Dinner at The Bazaar by Jose Andres at SLS Hotel, Beverley Hills

This was our second visit to this Spanish/Latin Tapas Restaurant at the SLS Hotel in Beverley Hills - the last being two years ago. 

Most amazing decor.  You enter directly into the bar which is cleverly curtained off from the restaurant areas - designed by Phillipe Starck of course!  I could just live in the bar area.

Chef Jose Andres is a true genius.

Named “Outstanding Chef” by the James Beard Foundation in 2011, José Andrés is an internationally-recognized culinary innovator, passionate advocate for food and hunger issues, and chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup. TFG is the team responsible for Washington, DC’s renowned dining concepts Jaleo, Zaytinya, Oyamel, Café Atlántico and minibar by josé andrés, as well as Los Angeles’ celebrated destinations, The Bazaar by José Andrés and Saam at the SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills. His latest project at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas features three new restaurants—Jaleo, China Poblano and é by José Andrés. Jose’s ThinkFoodGroup also oversees his creative and cultural endeavors such as cookbooks, television programming, project development, education and philanthropy.
Conde Nast Traveler’s “Hot Restaurateur” in 2011, José is credited with introducing Americans to both avant-garde and traditional Spanish cooking. Born in the northern region of Asturias and raised outside of Barcelona, José chose cooking as his life’s work at the age of 15. He attended the School of Restaurants and Hotels of Barcelona and trained in Michelin-starred restaurants including elBulli with world-renowned Master Chef and friend Ferran Adrià. He made his way to the U.S. and then to DC to work with Rob Wilder and Roberto Alvarez’s Proximo restaurants. Heading up the kitchen at Jaleo, he helped create one of the first critically and commercially successful tapas restaurants in the country, setting the standard for other Spanish and small plate restaurants to follow. Food & Wine hailed José as the “hero of the Spanish revolution,” who “helped create the Spanish food boom in America.” And the New York Times called him “the boy wonder of culinary Washington.” 
With a four-star review from the Los Angeles Times, José made his mark on Los Angeles with the creation of SLS Hotels. ThinkFoodGroup partnered with SBE Hotel Group and designer Philippe Starck to create a new luxury hotel experience. The first property, SLS at Beverly Hills, opened its doors in fall 2008. José and the TFG team oversee the food & beverage program for the hotel, including the signature destination restaurant The Bazaar by José Andrés, named Best New Restaurant of 2009 by Esquire magazine. Zagat gave The Bazaar Top Newcomer in 2009 and honored it as one of the Top Ten Best New Restaurants of the Decade.

Had to have a Fabulous Dirty Martini, and of course an obligatory Magic Mojito with Cotton Candy which tasted great - the Mojito is poured on to the Cotton Candy which melts into the drink.

We then moved to our table with a lovely rounded banquette and proceeded to order way too much.

It is all Tapas, so designed for lots of tastes.  The standouts were:

Philly Cheesesteak (Airbread, cheddar, Wagyu Beef)

and the Hilly Cheesesteak (Air bread, Cheddar, Mushrooms)

It really is Air Bread - completely hollow in the middle.  Delicious.

The Your Life Will Change Dashi Linguini (Parmesan, Quail Egg, Basil) was fabulous. 

 As was the Tortilla de patatas “new way” (Potato foam, Egg 63, Caramelized Onions)

and the Jamones Y Embutidos with Catalan style Toasted Bread and Tomato.

Another standout was the Brussels Sprouts (Lemon purée, Apricots, Grapes, Lemon Air) - truly amazing.

We adjourned to the bar for desert, and shared the Nitro Coconut Floating Island with Passionfruit and Vanilla.

The Patisserie is half the size it was two years ago, but we heard that the pastry chef has since left.


Then had a look around the Regalo - Shop Without Walls which is stocked by Moss. 

 Nothing there I really wanted to buy this time, except maybe the black round tray with a skull embossed in the middle - surprise surprise!

A fabulous experience and fabulous food - very unusual combination.

10/10

Lunch at the Alcove Cafe & Bakery, Los Feliz

Had a quick lunch at Alcove Cafe on Hillhurst Road, Los Feliz.  Very pretty location.

Worth a visit for the location, but can't say we were impressed with the food - or more likely, our choices.  I chose the Fish and Chips (Described as: Fish + chips - Beer Battered Skewered Fresh Cod, Sweet Potato Fries, Pineapple Tartar Dipping Sauce. Think "carnival corndog" but it's fish!)
- big mistake, as the fish was Cod (and the texture like the Smoked Cod your mother force fed you in Australia) squeezed around a bamboo skewer and deep fried.  And the chips were sweet potato chips - very sweet.  But the Pineapple Tartar Sauce was nice.

The other dishes were also very 'fried' and 'cheesy'.  Philly Cheesesteak Panini (Shaved Roast Beef, Caramelized Onions, Sauteed Bell Peppers and Mushrooms, and Pepperjack Cheese with au Jus on the side)

and the Alcove Chili Dog (Chicken-Apple Sausage topped with hearty Texan Chili and Jalapeno Jack Cheese served in a Pretzel roll with Sweet Potato Fries).  But I did see someone with a nice looking salad, and they have an amazing collection of cakes.

5/10.

Mao's Kitchen on Melrose

We do miss the fabulous Asian food we get in Australia, so we can't resist trying any Asian restaurant that looks interesting.  In our travels yesterday which took us near Melrose, we had lunch at Mao's Kitchen.  We had passed the restaurant before, and the name and look of the place was full of promise.

Very trendy interior in a cool downplayed way, full of propaganda posters, polished concrete and timber banquettes, and also an outdoor eating area which does look out on to the car park.  The menu lists dishes like Countryside Commune Eggs, Long March Camp Fry, Shao Mountain Lamb, Mao's Hometown, and a One Dollar Salad (literally).  Service was a little slow, but the Pork Dumplings were worth waiting for. The Black Vinegar dipping sauce was lovely.

We then ordered the Nightmarket Noodles with sliced Pork.  I didn't realise they were served cold, but they came with Chillies, Spring Onions, thick Soy Bean Chilli Sauce and Sesame Seeds on the side for you to add as you wish.  We added the lot, and also added the left over Black Vinegar Sauce from the dumplings to add more flavour as they were a bit bland.  Not bad, but would have preferred hot noodles.

We also ordered the MaPo Tofu (AKA Grandma's Bean Curd), which was deliciously spicy hot and salty - very enjoyable.

I didn't realise they deliver.  I would jump at this and try every dumpling they have.  The Chow Mein and the Chicken in Lettuce Cups looked good too.  Quite cheap - $38 total. 

6/10

Since that visit, we got a whole lot home delivered.  Very disappointing and the order was wrong.   Re marked

5/10

Surprise Lunch

During our travels along Vermont Street towards downtown (near Olympic) in the middle of Korea Town, came across a Korean Restaurant called YongSuSan, so decided to stop and try it.  Wow - what a surprise.  Apparently there are a total of eight, one being in LA. 

We were not sure what to order, so decided on the lunch special so we could taste lots of little dishes. 

Even the porridge to start wasn't too bad (I did ask if we could change for something else on the menu but....).  The dishes didn't come out in the same order as the menu which made it hard to figure out which was which (and although the very courteous waitresses did tell us as they served the dish, the language barrier made it difficult to fully comprehend, particularly when several dishes came out at once).  However, all were really deliciously light and unusual - particularly the cold dishes like the one below -  jellyfish salad with cucumber and radish.  Also a salad with shrimp and thousand year old egg.

Another cold dish was the Kaesun Style Steamed Pork which is pieces of perfectly cooked pork belly (served with soft skin), some spicy crunchy radish and steamed cabbage (like Kim Chi) with a salty shrimp sauce - all served on the same plate.  You take a piece of cabbage, some of the 'pickles', dip the pork in the sauce and roll up.

I particularly enjoyed the Mung Bean pancakes with a Tempura coated Zucchini Slice, the Skewered Sea Scallops - and the King Prawns which were fabulous - sitting in a really light omelette. 

 The Braised Short Ribs were the standout, so tender and the sauce was very tasty.

The Kaesung Style Wrapped Kim Chi was the best I have ever had.  You open the top and eat from the middle.

We were given a choice of our final dish, but we could not understand and even the menu didn't help clarify.  So we opted for the Scorched Rice - which is actually almost burnt rice with hot water on top - not great and rather tasteless.  Should have known when she said 'good for digestion'!  But it came with Soybean Paste w Tofu which was lovely albeit very salty, and some finely sliced fish cake shaped like a triangle - which we added to the crunchy rice for flavour.  The waitress did remark after we failed to finish the rice 'it is very Korean'.

We finished with a Persimmon Punch with Ginger, Cinnamon and Honey.  Full on - but a perfect end.

7.5 - probably more for the surprise!

Los Angeles - September to November

Haven't had a chance to blog lately.  Just become a grandmother and have been in Los Angeles since late September.  Have had some fantastic meals.  To list a few:

Boa on Sunset - amazingly trendy.  In fact the night we were there, Lindsay Lohan's father managed to vomit on some patrons.  Luckily we were nowhere near him, but could see the paps following him as he left (being abused by the wife of the recipient!).  Heaps of other celebrities were there, but to tell the truth, unless someone told me, I wouldn't recognise them.  Director Michael Bay (Armageddon, Pearl Harbour, Transformers) was amongst them and Petra Eccelstone.

None of us felt like an appetiser, just mains (excuse me - Entrees), however we did order the classic Boa Table-Side Classic Caesar to share - prepared in front of us - really delicious.   I ordered the 40 Day Dry Aged New York Strip - perfectly cooked rare/medium.  We ordered way too many sides - Mac-N-Cheese, Hand-Cut Crispy Fries, Creamed Corn, Sauteed Mushrooms and The Onion Brick (Fried Onions).   9/10

We also went to Nobu.   I love their food. 

We had Baked Crab Hand Rolls in Soy Paper, Salmon New Style, Wagyu Beef Tacos, Lobster Ceviche in Lettuce Cups, Yellowtail Fish in Jalapeno, Wagyu on Hot Stone, Kompachi with Artichoke Salsa and White Fish with Dry Miso Rub.  Spectacular.  10/10

Katsuya in Brentwood - also very good.  Master Sushi Chef Katsuya Uechi is indeed a master.  The Phillipe Starck design was amazing.

We had Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno, Seared Tuna with Japanese Salsa, Baked Crab Hand Roll, Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice, Popcorn Shrimp, Miso Marinated Black Cod, Cajun Style Halibut Cheeks.  Nearly as good as Nobu - 9/10.

Yatai (on Sunset), a tiny little restaurant with no signage, just a wooden door.  We had the Tapas Sushi - Baked Crab Hand Roll, Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice Burger, Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna, Nasu-Miso (Japanese Eggplant with Miso Sauce), Crispy Vegetable Gyoza, Popcorn Shrimp and Kingfish with Jalapenos.  All Amazing, particularly the  Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice Burger.     9/10