charm City Cakes here in Los Angeles as well as his new Cakemix workshop.  Cakemix allows guests to decorate their own cake and offers classes on cake decoration.  I sat down with Chef Duff to talk about Charm City Cakes West, the new Cakemix and his upcoming projects.

 

Tasting Dinner at The Bazaar

Posted on Nov 30, 2012 under Archives | No Comment

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

Next was the 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.

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

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

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.

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

White asapargus with miso and walnuts followed.

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

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.

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

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

Seared squid came next with artichokes and chicken escabeche.

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.

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

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.

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.

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