Hatfield's: A LA Birthday

Dad was going to celebrate his 57th in LA so I wanted to go somewhere special. Like, REALLY special. My first instinct was to call up The Bazaar but, no dice – after that four star article in the LA Times, everyone and their mother decided to pay Jose Andres' LA joint a visit and they were booked up all the way until May.

For a while, I played with the idea of Michael Mina’s XIV but they changed the menu for spring and upped the tasting menu prices so I volleyed instead between Grace and Hatfield’s. It was a tough decision but LA Magazine awarded the latter one more shining star than Neal Fraser’s restaurant so Hatfield’s it was for April 16th.

(Scallops)

Hatfield’s was a solid experience. My first impression of the place was that it was exactly the kind of restaurant I love – understatedly elegant; laid-back but refined. There was none of that pretentious your-waiter-is-going-to-have-a-‘tude-because-you’re-not-in-louboutins situation (I can’t stand that shit). And of top of the fantastic atmosphere, this place is a STEAL. No joke. Their Spring Special prix-fixe is $49.00 for a top-notch three-course menu – no skimping whatsoever. Good stuff. And as if that wasn’t enough of a steal, every dining party gets to enjoy Quinn Hatfield’s amuse bouche of deviled quail eggs with cream of celeriac. Presentation was so beautiful – eggs served in a tiny silver spoon and the soup was put into a shot glass. This was definitely a welcome opener to our starved stomachs.

(Fatty Foie Gras)

Hatfield’s was off to a great start. The menu is so decadent. For my appetizer, I was eying the pan roasted diver scallops, marinated artichokes purée, saffron vanilla emulsion but mom and dad both had their hearts set on that so, instead, I opted for the roasted Bobo farm foie gras, pain d’epice crust, beluga lentils, apple rosemary purée. Our appetizers appeared before us in their generous portions and art-work-worthy presentation. Personally, I’m not a big fan of foie gras ALONE but foie gras with the perfect accompaniment is a piece o’ heaven and Hatfield’s nailed it. The sharpness of the pain d’epice crust worked amazingly with the creamy texture of the foie gras. I was a very happy camper.

(Halibut)

(Duck Breast)

And onto the entrees. Mom went for the garlic and parsley crusted Alaskan halibut, zucchini coulis, roasted sunchokes, sautéed squash blossoms; dad went for the branzino filet, roasted haricot vert, red onion soubise, dried apricot, crispy almonds and caper crunch and for myself, I decided to have a poultry related fiesta so I went with the pan roasted duck breast, quinoa and maitako mushrooms, butternut squash, whiskey prune smear. Again, portions were huge and presentation was right on the spot. The duck was cooked to perfection – juicy and tender with a layer of moist fat and plump duck skin. Nothing to complain about but I guess because I’m really not that big of a poultry person after all, I wasn’t wowed away by the dish. I enjoyed it A LOT but wasn’t blown away. Plus, the dish may have been a little TOO decadent for my Asian palate – I ate the skin off the first piece but it became too much and I had to skin the rest off. Mom and dad both enjoyed their fish dish (HA – RHYME! I guess my English major wasn’t a complete waste) but also said that they’ve had better. I guess I get where they’re coming from – Hatfield’s is perfect execution but it’s not something I would crave.

('Cheesecake')

But even if I wasn’t WOWED by the food, like I said before, I was definitely wowed by the value of the meal. The dessert menu kept with the theme of non-skimpy decadence. I happily sold my soul to the ‘fuck-calorie-counting’ club the second I saw the words “chocolate and peanut butter truffle cake” on the menu. This turned out to be a chocolate cake with a molten lava PB center…mmmmmmmm. It was NEAR perfect – texture was right on BUT it was a tad too sweet and a tad under-salty for me…oh well, it was good anyways. But what WAS perfect was the accompanying salted caramel ice cream with roasted peanut butter peanut toffee. Mmmmm…so good. They should make that a dessert in itself.

(A beautiful concept: PB Truffle Cake)

My only real complaint is their breadbasket system. Instead of having a basket at the table, they have a waitstaff come around before each course to place a roll on your bread plate. That fancy-schmancyness is a little out of place from the “laid-back” atmosphere I was lauding just a few paragraphs earlier. Plus, their bread roll was a little bit too greasy for our Asian tastes. But, not to end this review on a sore note, service in general is great. Awesome even. And, even better, the bill is served with a small plate of mini brownies. So sweet (literally and figuratively). And these brownies sum up what Hatfield’s is all about – small details, unpretentious pampering and a restaurant who wants their patrons to leave with a smile on their faces.

FOOD: 4/5
SERVICE: 5/5
ATMOSPHERE: 4.5/5

Hatfield's ($$$)
7458 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 935-2977
http://www.hatfieldsrestaurant.com

Animal: Dude Food

Animal has been on my “to-go” list since it opened in June last year. I finally ventured out to the Fairfax resto tonight with poor, jetlagged Theresa in tow (sorry hun!) Being a Wednesday night, I didn’t think we’d need to make reservations. Wrong assumption – Animal was packed and the only available seats were at the bar.

Neither of us were starving so we skipped the appetizers and hopped right to the entrée selection. The restaurant name is right – this menu is definitely NOT for vegetarians or salad people. Thank God I re-entered the meat-eater’s world. Theresa decided to take a stab at the quail fry, grits, slab bacon, chard and maple jus ($26) while I decided to spoil myself with the foie gras loco moco with quail egg, spam, hamburger and gold rice ($35). Yes, I felt robbed of my foie gras after that disappointing beef Wellington episode at the Stanton Social and I felt the need to be compensated.

Our (substantially-portioned) food arrived after a little bit of catching up. The presentation of the food seemed to spell out exactly what the restaurant was about – Animal doesn’t care about the Jean Georges-esque delicate precision. What it DOES care about is infusing top quality ingredients into stripped-down, casual dishes that don’t look too aesthetically intimidating to eat. This is the epitome of “Dude Food” – nothing looks overly pretty and the food doesn’t make you feel like you should turn off the football game and catch an opera show instead. In fact, Theresa’s quail fry looked nothing fancier than a plate of KFC chicken.

(Disappointing Quail :[ )

Sad to say though, Theresa’s quail fry also tasted nothing fancier than a plate of KFC chicken. The quail meat was practically tasteless (a little marinade would be useful) and the only ounce of flavor was in the fried, flour coating. It was a disappointing dish and a waste of a good quail. On the flip side, however, my foie gras loco moco was absolutely awesome. A perfectly cooked medium-rare hamburger patty was topped with a slice of spam and a pretty generous slab of foie. This pillar of deliciousness was capped off with a fried quail egg with a semi-running yolk. It was indulgent alright. I wonder how many arteries I clogged tonight. The surrounding gold rice was doused in a lovely sweet and sour type sauce – I almost wanted to lick the plate clean. The burger was somewhat bland by itself but had a fantastic charred, smoky flavor. And its mild flavor complimented the jolting savory taste of the spam – combining both meats in one bite created the perfect flavor balance. The rich taste of the runny yolk and the smooth, creamy foie gras elevated the simple loco moco dish to a whole new unbelievable level. But the most ingenius part of it all was the sprinkling of chopped green onions. It’s such a humble ingredient but its raw, slightly electrifying taste balanced the heaviness of all the cooked, meaty components and brought out the full flavor potential of all the other components. What I loved most about the food was its simplicity. Sure, maybe foie gras doesn’t really fit into the idea of “simplicity” but what Animal does is it brings luxury ingredients down to earth. At Animal, foie gras is on the same level as spam and burger patties and it’s wonderfully refreshing to find a place that reminds you to eat food for its actual flavor and texture rather than for its luxury connotations.

(Keeping the Foie Real: Foie Gras Loco Moco)

Service is awesome and has the same no-frills attitude as the food. Tattoos are almost di rigueur among the staff and with John Shook and Vinny Dotolo as the owners/head chefs, I’m not at all surprised – all I could see through the little window into the main kitchen were Vinny Dotolo’s full-sleeve tattooed arm working over the stove. Also, unlike other Hollywood places, the 20-somethings at Animal aren’t aspiring actors/actresses and they actually like working around food and know something about it. They’re friendly and approachable and, most of all, you get the feeling that they really want you to have a kickass time with the food.

Well, mission accomplished. I totally had a kickass time!

FOOD: 4/5 (based on my loco moco and not the quail fry)
SERVICE: 4/5
ATMOSPHERE: 4/5

ANIMAL ($$/$$$)
435 N. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 782-9225
http://www.animalrestaurant.com

[NYC '09: Dinner, day 5] The Stanton Social: Only for the PYT

(A promising opener: Amuse Bouche)

To celebrate our final night in Manhattan, we made a reservation at The Stanton Social for dinner. This place was exactly as I had expected – loud, dark, young and pretty. To be honest, places like this make me nervous. But oh well, I like looking at pretty things and eating good food and, most importantly, I was with good company.

Stanton Social operates on a shared small plates/tapas dining style. Small plates have been all the rage in the last couple of years and it still seems to be going strong. The waitress (who reminded me of a pre-thievery Winona Ryder) recommended about 2-3 plates per person but, being that we were still stuffed from a heavy brunch, we decided to just start out with 5 plates first.

An amuse bouche of ricotta and tomatoes on toasted bread was brought to our table. The flavors and textures complimented each other perfectly – the salt-seasoned tomatoes cut through the mildness of the ricotta and the smooth creamy cheese played off the crunchiness of the bread. It was definitely a promising opener.

(Can't-taste-the-tuna tuna tartare rolls)

Next up were the nori spiced tuna tartare rolls ($12). This was something I suggested and, sad to say, I was pretty disappointed. I couldn’t taste the tuna at all – the fish was completely overpowered by the spices and the sauce. Also, with the mouthnumbing effect of the sauce, it was difficult to tell how fresh the tuna was but it was definitely not sushi grade. Oh well, I guess this dish just confirmed for me that I will never like tuna tartare no matter how hard I try.

(Good texture: Mushroom Risotto Cakes)

The second dish was the wild mushroom risotto cakes with parmagiano and mushroom chips ($12). I liked the texture – it was dense and interestingly moist and grainy but not coarse. But it was just a little too sour for my personal taste. Not bad but nothing special either. This was getting dangerous – Stanton Social was batting a zero so far in the food zone. So Thank God that the next dish to come up was the butternut squash and sweet potato ravioli ($14). This was hands down the best dish of the night. It was lightly doused in a vanilla brown butter sauce and sprinkled with candied pecans – a perfect blend of sugariness with a slight tinge of saltiness to really bring out the sweet creaminess of the filling. It tasted almost like a sweet potato pie! Great stuff. I wish they would turn that dish into a full sized entrée – I would DEFINITELY order that.

(If only all the dishes tasted like this: Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Ravioli)

Sad to say though, it was all a downhill slope from there on. The Rhode Island style lobster roll ($9/individual portion) was uninspired. I’ll give it credit though for the lobster meat – I’m not a big lobster fan but I do recognize the beauty of a well prepared fresh lobster. The lobster meat in the roll was definitely fresh and had a good bouncy texture. But that aside, it was nothing special. The bun was probably the best part – airy and soft but a little too much on the greasy side. Which actually is my main criticism of the food at Stanton Social – it’s just too greasy in taste. The chips that came with the lobster roll were flat-out gross and tasted like pure oil. Ech.

(Only OK: Lobster Roll)

The last dish of the night was the apparent biggie – the Stanton Social beef Wellington ($21). This dish as a concept was already a little too much for my personal taste – grilled filet mignon with foie gras mousse and mushroom duxelles wrapped in puff pastry. I liked all these components individually but I had a feeling that tossing all these things together could “crudify” them. It was almost like turning a Carolina Herrera dress into an 80s prom gown. But we were at Stanton Social and this was one of the must-try dishes so I put my ambivalence aside. Again, on the level of purely personal taste, I wasn’t feeling the Worcestershire based sauce (I never do) which is also why I didn’t like the pastry since I soaked up all the flavors of the sauce. The beef was cooked really well though (medium rare) but I was still riding on the memory of the wagyu skirt steak at WD-50 and that steak just set the bar way up there. But my biggest qualm with the dish was with the foie gras which seemed to be completely absent from the dish. I’m not a “I HAVE to order foie gras if its on the menu” person but if I DO order it, I expect it to…well…be there. I couldn’t see it, I couldn’t taste it and trust me, I was REALLY concentrating on my bite. I was rolling the piece in my mouth for a full minute and still, no dice.

(Not worth the calories: Beef Wellington)

Although the food is disappointing, the atmosphere is really great. It’s great for drinks and catching up over a light meal and it’s a place to go to if you’re into the see-and-be-seen loud eateries. The kind of place to meet up but not the kind of place to carry out a deep conversation (good luck battling the noise level). And it’s definitely not a place which gets five stars for its food. Personally, it’s not my kinda place…I’m too old and grouchy for hip places like this. I’ll stick to places like Barbarini Alimentari and I’ll leave Stanton Social to all those Pretty Young Things.

FOOD: 2.5/5
SERVICE: 3/5
ATMOSPHERE: 4.5/5

THE STANTON SOCIAL ($$$)
99 Stanton St.
New York, NY 10002
(212) 995-0099
http://www.thestantonsocial.com

[NYC '09: Dinner, day 3] WD-50: OH MY GOD

(Sesame Bread "Basket")

OMG OMG OMG.

I can’t believe I finally ate at WD-50. This was probably one of the most amazing dining experiences I’ve had thus far. STELLAR stuff. WOW.

I was actually scared that WD-50 would be just riding on the gimmick molecular gastronomy wagon but OMG (that’s going to be the word of this post) the food was amaaaaaaaazing. Hands down the best meal during this trip.

(Corned duck on rye crisp)

I was a little put off at first when the waitress insisted we order an appetizer. I mean, I’ve never been imposed upon by the waitstaff to order so it was a little off-putting. But dayam am I glad she made that suggestion. We ordered the corned duck, rye crisp, purple mustard, horseradish cream ($15) which was my first taste of meat since about half a year ago. The smoked duck was sliced to a paper thin thickness, ensuring maximum tenderness and that melt-in-your-mouth meat was wrapped around my new favorite condiment – mustard. Great flavor combination, and it was especially enhanced by the slight sweet tinge of the filling. It was great stuff but it was definitely overshadowed by…

(Absolutely AMAZING: THIS is eggs benedict!)

THE eggs benedict ($16). This was some trippy-ass shit. It was mind-blowing already as a visual concept. I ate the “egg yolk” by itself at first and thought “meh.” Then I cut off a bit of the fried hollandaise cube, ate that in one bite with the crispy bacon and a bit of the egg yolk and, oh wow…one small bite packed massive flavor. AMAZING.

(Close-up)

(Cutting open the fried hollandaise cube)

We tackled the entrée page right after and this was all the more special for me because it marked my official reentry into the land of meat. Debs ordered the tile fish celery root, wood ear mushroom, chinese sausage consomme ($29) and Sunny took a stab at the pork ribs, fried plantain, hibiscus, jerk consommé ($29). And as for me, I ordered the wagyu beef skirt steak, long bean, tamardine with peanut butter "pasta" ($35).

(Abstract: Tilefish)

(melt-in-your-mouth blocks: pork ribs)

The food at WD-50 isn’t JUST food, they’re works of art. Debs’ tilefish and Sunny’s pork ribs looked like they had popped out from the Guggenheim. My skirt steak was probably the least “abstract” and molecular gastronomy-esque out of the entrees but I totally DID NOT MIND. Seriously, I can’t think of a better way to reenter the meat-eater’s world than with WD-50’s skirt steak. I ordered the steak medium rare and it was cooked to ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. It was literally, melt-in-your-mouth richness. I could tear the beef apart with a fork alone. The flavor was also absolutely on target. The smokey flavor of charred beef shone through while the inner part of the steak was still juicy and moist. I’m sorry, I have to say it again: OMG. The dish came with a side of long beans which had a weird plasticy taste. I’m going to blame it on the tamarind. The other side was the peanut “pasta” which turned out just to be Asian bean curd sheets cut into strips. Distinct peanut taste and an ingenius balance to the heavy, meaty wagyu.

(What perfection tastes like: Wagyu Steak)

Desserts are amazing too. I ordered the coconut (of course!), hazelnut “tart” ($15) and – wow – how do I even explain this? The tart was more a pudding flan than an actual tart. The “crust” wasn’t a crust at all but another layer of custard that rims the filling. The chicory foam was strong and smokey and the hazelnut shavings were sandy bits of sweet sweet goodness. The dessert tasted like a sophisticated Kinder bueno bar – I could eat this forever. Debs ordered jasmine custard, black tea and banana dessert ($15). The banana and jasmine custard was silky smooth and rich. But the “tea” components were the real stars. The desserts were extremely well executed and every single individual component shone through. The meal ended with complimentary ice cream truffles in cocoa nibs. Perfect balance of cool, and smooth vanilla-y sweetness and coarse bitter cocoa. Perfect.

(Coconut + Hazelnut + WD-50 = VERY good times)

(Bring on the tea: Jasmine Custard)

(Truffles in cocoa nibs)

Service swung both ways for me. In general, I thought the service was great. I just didn’t really like our serving waitress. She was pretty cold. But the other waiters/waitresses and the maître d' made up for it. The atmosphere was great as well. It’s nice to be able to have such transcendently fine dining in such a casual, fun environment. I loved every bit of WD-50. And as a icing on the cake, the open kitchen at the back of the restaurant gave me a view of the genius Wylie Dufresne at work ♥

FOOD: 5/5
SERVICE: 4/5
ATMOSPHERE: 4.75/5

WD-50 ($$$)
50 Clinton St.
New York, NY 10002
(212) 477-2900
http://www.wd-50.com

Sushi Masu: Returning to an Old Crush

(THAT'S what I'm talking about)

After the Indonesian extravaganza in East LA, I headed back to the Westside in preparation for an “end of Shakespeare” celebration dinner with Reno. Reservations for two at one of my favorite LA joints – Sushi Masu.

I first fell in love with Masu and his Westside eatery after a kick-ass omakase lunch last year. It was absolutely stellar. Piece upon piece of melt-in-your-mouth goodness was presented to me on small mounds of rice. Needless to say, I was stoked about my “reunion” with Chef Masu.

I opted for ordering a la carte this time around. And, for convenience’s sake, I’ll do a picture by picture run through of my meal. The prices listed are per 2 pieces:

Monkfish Liver ($4.00). Thank God I started with this piece because it was a little disappointing. I’ve actually never had monkfish liver before but I was expecting a kind of deep, rich foie gras-esque flavor. The flavor was actually really mild – it was difficult to actually taste the liver over the rice and nori.

Spanish Mackerel ($4.00). This was one of the specials of the day so, needless to say, it was super fresh. Again, a little on the mild side (which makes it a good opener to the later, more intensely flavored pieces). One thing I love about Masu’s nigiri is the almost perfect fish to rice ratio. Chef Masu is right on target with creating bite-sized nigiri pieces.

Albacore ($4.50). This was a huge, FATTY piece of albacore. I didn’t realize it would be slightly seared. Oh well. This piece was pretty awesome. The taste of the fish really shone through and it was a real jolt of flavor, especially after the earlier, milder tasting pieces. A.W.E-SOME.

Ikura ($4.00). I never used to like ikura. Tobiko was always my favorite sushi but, for some reason, I neglected the tobiko and checked off an order of salmon roe instead. The ikura tonight didn’t “pop” like little flavor bombs but the wonderful saltiness was still there nonetheless. Just, instead of having the flavor bursting out (I had been dreaming of a gastronomic equivalent to the starting riff from The Stones' “Brown Sugar”), the flavor just sort of slowly melted onto my tongue. Not what I had expected but it was good nonetheless.

Seared Salmon ($4.50). THIS was the seal-the-deal piece during my first meal at Masu’s. I had never had seared salmon that was so well done before – it was a perfect balance between super fresh raw salmon and smoked salmon almost. This time around, the seared salmon was still good but nowhere near the first time I had it. It was probably because I left it to the very end and, since food keeps cooking itself even after it’s been removed from the heat, the salmon was a little too much on the seared side by the time I got around to eating it.

The meal was absolutely amazing. Reno also ordered a whole bunch of fish (ten pieces in total, including tuna, salmon, eel, albacore and seared salmon) and the total came out to be $47.00 sans tips. I really can’t think of another place that can compare to Masu’s in terms of quality and value! The meal was almost a steal. On top of that, service was great (as usual). The atmosphere at dinner is definitely a lot better than at lunch. The place is still small and a little cramped though – if you’re planning to go during the weekend, reservations are highly recommended.

I was a little sad that amberjack wasn’t being offered on the menu. I’d also have to make one complaint – Chef Masu was really laying on the ponzu and scallions. Out of the pieces I had, only the ikura didn’t have a splashing of ponzu sauce and chopped scallions. While the little additions helped bring out the fish flavor, by the time I was on to my fifth piece, my tongue was beginning to become overwhelmed especially by the strong scallion taste.

Still, my heart is still married to Chef Masu’s creations. I have less than a month left in LA and hopefully I can fit in time somewhere to visit Sushi Masu one last time before I go.

FOOD: 4.5/5
SERVICE: 4.5/5
ATMOSPHERE: 3.5/5

SUSHI MASU ($$$)
1911 Westwood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 466-4368

Gordon Ramsay. America Bites the Hand that Feeds You.

*For those who do not enjoy reading paragraph upon paragraph of prose (i.e. econ/science/engineering majors), please scroll down to the very bottom.

**NO PICTURES??! That’s right. I’ve decided to forego pictures until I get a Digital SLR. I could get color film for my Canon EOS 5 but then again, it’s always loaded with a half-finished roll of black-and-white. And from personal experience, a SHITTY FOOD PICTURE can do horrible injustice to a restaurant.


THE PROLOGUE

I like to think of myself as being an able eater. That is, I do not order a side salad and pretend that it’s a meal and whenever I say the words “Man, am I full,” it’s tinged with a self-congratulatory smile rather than the guilty mentality that I need to bolt home and do a million crunches.
Given that, one must take into consideration that even Achilles had his weak heel. Yes, I can readily finish a three-person serving of “Crystal Buns” (i.e. Egg custard enrobed by processed carbohydrates); yes, I can gulf down a fatty slice of Susina cake. Yes. But even with all that food cred, I balk at the notion of a slice from Sweet Lady Jane.
A piece of cake from SLJ is made up of roughly 98% sugar and 2% everything (if there IS anything…perhaps food coloring?) else. I was uncomfortably full for a total of 48 hours – and counting – after enduring a slice of their Princess cake. Sure, the cakes are painstakingly decorated but that’s all – there is no other delicacy in its preparation. Sweet Lady Jane is the realization of American brute gluttony – a gluttony which makes even a glutton like me run for the hills and desire to live the next 30 days on nothing but watercress and hummus.

THE STORY

Enter Gordon Ramsay’s.

This place was actually a set-up for personal food skepticism:

1) There’s the danger that the food will suck because the restaurant will try to ride on the mere coattails of its “celebrity’ chef association.
2) Said ‘celebrity chef’ is British and the Americans here are all too ready to lap up anything that is connected with that country. No joke. I have physically witnessed incidents wherein quite physically-attractive American females were excited by deformed male species simply due to the fact that said male species possessed a “British accent”
3) The restaurant is “Asian-fusion” and that in itself is a danger zone, especially in LA.

Having said that, point #3 actually worked out as an advantage – especially given the Sweet Lady Jane incident of two nights prior. Portions were far from stingy but given the “Asian” twist, were also a welcome respite to American sizes. There was also a careful delicacy which is so often absent in American fare; instead of having SALT and FAT as the primary components of savory dishes and SUGAR as the main ingredient of sweet dishes, Ramsay’s took on the eastern tradition of creating strong flavors by BLENDING several subtle ingredients. And for the first time in my life, I was thankful for the existence of “Asian Fusion.”

Despite the London’s awkward location, which, I must confess, I actually liked (it’s sure to shatter some American romantic ideologies when the LONDON hotel is situated right across from Aahs and is two blocks down from Hustler) and its SLIGHT inclination towards the gaudy with its ivory-and-gold interior, the restaurant itself is understatedly refined or, in other words, chic. Padded chairs of cream and subtle pink are positioned around tables set with bouquets of elegant white roses and it’s all done so that there is no “look-but-don’t-touch” sign hanging over the air.

In terms of the food, the confit beet salad with ricotta and endive was a perfect start. I’m big about root veggies so beets were right up my alley. Plus, I could tell that whoever put the salad together took care in how the dish was concocted: the ricotta wasn’t carelessly sprinkled over the salad, which would be too easy. Rather, it was subtly incorporated as the base layer (very unusual…but in a good way) so that I had a bit of creamy ricotta in every bite.

For the main, I opted for the Jerusalem Artichoke Risotto with artichoke chips, black truffle and sherry caramel reduction. I’m still on my meatless diet so I couldn’t get the Ox-Cheek but Sunny and Debs confirmed that the Ox-Cheek was, in their mid-chew words, “Awy-my-gawd. So tendre.” So what about the risotto then? I was a little skeptical at first. It looked like jook (i.e. Chinese porridge which costs an average of HK$1.50 per serving vs. the US$20 that Gordon charged for this dish, a la carte), and it did taste like jook. BUT, it tasted like jook WITH black truffle and isn’t that something to take into consideration? What I really liked about the dish was that the truffle flavor was distinct but yet, wasn’t overpowering to the point where you suspect the chef to have just thrown in a bunch of expensive ingredients with the hope that the LA yuppie crowd would lap it all up. I never bought into the whole Stanley Ho ideology when it came to truffles and other luxury ingredients; my Hong Kong upbringing has taught me that abalone which costs an arm and leg can still taste like classroom eraser while noodles prepared by the wife-beater-adorned old man in Causeway Bay can taste like a bowl of pure gold. And I think this upbringing explains why I liked to risotto as much as I did. That is, because the chef decided to make the common artichoke as much the star as the truffle. A bite of the risotto itself was alright. A bite of the risotto with the artichoke “chips” was effin’ fantastic.

And then came dessert. I was actually most looking forward to this course because: a) it was dessert and b) I was ordering the Coconut Tapioca. For those who don’t know me too well, I am ALLLLL about the coconut. Steamed, raw, baked, fried, rain, shine, winter, spring – I LOVE coconut. And since I firmly believe that the Southeast Asians are the proprietors of coconut preparation, I was more than ecstatic to see “coconut tapioca” on the menu. Not that the dessert (Chilled Coconut Tapioca - with candied ginger, passion fruit and milk chocolate-star anise ice cream) was disgusting or anything – I was more than happy to finish the whole thing – but it just wasn’t coconutty at all. To put it in more understandable terms, it was the exemplum of having ‘too much food on the plate.’ I LOVE coconut. I LOVE tapioca. I LOVE candied ginger. I LOVE milk chocolate ice cream. But if you put it all together…something’s bound to suffer. The dessert was definitely ambitious (and kudos to that) but in trying to combine all those bold Asian flavors, the dish lost any remnant of coconutness. So yes, I would give the dessert five shining stars if it had simply been a ‘chilled tapioca with candied ginger, passion fruit and milk chocolate-star anise ice cream.’ But alas, it was supposed to be a ‘COCONUT repeat-the-long-name-above’ and it didn’t exactly deliver that.

Service was friendly and if I were to name one flaw, it would be that the staff were too eager. And, if anything, that’s a good flaw rather than a bad one. Our waitress explained each dish upon its arrival and I thought it a bonus that they addressed the fact that the mushroom Veloute had short-ribs in it – a perfect demonstration of their concern for those with dietary restrictions.

I finished off the meal with a vat of their coffee which came in an Asian teapot (bonus note: their serve-ware is gorgeous). The coffee cost a hefty $6.00 but there was enough in that pot to satisfy the needs of a college kid during finals week. It was fairly mild though but then again, I didn’t expect much of coffee from a ‘British’ establishment in America (double whammy!)

THE CONCLUSION

All in all, Gordon Ramsay at the London hotel lives up to the hype even though it doesn’t transcend it. Personally, I would contemplate going again if I weren’t trying to fit in all the 238392 restaurants I have to patronize before I leave Los Angeles. Given that though, I would recommend it more as a Lunch Restaurant than a Dinner Restaurant; it’s a Miu Miu, not a Prada. It’s not a diss – after all, who doesn’t love Miu Miu?

FOOD: 4/5
SERVICE: 4.5/5
ATMOSPHERE: 4.5/5

GORDON RAMSAY AT THE LONDON WEST HOLLYWOOD ($$$)
1020 N. San Vicente Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
310.854.1111
thelondonwesthollywood.com

Sushi Masu: The Best Thursday Ever

I hit it lucky again this term and managed to get two days off school. Seriously, having school FIVE days a week last term was waaaaay too much and I don't think I could ever handle that again. But that also means I have 7 hours of back-to-back classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday...but we don't like to talk about that.

Anyhow, I've decided to make good use of my two days off a week and dedicate the time to a new "project". That's right...a new project. Right off the top of my head, I'll label this project "Eating Beyond Wilshire". It sounds very all-expansive but really, without a car, all it really entails is eating down Westwood Blvd and extending down Pico. But that alone should take me a good amount of time anyways.

So, as an informal beginning to my project (after all, I have eaten at several restaurants "beyond" Wilshire already), I went to Sushi Masu. I've read such great things about this place and, more importantly, it's really been a long while since I've been to a REAL sushi joint. You know, places that aren't fusion or called "California Roll" and the likes.

Sushi Masu is a small place. Personally, I prefer small sushi joints...they remind me of the restaurants we'd go to in Japan and I like the relaxed atmosphere that comes in the small package. Plus, I don't know what it is, but the best sushi always seems to come from the tiny hole-in-the-wall places, which Sushi Masu was.

(Amberjack and Seared Tuna Sushi...SO FRIGGIN' GOOD!)

I grabbed a seat at the sushi bar and already, Chef Masu smiled at me and asked "first time here?" I told him I came ESPECIALLY to try this place and his smile grew even bigger as he semi-bowed his head. I fell in love with him already in those 2 minutes. I glanced over to the hand-written daily recommendations and the first thing that caught my eye: LIVE sweet shrimp.

"Live? It's still moving?"
"Yes. You like?"
"That sounds really interesting. But I've never tried..."

Shrimp in hand. Flick of knife. Live sweet shrimp sushi on my plate.
SOOOO good. It's been a long while since I had something THIS fresh.

"Good?"
"VERY good."

Well, the shrimp was the perfect introduction to what this place had to offer...within 5 minutes of meeting him, Chef Masu had already won over my complete trust:

"Give me whatever you think is good today"

A piece of amberjack sushi appeared before me. Into mouth. Melt. Literally. I looked up at Chef Masu, eyes glimmering almost and told him how good that was.

"Next piece even better."

The thing I love about Chef Masu is that he doesn't lie. The next piece - the seared tuna - WAS even better. This was followed by 5 other pieces of the "best sushi I've had in LA so far" (including white tuna and abalone, among others) and a perfectly sweet eel and cucumber hand roll. Every piece I plopped into my mouth induced a huge smile on my face.

My favorite was definitely the seared salmon sushi. I could smell it when Chef Masu was searing it behind the counter and was already excited. Then he placed it in front of me...the way he seared it made it look like a mini piece of art! My excitement rose. Now, the actual eating of it. WOW. I'm still thinking about it right now. The outter part of the fish tasted almost like smoked salmon (which I absolutely love) and just when I was thinking that it was the best thing ever, I was introduced to the melt-in-your-mouth texture and taste of fresh raw salmon. Two of the best forms of salmon in one bite - what more can you ask for? Want to know what love is? It's Chef Masu's seared salmon sushi!!

(Fried Shrimp Head)

And remember that live shrimp I had at the very beginning? They took the head back into the kitchen, fried it, took it back out. Better than fried calamari!! At the end of the meal, I told Chef Masu that the seared salmon was my favorite, to which he replied,

"OK, next time I give you thicker piece".
I'm so looking forward to "next time".

(Rounding off a perfect meal. Chef Masu is an artist!!)
Everything together (including a huge tip for Chef Masu and the friendly waitress) came out to about $45. Like Chef Masu said, I had a "big lunch" today...but it was worth every cent. I was a VERY happy camper.

So yes, that was my "first time" at Sushi Masu. And that's the "first time" to a WHOOOOOOOLE load of more times!!!!

And, to make today even better, after the meal, I nipped into Pink Orchid bakery next door and got a mini tub of Mashti Malone's pistachio ice cream. And, unashamedly finished the whole thing by myself. I rock.

FOOD: 4/5
SERVICE: 4/5
ATMOSPHERE: 3/5

Sushi Masu ($$$)
1911 Westwood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025

(310) 466-4368