Month: January 2020

January 27, 2020

Vespertine — Los Angeles (11/2019)

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When Vespertine first opened, I was very interested in trying to dine there.  But, as I don’t get to Los Angeles that often, I put off making any arrangements for reservations.  As time went on, I had heard and read mixed things about the experience.  Recently, I decided to plan a trip to Southern California and found it easy enough to include a night in LA. This gave me the chance to try them out. They book through Tock with pre-paid reservations, and like many restaurants, do not make provisions for booking solo diners.  I’ve learned to ask, and I discovered that they were open to solo diners.  So, I selected a date and time and they sent me a link so that I could make the required pre-payment.  Ultimately, a friend decided to join me, so it was easy to add him to the reservation.

The restaurant occupies an entire 4-story building in an “artsy” area of Culver City.  As I knew that the experience including dining in various locations, including the roof, I selected an early-evening seating.  I hoped for a nice sunset view from the roof of what is sometimes called “The Waffle Building.”  When Michelin recently re-rated Los Angeles restaurants in their initial state-wide guide, they gave Vespertine two stars.

Upon arrival, we checked in with a staff person waiting outside in the parking lot/courtyard garden area.  We were checked in and shown to some stone-benches in a garden organized into several seating areas.  We were offered sparkling birch juice while we waited (we were early). 

We were taken inside through the first floor area (shown above) and directed into the elevetor destined for the 3rd floor.  We exited and were promptly greeted by the chef standing in front of the kitchen area.  He told us a little bit about the restaurant and the dining experience they attempt to create.  We were then led to some stairs that took us outside the building to go up to the semi-enclosed roof area.

This panorama shot was taken as we were seated.

We were offered birch juice when we were seated. 

We were then asked if we wanted either the alcoholic or non-alcoholic opening beverage.  We chose one of each.  The alcoholic one was an aromatized white wine that has been infused with the shoots of coastal redwood.  The other was similarly composed using a Gewürztraminer grape juice instead.

The first bite had already been sitting in front of us on the table.  We each had a tree branch on which Santa Barbara sea lettuce and Monterey giant kelp were hanging (in the form of crisps) and served with a chickpea dip (“chips and dip”).  The fermented chickpea was covered with the leaves of Silver Falls dichondra.

The next bite was a savory roasted yeast cookie brushed with black currant spread and garnished with wildflowers. This was inside this ceramic two-piece container.  We each took a half.

This bite started with caramelized milk bread wrapped in a “leather” of black garlic and brushed with smoked cheese.  On top were slices of king trumpet mushrooms.  There was a soft crunchiness and chewiness to the dish, with a savory and slightly sweet flavor.

After these snacks had been served, we were escorted down two floors to the main dining area.

For the full write-up, click here.

January 8, 2020

Atomix 3rd Visit — New York City (9/2019)

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Over my last two visits to Atomix, I found the menu continuing to evolve in a favorable direction.  So, I wanted to continue exploring what they have to offer with an end-of-summer bridging-to-fall menu. As before, each dining party was brought downstairs to the dining room to be seated individually (along with any drinks ordered while upstairs waiting at the bar). 

Soon after being seated, each party is presented with an initial small bite.  For this evening, it was King crab on a white seaweed cracker with a little pepper jam on top (giving it a slight hot spiciness).

The beverage and wine-by-the-glass menus changed a bit since my last visit.  For this dinner, I decided to start with their house kombucha (magnolia).  I would then move on to a glass of wine (the 1999 Pinot Noir from Burgundy).

The next small bite was savory corn meringue filled with foie gras and topped  with red chili.

I was then prompted to select a set of chopsticks to use for the evening.

As before, each course was preceded by the presentation of a card describing in detail the ingredients of the upcoming course, a history of where the dish came from, and what it represented to the chef.  The artwork this time was an abstract representation of the main ingredient for the dish.  As always, the ceramicist for each plate or bowl was listed as well.

The opening dish featured Japanese grouper, served raw with fig dressing, fermented green blueberries, buckwheat oil, fresh figs and a citrus lace.  The blueberries added a nice chewy texture to the dish.

The raw vegetable course had cucumber at the bottom topped with some smoked eel mouse and a glaze of elderberry and ramp.  There was a dashi of cucumber and eel and this was all finished with hybrid Kaluga caviar.  Serving the dish on ice kept the cucumber cold and crunchy.  The caviar served to provide a different texture and a nice way to season the dish with some salt flavor.

The cooked vegetable course had smoked eggplant prepared with yondu (a vegetable umami seasoning) and lemon made into a purée.  This was served with braised New Zealand abalone, an abalone liver sauce, and a gel of eggplant and tomato dashi.  The dish was finished with Japanese sea grapes, wasabi oil, and some fresh wasabi leaves.

For the full write-up, click here.

January 8, 2020

Nomad PDX 3rd Visit — Portland, OR (8/2019)

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After my first two visits to Nomad PDX, I had decided I did not need to go back.  While the food was generally good with some interesting and innovative dishes, they served too much food (too many courses) without much to tie everything together as a menu.  Recently, I had read that the format had been revamped some.  Since I was going to be in Portland anyway, I decided to give Nomad PDX another try.

Upon arrival, I noticed right away that the seating had been changed significantly.  Instead of a U-shaped counter setup, there was now just a table in the kitchen.  Upon being seated, there was a menu in place, and I could see that it was much shorter than in prior visits.  They also had an array of interesting cocktails and wines on offer.  The other half of the space is still a bar, but they had closed it for the Friday evening to allow for staff-cross training in the restaurant.

To start, they offered a complimentary pouring of Oregon sparkling Nebbiolo.

The first presentation was Leche de Tigre, a Peruvian style of ceviche.  The thick, creamy and slightly spicy mixture included lemon, lime, coriander, and chilis (the chef never identified the specific proteins). On top was a sushi rice puffed chip that had been colored with squid ink.  The texture combination was nice.

I had never seen a Pinot Meunière offered as a varietal by the glass, so I decided to try their 2017 Oregon one.

The next course featured lightly pickled nectarines, served with some Padrón pepper pieces.  Underneath was a sweet corn custard.  On top were some nasturtium petals.

This dish was the chef’s take on a caprese salad.  Upon lifting the lid, applewood smoke was released.   Inside was tomato gelée, blanched tomatoes, mozzarella cream, and fresh basil.

This course had wax beans as the main ingredient.  They were very lightly cooked and sliced very thin.  They were topped with a clarified charcoal oil (white-hot Japanese charcoal dropped in grapeseed oil), dots of yuzu gel, a thin slice of lardo, and dried yogurt powder. The flavors and textures reflected summer nicely.

For the full write-up, click here.

January 8, 2020

Farm Spirit 8th Visit — Portland, OR (8/2019)

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It had been about a year since my last visit to Farm Spirit.  I had shifted my trips to the Northwest to Seattle.  In doing so, I had forgotten how much I liked Farm Sprit.  In the meantime, they moved to a new location on a parallel street not far from the original location.  They have a bigger space, so there are tables where diners can make reservations  (which are taken on a staggered schedule).  The food is still served in a tasting menu format.  Additionally, there is a Chef’s Counter in front of the kitchen where they have two seatings an evening of 8 (they will accept solo diners).  The menu is slightly longer with a slightly higher price than at the tables. Pre-paid reservations are taken via Tock.

Upon seating us all, they started by offering a small bottle of cantaloupe and currant kefir.

The pairings offered were shown on the first page of the menu.  I had pre-ordered the non-alcoholic pairings.  You can decide at the restaurant for a selection, if desired.

Next, they served a piece of Tabor Mill rye grain bread with aubergine “butter”, which had some roasted eggplant ash and breadcrumbs sprinkled on top.

This was soon followed by a plate with a baked potato glazed in shitake mushroom gel and topped with summer flowers and herbs (including dill), a strip of roasted yeast emulsion, a torched cucumber with wildflower vinegar and topped with a foraged flower, and pickled mouse melons (which are a type of cucumber).

The first beverage pairing was a rose petal and black pepper kombucha.

This first real menu course was tomatoes torched then peeled.  These were sauced with a tomato dashi made with the tomato skins and scraps, dried mushrooms and seaweed. Succulents, including Malabar spinach (not a true spinach but has a similar flavor), purslane and sea beans, were the garnishes on top.  Just underneath the garnishes were some gypsy pepper purée and pickled mustard seeds.  The combination made for a very tasty dish, especially with the finishing touch of seaweed and lime oil.

For the full write-up, click here.