First off, the menu is huge. Four panels, and pretty much everything sounded good. Working under the assumption that there were only so many tapas we could reasonably consume, we decided to stick with 6, plus dessert of course!
First: olives, traditional and modern. The traditional were green and stuffed with anchovy and pimento, the modern were those burst-in-your-mouth chemistry masterpieces for which JA is so famous. I politely abstained from this one, due to my disdain for olives, but Pat and Laura very much enjoyed them. Believe it or not, Pat said the ones we had at Artisa kitchen were better, although they were not as pretty.
Second dish: Tortilla de patatas, "new way”." This was Laura's selection and she totally won for best choice of the night. It was served in an egg shell with a miniature wooden spoon; given my love for all things mini, I was sold before I even tasted it. But when I did...WOW. Bottom was caramelized onion jam, layered with a goopy, partially cooked egg, potato foam, and little toasty hash brown tasting things on top. You must order this if you go.
Third up were the Japanese tacos, with eel, a tiny bit of wasabi, and shiso, all wrapped up in a thin slice of cucumber. My only complaint is that these were not sandwich-sized, because I'm pretty sure I could have eaten about 10 of them, given the opportunity.
Fourth, brussels sprouts, with some tiny chunks of dried apricots, olive oil, and "lemon air." This was okay. The chef went a bit heavy on the lemon, but the sprouts were cooked well...not a hint of bitterness. They had already been basically taken apart for us, which I was disappointed by--I love the feeling of the layers squishing around in my mouth.
Fifth, buñuelos -- codfish fritters with honey aioli. This is how cod should taste--not at all fishy; the insides were almost crabcake-like in their consistency. Sadly, I don't think the fryer was at the right temperature...the fritters were not at all crispy.
Last, at my insistence, were the “"Philly cheesesteak”s." A crunchy, hollow bun filled (not entirely, though) with a foamy, liquid cheddar, and topped with thin slices of Wagyu beef. These were actually the reason we went to the Bazaar, and they did not disappoint! Pat said it was the best cheddar he had ever had, as he licked the drippings from his fingers. :)
For dessert, they moved us indoors to this creepy, Alice in Wonderland-type candy shop. Pat and I split the "warm chocolate heart," which was basically a chocolate lava cake that was not too sweet and spiked with coffee. The best part was the cardamom creme. HEART cardamom. Laura got a raspberry lolli, which she seemed happy with.
Other things about the restaurant: service was...hit and miss. They took the time to explain what each dish was, but it took forever for us to get a chance to place our order. After we had done so, though, tapas came out quickly and not all at once, which I appreciated. The decor is bizarre...I wonder if the decorator was having fun with puns? Anyway, trippy and we did not like.
Finally, I must point out that, if you are a hungry, growing boy, I recommend you have a snack prior or plan on forking over a wad for dinner. After 6 tapas and dessert, Pat still had to have a bowl of cereal to fill his happy, but not satiated tummy. I secretly wish he had said something at dinner...there were sea urchin sandwiches and Ottoman carrot fritters with my name on them! (portions x-posted to yelp.com)
The egg and japanese tacos were out of this world. If I ever go back, I will simply get five orders of each of those two.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, since I am familiar with Jose Andres' small plates, I did want to order bread but Margaux vetoed the $20 bread basket...which is odd since I was treating!
And, yes, the decor was very strange (but, hey, its LA...).
Pat
PS I allowed Margaux to break the no-picture-of-our-food-at-nice-restaurants rule since the service was so slow, so enjoy the pics!