Beginning of service. Among those huddled are chefs with whom Marcel Vigneron has worked at The Bazaar by Jose Andres ("My Last Bite" says he quit and now runs his own catering company, Modern Global Tastings). Those friendlies who introduced themselves to me: to the right of Marcel, Jarrid Massey, and to the far right, Cole Dickinson.
Coconut Margarita, on the Cocktail Menu designed by Devin Espinosa, Mixologist at The Tasting Kitchen, Venice, CA. A delightful and smooth, well balanced cocktail. Just right.
AMUSE BOUCHE: Pomegranate blueberry spherification. More texturally complex than your typical spherification (Did I just say "typical spherification"?).
HAMACHI SASHIMI: espelette, momo chan, kumquat, iceplant.
DAYBOAT SCALLOP: cauliflower couscous, seaweed.
LANGOUSTINE RAVIOLI: thom khai, avocado wrapped mango, petite basil, coconut milk powder.
Detail of mango-filled avocado. More delights on the interior.
LYONAISE SALAD: frisee, "nesting" egg, bacon, sherry vinaigrette, endive.
MISOHONEY BLACK COD: nasturtium textures, sesame oil powder, broth (before the pouring of broth).
After the pouring of broth.
VADOUVAN LAMB: flavors of tzatziki, lavosh, pickled onion, sumac.
GRASS-FED "CORNED BEEF": sous vide short rib, textures of corn, Saul's pastrami, black trumpets.
SOUFFLE: green chartreuse.
HAMACHI SASHIMI: espelette, momo chan, kumquat, iceplant.One of my favorite flavor combinations. The momo chan--a revelation. This ingredient has appeared on the menu at Saam at The Bazaar.
DAYBOAT SCALLOP: cauliflower couscous, seaweed.Most delightful are the candy-colored dollops. They play mind games. Are these different flavors or the same? The colors throw one off. Ha!
LANGOUSTINE RAVIOLI: thom khai, avocado wrapped mango, petite basil, coconut milk powder.A partly Eurasian concept, I thought, as the raviolo tasted like Chinese har gow and the thom kai was reminiscent of both uni and truffles--at least to this jaded palate. Cool!
Detail of mango-filled avocado. More delights on the interior.
Detail of interior of langoustine raviolo. The source of "har gow"ness.
LYONAISE SALAD: frisee, "nesting" egg, bacon, sherry vinaigrette, endive.The "nesting" egg was witty.
MISOHONEY BLACK COD: nasturtium textures, sesame oil powder, broth (before the pouring of broth).Yummy miso basil taste. Not sure if this impression is an accurate reflection of ingredients. Am wondering if "misohoney" is supposed to be punny, or if I am reading too much in....
After the pouring of broth.
VADOUVAN LAMB: flavors of tzatziki, lavosh, pickled onion, sumac.Wild. The lamb looks raw, but tastes fantastic, luscious lamby flavor. Marcel is wonderful also at what I call "plate landscaping." This is a style of plating whereby one gets the impression that, if one were miniturized enough to walk on one's plate, one would feel charmed and delighted, as if walking about a garden in the (English) picturesque mode. An excellent practitioner of this style is Grant Achatz of Alinea.
GRASS-FED "CORNED BEEF": sous vide short rib, textures of corn, Saul's pastrami, black trumpets.More humor here. The beef gets its animal friendly grass feeding, while the corn used to stuff the less fortunate cattle gets its proper place as an accompaniment. Order has been restored.
Also here, more lusciously cooked meat. Outstanding, this one. And possibly the best plate landscaping of the night (but there is much competition). Note: This is not a view of the presentation side, but rather an attempt to show the most in the photo.
SOUFFLE: green chartreuse.I could barely finish it, but this was delicious, too. Nice send off.
Copyright 2009 Alison Pearlman. All rights reserved.
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