Tag Archives: Cooking

Food as Art: Saddle Peak Lodge

Restaurant: Saddle Peak Lodge

Location: 419 Cold Canyon Rd, Calabasas, CA 91302 (818) 222-3888

Date: May 27, 2010

Cuisine: Modern American

Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.

A couple of months ago we went to Saddle Peak for a special Zagat sponsored diner. This place is always fun, in some ways because of its unusual location and vibe. The food is always very good too.

The cool sky made one speculate on the possibility of werewolf invasion.

The menu for the night. But we we went for a longer form menu instead that included all this and more.

The Amuse. Some kind of “meaty” cappuccino. I’m always partial to these creamy little soups. Perhaps because I love cream.

“Fijian Albacore Sashimi with crispy rice, ramp vinaigrette, avocado and pea greens.”

The game tonight was meat. So I went Bordeaux (from my cellar). Parker gives it 94 points and says, “This wine is of first-growth quality, not only from an intellectual perspective, but in its hedonistic characteristics. More open-knit and accessible than the extraordinary 1996, Ducru’s 1995 exhibits a saturated ruby/purple color, followed by a knock-out nose of blueberry and black raspberry/cassis fruit intertwined with minerals, flowers, and subtle toasty new oak. Like its younger sibling, the wine possesses a sweet, rich mid-palate (from extract and ripeness, not sugar), layers of flavor, good delineation and grip, but generally unobtrusive tannin and acidity. It is a classic, compelling example of Ducru-Beaucaillou that should not be missed. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2025.”

“Scallop, english peas, garlic.” The sauce was nice and buttery rich.

“Wild mushroom agnolotti with roasted mushrooms, parmesan, herbs, and ricotta salata.”  This was the highlight of the meal — but I love pasta.

Let’s see it again from a different angle.

“Crispy berkshire pork belly sherry agri-doux frisee and tomato pepadew confiture.”

“Seared La belle farms foie gras study of Philen Farms organic apples, chips, gastrique, fondant, brioche and sherry maple sauce.” Yummy!

“Wood grilled California squab, warm truffled wild mushroom salad, pea tendrils and sun-choke puree.” I’m not usually a poultry fan, but this was very good.

“New Zealand Elk tenderloin with sweet potato-celery root puree, currants, bacon, wilted arugula and sauce chasseur.” The Elk was awesome.

“Deconstructed lemon meringue pie!”  Regular lemon meringue is one of my favorites. This did capture the flavors, although call me old fashioned, but I’d probably go for a great example in the traditional form.

The cool “game room” lamp on the way out.

Quick Eats: Piccolo

Restaurant: Piccolo [1, 2]

Location: 5 Dudley Ave, Venice, Ca. 310-314-3222

Date: Nov 5, 2010

Cuisine: Northern Italian

Rating: Much above average neighborhood Italian.

 

The location of this upscale neighborhood Italian has always been weird. You turn on Rose, and find it about 30 feet from the seedy boardwalk on Dudley, conveniently located near the drug dealers and others who hang out on the Venice boardwalk at night. Don’t worry it’s well lit, and they recently installed their own valet.

A couple years ago my wife and I had gone when the place had been under the shepardship of Antonio Mure, a talented local chef whose cuisine instantly said to me: “Verona” (certainly not a bad thing). Most Americans don’t realize how much Italian cuisine varies by region. In those days there were no reservations, only an hour long wait standing with the other yuppies watching the pot clouds drift by. Now you can reserve, even on Open Table. The space seems larger too. Mure moved on to various other restaurants, including the much lamented by me, Il Carpaccio. In any case, they new chef is named Bobo, and he’s also from the Veneto, a good thing, and totally obvious from the cooking.

I apologize for the picture quality as I forgot both my 5D Mark II and my little S90 backup camera and had to resort to the iphone 4, which really has come a long way for a cel phone camera.

You can see by the dishes that he is an innovative cook, and this is neither an old school italian menu, nor even a typical example of modern LA Italian. “Caprese Rivisitata. heirloom tomatoes, burrata, revisited microbasil, sicilian olive oil.” Here Burrata (one can never go wrong with Burrata) tops layers of tomatos, some even pureed.

The wine list was pretty reasonable, and had a wealth of northern Italians. I didn’t bring wine as it was just a quick dinner, and so settled on this reasonable 2007 Marcarini Barbaresco. It was only $40 for a half bottle and was very pleasant for such a young wine. If I’m going so young, I often prefer Barbaresco over Barolo as it’s more approachable early on.

The group that spawned Piccolo originally, and at various points included La Botte, Wilsons in culver city, Il Carpaccio, and Ado — I’m not fully educated on how they’re all connected — has always had good bread. Excllent for sopping up those buttery northern Italian sauces.

I ordered this odd pairing slightly skeptically. Warm seared Hamachi over buffalo mozzarella with clover, olive oil, and a kind of basil Pistou. It was good. Very good. Usually fish and cheese pairings don’t work. It was the pesto-like sauce (just off camera, in little blobs) that really drew all the elements of the dish together.

Pumpkin ravioli. This is the Chef‘s interpretation of my wife’s most favorite pasta, a specialty of Mantua (less than an hour from Verona). In the most traditional dish the ravioli are stuffed with a mixture of pumpkin or squash and Amaretto cookies, then lightly covered in butter sage sauce. These had a slightly different shape, and no Amaretto. They were perhaps a tiny bit too al dente, and the sauce coverage not quite a 100%, but still good.

This is a risotto with sausage and a fontina-butter sauce around the edge. I’m very partial to certain kinds of risotto when done right. This one was excellent. In a good risotto, the buttery flavor is so intense that it encourages very small bites. The rice had just the right texture. The sausage was good, but I’ve had slightly better (there is this joint in Philly’s little Italy which has been grinding it’s own since the 19th century — their slogan is something like “nothing but the pig.”)

LA has a lot of very good Italian places, a lot of mediocre ones, and a lot of terrible ones. This one is very much above average and worthy of being in the rotation. It’s different too, being a little more experimental and modern, typical of Italy’s bustling north. Many other places have stronger Sicilian or Tuscan influences. I happen to love Sicilian food too, it’s just different, which is a good thing. It’s nice to have some Veneto in the mix. For some reason, as beautiful as Tuscany is, it’s never been my favorite region on the culinary front, perhaps because of it’s emphasis on heavy meats. Not that it’s bad, food is never bad in Italy, but many of Italy’s other regions are more to my taste food-wise. I still long to find real Sicilian deserts in the states. In Philly or NY you can get a real Cannoli, but I’ve never, ever, found a real Cassata alla Siciliana in the states. Even Celestino Drago who is a world class Sicilian Chef, and a friend of mine, makes a modernized version (which can be seen HERE). It’s good, but I prefer the totally old school one with the Ricotta that separates and goes bad in 8 hours.

A second review of Piccolo can be found HERE.

Food as Art: Bistro LQ

Restaurant: Bistro LQ [1, 2]

Location: 8009 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90048. (323) 951-1088

Date: October 12, 2010

Cuisine: Modern French

Rating: Food was very good. Service lagged a bit behind.

 

This restaurant is a year and a half old, and the chef, Laurent Queniox, is French, having worked at Maxim’s in Paris, and then at the Hôtel Négresco in Nice (My wife and I ate there on our Honeymoon, but it was probably long after his time). He bounced around through various LA joints, including his own Bistro K in Pasadena, before opening this one. The food itself is very much like what modern one and two star Michelin places in France are doing, with a 25% dash of California thrown in.

We went with our usual Foodie friends, and hence only considered the 7 course ($70) versus the 10 course ($90) tasting menus. We settled on the 7 course after the waiter told us the 10 course was A LOT of food. They have a 7 course vegetarian menu too which very much excited the vegetarian member of our party.

The first Amuse, “Sea urchin tapioca pudding with yuzo kocho,” tasted like it sounded. The food was exciting out of the gate, but we did have minor service issues. For example, even though we’d gone over the whole “vegetarian” bit at length with the waiter, out came an Sea urchin Amuse for said party. Bus service brought them, and a request for a vegetarian varient took… awhile.

More goodies from my cellar. If you’ve been reading my posts you will notice I don’t screw around in the Burgundy department. Parker gives this Jadot 1997 Grand Cru Chambertin Clos de Beze 94-96 points, saying “harvested at an unheard of (for Burgundy) 14.2 natural potential alcohol. This black/purple-colored benchmark-setter displays saliva-inducing cookie dough and cherry syrup aromas. Immensely ripe and concentrated, yet pure, fresh, and noble, it conquers the taster with unending layers of jammy compote-like fruit flavors. Awesomely dense, deep, fresh, and refined, this stunner has the potential to ultimately merit a score in the high 90s. It seamlessly combines the New World’s over-ripeness and fruit-forward characteristics with Burgundy’s trademark balance, elegance, and structure. The lucky few that will secure a few bottles of this nectar should note that it should be at its peak of maturity between 2003-2015. Bravo!”

But, again the service had some issues. He triggered one of my pet peaves and took awhile to get the bottle opened. I nearly pulled out the Screwpull I keep in my case and took care of it myself (I have no problem beating waiters to the job). He got the bottle open, but I did have to pour for the table the whole night. I don’t really mind, but with food of this calibre a glass should never go empty, it certainly wouldn’t in France.

“Venison Tartar, Green Chartreuse Gelee, Pomme Frite.” The frites were a tiny bit soggy. But the tartar! Yum!

It deserves a closeup. The little quail egg is dumped on top and eaten with the raw venison. Slimy in a good way, rich, and delicious.

“Haddock, from Scotland, marinated in olive oil, Blinis Pancake, Ricotta Lemon Mousse and American Sevruga Caviar.” Nothing wrong with this dish either — although it wasn’t the tartar.

This was a vegetarian vegetable soup. It tasted of fresh veggie, as it should have.

“Salted Cod, Lentils, Octopus, Smoked Duck Wing, Morcella, Piquillo Pepper.” This was a very tasty combination of… a lot of flavors. The richness surrounding the cod made one able to half think it was lobster.

“Salmon, Cippolini Onions, Braised Carrots, Smoked Salt, Wild Mushrooms.”

“Red beet, and burrata sorbet.” A slightly criminal use of Burrata (which I buy by the tub from Bay Cities Deli and make into my own treats — I’ll post sometime), but excellent nonetheless.

“Artichokes, Goast Cheese Curd, Confit Tomatoes.”

This was a kind of fried sweetbreads (veal or beef I think) in a corn soup/ polenta like meal. It tasted VERY good. Sweetbreads, however, are one of the few dishes that give me a minor case of the willies, so I had to pretend they were something else. I also kept imagining my rising uric acid levels.

This was a vegetarian something I didn’t try, but it looked good.

“Hanger Steak, Served with Glazed Shallots, Sweet Potato Smear.” This didn’t suck either.

The 2008 Flor de Pingus, which I had written about bringing to Bazaar (this actually was first), deep inky, but silky smooth. Parker gives it 96 saying, “The 2008 Flor de Pingus had been in bottle for 2 weeks when I tasted it. It offers up an enticing nose of smoke, Asian spices, incense, espresso, black cherry, and blackberry. On the palate it displays outstanding volume, intensity, and balance. Rich, dense, and succulent, it has enough structure to evolve for 4-5 years and will offer prime drinking from 2015 to 2028.”

The cheese. They had a good cart, including some really nice stinky ones, and Eppoisses.

And the condiments were REALLY good, with a variety of different “sauces” and toppings. Walnut and hazelnut, Roasted Cumin Seeds, Canneberges Chutney with Cloves and Walnuts, Apple Gellee, Huckleberries Gellee, Bell pepper Mustard, Tomatillo and Figues Compote, Pumpkin Ginger Truffle honey, Homemade Green Ketchup.

The honey, cumin, and nuts were on a separate plate.

“Pot De Creme. Espresso and Chocolate, Butterscotch Bread Pudding, Vietnamese Coffee, Hazelnut Ice Cream.” This was REALLY good too.

The Petite Fours were also top notch.

Look at these. The marshmallow had a lovely citrus flavor. There was a nice pate de fruits, macaroons, and even little cupcakes with cream-cheese icing. It was all great.

Food-wise, this was a meal worthy of 2 Michelin stars, I’ve had better or worse at such establishments in France depending on how the wind blows. But Bistro LQ needs to get their service up to snuff with the food if they want to play in those leagues. Although, to tell the truth, it didn’t really bother me. The waiter was very nice, and he left the wine bottle on the table so I could self pour. Certainly there was no attitude, they just didn’t show the flawless professionalism of the kind of staff that this sort of food usually commands. But then again, it doesn’t have the prices either (a Paris 3 star can sometimes be 220 Euros for one dish). All in all, we were very satisfied, and will be back to tackle the 10 course.

Food as Art: Ludobites 6.0

Restaurant: Ludobites 6.0 [1, 2]

Location: 13355 Ventura Blvd Sherman Oaks, CA 91423.

Date: Nov 02, 2010

Cuisine: Eclectic Modern

Rating: Excellent, but a tad intellectual.

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Chef Ludovic Lefebvre has been doing this series of “mobile” or “popup” restaurants that appear for 1-2 month stretches in the space of another place. He brings very rapid experimentation to the forefront. While not as polished or perfected as a place like Calima, this is a very creative and tasty avant garde establishment. Oh, and did I mention how hard it is to get a table. I and another foodie friend were spamming the reservation site as they became available for 6.0 and we barely snagged our Tuesday 6:30pm table for six. We’re glad we did.

A Ludo signature COQtail, “Yuzu Tequila Martini.”

Tonight’s menu. We had everything!

I brought the wines from my celar as usual. The 2005 Comte Armand Pommard Clos des Epeneaux. Parker gives it 94-96 points and says, “The 2005 Pommard Clos des Epeneaux was still in three lots segregated by age and location of vines when I tasted – each fascinatingly delicious in itself, and the concentration of the old vines portion in itself almost too severe. Fascinating dark berry, carnal and mineral notes mingle in the nose. Low-tone sirloin meatiness, black cherry, cassis, faintly bitter black chocolate, and toasted hickory inform a glycerin-rich, polished, yet firmly structured palate. Notes of licorice, horehound, and mineral salts add complexity to a finish of palate-staining intensity and grip. This superb Pommard should require 5-7 years of cellaring and reward considerably more.”

This Ludobites has a wine list now, small but good. But I prefer my own cellar. Corkage was a reasonable $15.

“Warm Baguette, Baratte smoked butter, Sardine-Laughing Cow Cheese.” The bread was fantastic. The sardine spread reminded me of good whitefish salad.

“Sea Urchin Roe, Frozen milk, balsamic, orange broth, black rice.” This had a very novel texture, and tasted like… well Uni (sea urchin).

“Oriental Mussels Veloute, Heirloom Tomato, Small Fries.” The fries were to die for, like fresh potato sticks. The mussel veloute was silky smooth, creamy, and delicious. Somewhere between a french cream soup and a very soft Thai green curry.

“Marinated Mackerel, Leche del tigre, baby leeks, verdolagas leaves.” This was a great dish too. The mackerel had a pleasant fishiness to it, but the prep was a bit like a Nobu miso glaze.

“Hamachi, Vietnamese style.” This was my favorite savory dish. The hamachi was nice, but the topping was like some great Vietnamese salad, with spice, interesting texture, and a refreshing citrus note.

“Barely cooked squid noodles, pad Thai, prawn, black radish.” This was weird, but good. Not for the timid eater because of the textures of the raw fish, but I liked it.

“Scallop, Celery Root Remoulade, red port, walnuts, passion fruit.” Tasty. I liked the salid bit (slightly Waldorf slaw-like) best, but I prefer my scallops raw.

“Poached-roasted Foie Gras, Acacia Honey, Autumn fruits, rose flowers.” This was damn yummy. The fruit was one thing, but the pink stuff is some kind of reduced rosewater, and it went great with the Fois, lending it a middle eastern note.

“Salmon ‘a l’huile’ Somen Noodles, carrots, red wine vinaigrette, grilled salmon roe.” This was a really good dish. The salmon was raw sashimi, and the roe like Ikura. The noodles lent it a nice slippery coolness.

“John Dory, potato, herbs, brocollini flowers, green jalapenos nage.” There was nothing wrong with this dish. The fish was succulent and perfectly cooked, but it just wasn’t as exciting as some of the others.
The 2001 Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape. I’ve long been a fan of this Chateau, even going so far as to visit last year. Then I got to split a free bottle of the 2007 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin (100+ pts). But tonight’s wine Parker gives it a mere 95 and says, “Beaucastel has been on a terrific qualitative roll over the last four vintages, and the 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape (which Francois Perrin feels is similar to the 1990, although I don’t see that as of yet) is a 15,000-case blend of 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah, 10% Counoise, and the balance split among the other permitted varietals of the appellation. This inky/ruby/purple-colored cuvee offers a classic Beaucastel bouquet of new saddle leather, cigar smoke, roasted herbs, black truffles, underbrush, and blackberry as well as cherry fruit. It is a superb, earthy expression of this Mourvedre-dominated cuvee. Full-bodied and powerful, it will undoubtedly close down over the next several years, not to re-emerge for 7-8 years. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2025.”
“Half chicken, poached egg, chanterelles, chorizo.” Tasty and rich, but I was starting to fill up.
“Marinated korean steak, crispy kimchi, bone marrow.” The steak was very rare. Not as good as a great cut at a top Korean BBQ place, but good. The marrow added a nice richness. Starting to get very full.
Onto desert. The “Cold chocolate soup, peanut butter, marshmallow, long pepper chantilly.” This was damn good. The texture and peanut notes of the marshmallow really added.
“Warm carrot cake, coconut, Thai curry, mango sorbet, kaffir lime.” It was weird, but good. The overall flavor profile was like a Thai red curry. The mango sorbet, refreshing as it looked, was actually fairly spicy. The icing stuff tasted like butter icing. Inside the ramekin is Kaffir lime oil. The savory quality of this desert reminded of my first Ludo meal, at Bastide, where I ordered the “Chocolate spaghetti al carbonara,” a desert that actually had pancetta and raw egg cracked over chocolate noodles with a scoop of parmesan ice cream!
ANY CHARACTER HERE
Overall the meal was very very good, although a tad intellectual. A few dishes felt like they were trying too hard without totally paying off. Still, it’s a rare restaurant this creative.

Quick Eats: Panini at Home

Location: The Villa Malka (home), Pacific Palisades, CA.

Date: Nov 02, 2010

My brother came over to whip up a quick batch of brunch panini, one of his specialties. All the actual cooking in this post is courtesy of “guest chef” Mitch Gavin. My related masterpiece are my home made pizzas, I’ll post about them sometime.

First the ingredients. This particular batch was vegetables and cheese. Red onions, farmers market tomatoes and baby bell peppers, fresh basil, two sorts of parmesan, sharp cheddar, and mixed greens.

We often use lavash bread — after all, we live in LA, home to about 1000 great Persian markets. The cheese goes on the bottom, thinly sliced, then some salad.

The salad is dosed with fresh squeezed Meyer Lemon (good on everything) and onion.

The peppers and tomatoes, then some various spices like pepper and oregano. Anything will work.
A little “really good” Olive Oil drizzled on goes a long way. Laudemio makes fantastic single orchard varietals.
You can find these Panini machines at any specialized cooking store these days.
Cook it down until the veggies really collapse, and the cheese goes all over.
Voila!
It’s like grilled cheese and a salad all in one.
And as a bonus you can scrape off the fried cheese (mostly parmasean). Even my two year old liked that.
You can throw just about anything in a panini and it will go great. In this particular one you could add yesterday’s left over steak (sliced), or turkey, or grilled chicken, or prosciutto, whatever.

Food as Art: The Bazaar

Restaurant: The Bazaar

Location: 465 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048. 310.246.5555

Date: Oct 30, 2010

Cuisine: Spanish influenced Molecular Gastronomy

Rating: Awesome, one of LA’s best places.

My first exposure to the genius of José Andrés was at Cafe Atlantico in Washington D.C. On an occasional Sunday I’d go with my parents for their Nuevo Latino Dim Sum, which was a ludicrously large prix fix brunch (30 some courses and several hours). I was thrilled when he opened a restaurant in LA. The spectacular result is The Bazaar in the SLS hotel. I’ve been five or six times and the scene alone is great. They  have a number of different rooms and restaurants  grouped together. There is the bar, with cool snacks and molecular cocktails, the scrumptious pataserie, two rooms of the main restaurant, and the secret prix fix only Saam. This meal  was in the main Bazaar. Everything is tapas style, small dishes (about 4 per person) shared by all.

They have all sorts of interesting cocktails, but the signature one is the nitro caprina. Dry ice is used to freeze the rum and lime concoction down without added ice or water.

The result is above. It tastes like a sherbet, with a highly unusual smooth texture, but it’s intensely potent (in terms of proof). Goes down all too easy.

Then I pulled out the first of my wines. The 2007 Laurel. Yum. As I mentioned in my review of Calima this is a fantastic Spanish wine buy. Parker gives it 94 and says, “The 2007 Laurel, a blend of 65% Garnacha and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, is deep purple-colored with a bouquet of wet stone, Asian spices, black cherry compote, and incense. Dense and sweet on the palate with tons of spice, it is super-concentrated, rich, and smooth-textured. Give this lengthy effort 2-3 years of additional cellaring and drink it from 2013 to 2027. Laurel is produced from the young vines of Clos Erasmus as well as from the results of a triage in the vineyard and cellar of the flagship wine.”

Ordering here can involve a bit of planning — not to mention paper and pen.

This first dish is “Sweet potato chips, yogurt, tamarind, star anise.” The crisp chips are used to scoop up the fluffy cool yogurt, which has a pleasing fruit tang.

Then we have “Spanish olives, traditional.” Classic olives with pimentos and anchovy.

This is followed by “Spanish olives, modern.” Pureed olive has been “sphereized.” The flavor is basically the same, but these pop in your mouth to deliver a concentrated burst of olive.

“Embutidos platter, chorizo, lomo, salchichos.” A selection of pig, pig, and pig. The chorizo in particular is intense, although not nearly as much as some of the examples I had in Spain where each bite transported you magically to the barnyard sty.

Served with some grilled “tomato bread.”

“Bagel and lox cone,” is deconstructed and re-interpreted. Cream cheese is paired with Ikura (salmon eggs). Tasty.

“Bunuelos, codfish fritters, honey aioli,” these are specular (but hot, right out of the fryer). The sauce gives them an almost Chinese flavor. Fried fish always works.

“Baby beets, citrus, pistachio, goat cheese.” A nice variant on what has become an LA classic.

“Sea scallops, romesco sauce.”

“Brussel sprouts, lemon puree, apricots, grapes, lemon air.” This was a big hit, the sprouts aren’t bitter at all, and have a light cabbage-like texture. The lemon air is the best part, adding a nice zing.

“Jicama wrapped guacamole, micro cilantro, corn chips.” This was really good, vaguely like a caterpillar roll.

“Barramundi, black beans, garlic,” was an incredibly tasty fish. The skin was perfectly crisped, the meat moist.

“Not your everyday caprese, cherry tomatoes, liquid mozzarella.” This is a near perfect deconstruction of the caprese. The mozzarella balls explode in your mouth, and pair great with the pesto and the little crunchy crackers.

“Seared artichokes with pastrami Saul, La serena cheese with PX reduction.” This wasn’t my favorite. The artichokes seemed a little dry.

The deconstructed “Philly cheese steak” is one of my favorites. The bread is super crispy with liquid parmigiana. the beef is wagyu.

You can see the cheese oozing out.

The vegetarians got this “Hilly cheese steak” with mushroom instead of beef. Same cheese.

“Braised Waygu beef cheeks, California citrus.” This tastes like the best pastrami you’ve ever had, melts in your mouth.

“Catalan spinach, apple, pine-nuts, raisins.”

“Butifarra senator moynihan, Catalan pork sausage, white beans, mushrooms.” The beans were a little dry, but the sausage rocked. This dish reminded me of the equivalent Tuscan sausage and fava beans. I suspect in both cases it hearkens back to the traditional Roman combination of pork sausage served with lentils (over at new years, the lentils symbolizing coins and the wish for wealth in the new year).

At some point we switched up to the 2008 Flor de Pingus, which is even better than the Laurel, deep inky, but silky smooth. Parker gives it 96 saying, “The 2008 Flor de Pingus had been in bottle for 2 weeks when I tasted it. It offers up an enticing nose of smoke, Asian spices, incense, espresso, black cherry, and blackberry. On the palate it displays outstanding volume, intensity, and balance. Rich, dense, and succulent, it has enough structure to evolve for 4-5 years and will offer prime drinking from 2015 to 2028.”

“Lamb loin, Jacques Maximus pistou, trumpet mushrooms.”

My personal favorite along with the cheese steak, “Cotton candy fois lollypop.” The little cube of fois pairs with the sugar like a Sauternes. Oh so yummy.

If that little bit of fois didn’t stop the heart, take a “Fois gras, quince, toasted brioche.” A perfectly put together burger version of the classic pairing.

On Halloween eve, weird costumes abound.

Savory dishes complete, we transferred over to the patisserie for desert. I ordered a glass of this lovely 1927 Pedro Ximenez sherry. I love PX. This one was like sweet motor oil.

“Nitro coconut, floating island, passion-fruit, banana.” I don’t like bananas (had too many with half a bottle of whiskey in ’91), but the nitro island was delicious. Cold, refreshing coconut.

I’m a huge flan fan and this Spanish classic didn’t disappoint.

“Chocolate cupcake.”

“hot chocolate mouse, three layers.” This was good. You gets to inject it with the little syringe of chocolate and the little balls add great texture.

The passion-fruit “Pate des fruits” packed a wonderful wallop of fruit flavor.

Assorted bonbons.

No other restaurant in LA has the combination of ultra modern chic and whimsical playfulness that The Bazaar does — plus everything tastes great and you get to experience an great melange of flavors in one meal. One of these days I need to try Saam and let the chef throw his best at us. I never plan far enough ahead. One note, I ‘ve done The Bazaar’s “set menu” twice, and ordered myself four times. If you know what you are doing doing it yourself is the better way to go, particularly because they don’t mix up their set menu enough. However, if it’s your first visit, letting them handle serves as a fine introduction.