Bastide Restaurant
Average user Rating: 93
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Two tasting menus titled simply land and sea offer four to seven courses. Patrons enter through large wooden doors to a courtyard of a few tables. Because of the limited seating, reservations are a must. Also be aware of a strict dress code at one of Los Angeles' most exclusive restaurants.
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93
A wine-lover's paradise
2/22/2010
This is what, the 4th or 5th incarnation of this Los Angeles icon? The location is the same. The service and ambiance are still exemplary. Nowhere else in LA feels so... European, in the way that European Michelin-starred restaurants feel. In my opinion, the food quality went down a couple of notches. But in exchange, you've got bigger portions (not such a big deal to me), lower prices (always good) and the lowest-priced, highest-quality wine menu in the entire USA.
If you know anything about Joe Pytka and the history of Bastide, you will know that this enigmatic owner is unpredicable. Years ago, having tired of simply having the most highly regarded restaurant in Los Angeles, he hired the mercurial Ludo Lefebvre as chef to create what he hoped would be the most cutting-edge and iconic restaurant not only in LA, but all of America. Unfortunately, the Notorious SIV of the LA Times shot that dream down in a public tirade that may be one of the harshest restaurant reviews ever printed. (Funny how 5 years later, a Spanish chef from DC comes up with a similar concept with avant-garde flavor combinations and now magically gets her highest praise. I guess she was just a late adopter.)
Last time I was here, I was purring about the place afterwards. A month later, it closed for more than a year. So what's the verdict?
THE FOOD: Portions are big. In my opinion, a little too big. I like it when I'm always yearning for a little more. My wife and I tried a combination of things off the menu. But the starters and appetizers looked the best and tasted the best. Yellowtail sashimi with shaved vegetables was the highlight of the evening. Great tasting pieces of fish expertly presented with a unique mix of crunchy vegetable slivers. Hama Hama oysters were fresh, and the Banyuls-shallot mignonette was wonderful with the strongly-flavored oysters.
Endive salad was good, but not spectacular. But the asparagus salad was really quite nice, and the portion wasn't huge for a change. For entrees, we ordered the chicken and the lamb shank. Chicken was tender, but fairly straight-forward. Tasted like a sous-vide preparation. Lamb shank was falling off the bone tender, but lacked depth and complexity. Next time, we'll try more of the starters and maybe share just one entree.
But did I mention the wine? The owner is digging into his personal cellar and decided that he wants everyone to enjoy a great bottle of wine, just like you are at his house! Mark-ups are almost non-existent. In fact, you can get many bottles at less than retail. When I first looked at the list, I thought everything was by-the-glass. I've never seen more wine priced at less than $25 per bottle at ANY restaurant, and at a place like this and with Pytka's reputation as a regarded wine collector, you knew that even the $10 bottle must be good.
So what did we have? A bottle of 2002 Sancerre from the legendary French producer Vatan, located on the slopes of the Monts Damnes ($59 and pretty much unobtainable). The taste changed and mutated throughout the evening and went great with the starters and salads. And a bottle of 1995 Armand Clos des Epenots, one of the finest wines of Pommard in Burgundy ($90). Needed more time to open, but was fastastic with the chicken and I still remember the taste today.
That's what I love about Pytka. He's the Mark Cuban of the restaurant business. He's not looking to maximize profit. Instead, he wants to share his love of food and wine with the world. How long this current concept lasts -- no one knows. But take advantage of Joe's wonderful hospitality soon, before he changes his mind again.
Recommended Dishes
All of the starters
93
Bastide (West Hollywood, CA) [2]
2/11/2010
The moniker Bastide, referring to a Provençal country manor, may recall images of bucolic tranquility, but Joe Pytka's seminal Los Angeles eatery of the same name has been anything but. After opening in 2002, the restaurant has seen numerous incarnations of itself, seemingly at the whim of its notoriously mercurial benefactor. Most recently, Pytka closed shop in late 2008, only to reopen (lunch only, tonight was the first dinner service) a year later on December 15, 2009, tacking on a bookstore in the process. Oh Bastide, how do we love thee? Let us count the chefs: Alain Giraud (2000-2004), Ludovic Lefebvre (2004-2006), Walter Manzke (2007-2008), Paul Shoemaker (2008), Joseph Mahon (2009-"Pytka's next whim").
The new menu's short, focused, sensibly-priced. We were told that tasting menus are available with advance notice, but we decided to make our own, ordering one of everything on the carte:
WATERCRESS CUSTARD [$11.00] | MEYER LEMON, WARM GRILLED SHRIMP
The meal got off to a strong start. I loved the interaction here between the simultaneously sweet, briny shrimp and the vegetal tang of the watercress, present here in an almost paste-like form. At the same time, I really appreciated how the olive added a palpable weight on the finish, while the lemon gave things a bright acidity.
SPINACH TART [$9.00] | PANCETTA, CRÈME FRAICHE, HAZELNUTS, FRISEE SALAD
Eating this, I couldn't help but compare the tart to a quiche Florentine! The combination of spinach, cream, and buttery crust was classic, but also immensely effective. Taking things further, the pancetta added a fantastic, salty gravity to the dish, countered by the frisée.
YELLOWTAIL [$14.00] | SHAVED VEGETABLES
The fish itself was delightfully savory, even smoky, with a perfect texture. As good as the yellowtail was on its own, having it with the various vegetables was phenomenal, with the greens providing a fitting foil to the weightiness of the hamachi. I don't hesitate in calling this one of the best preparations of yellowtail sashimi I've ever had.
GRILLED SQUID [$10.00] | CUCUMBER, FENNEL, CRANBERRY BEANS, CHORIZO BUTTER
Fantastic texture on the squid here--I was instantly reminded of the wonderful calamari that I'd had recently over at Julian Serrano. I really enjoyed the squid's faultless combination of sweet and briny flavors, and how the contrasting essences of the beans and cucumber superbly complemented the cephalopod.
SCALLOP [$15.00] | BRAISED CRAB, TOMATO CONFIT, BASIL BROTH
The top of this scallop, in all its Bloomin' Onion-esque glory, was for more than just show. Rather, it resulted in a wondrous textural progression: soft and tender on the bottom, crisp and firm up top. Taste-wise, the use of crab augmented and emboldened the bivalve's natural brininess, while the pungency of the basil formed an effective temper to the sweetness imparted by the tomato.
ONION SOUP [$11.00] | BRAISED BEEF SHANK, KIDNEY BEANS, MARROW TOAST
Think of this as your traditional French onion soup, but better. We're talking about hearty, earthy, rustic, dark, incredibly savory flavors, intermixed with the marked sweetness of caramelized onion. Delicious.
FRISEE [$14.00] | BACON, POACHED EGG, CRISPY CHICKEN THIGHS, SHALLOT VINAIGRETTE
Our first of four salads was your prototypical frisée, done up with fried chicken. The chicken itself was suitably tender and succulent, imbued with a subtly sweet-spicy character to boot. The salad, a great interplay of creamy egg, salty bacon, and light frisée, was similarly delectable on its own. However, I'm not sure if I was quite sold on the pairing of the two elements (but the dish was pretty damn good in any case).
ENDIVE [$15.00] | WALNUTS, WATERCRESS, CABRALES, PLUMS, HONEY-VINAIGRETTE
Here, I loved the juicy, refreshing crispness and brightness of the salad. The relationship of the bitter endive with the sweet fruit was key, while the Cabrales added a pleasantly pungent gravity to things.
ASPARAGUS [$14.00] | HERB SALAD, ALMONDS, MEYER LEMON AIOLI
I'm somewhat of an asparagus slut, so I was looking forward to this one. The asparagus alone was deftly done, and the interaction between the astringent vegetable and the sweet nuttiness of the almonds really worked for me. I certainly didn't mind the tartness of the aioli, either.
BIBB LETTUCE [$11.00] | SHALLOT, FETA, SHERRY VINAIGRETTE
Some very classic flavor profiles at play here. I quite liked the soft, buttery complexion of the lettuce leaves, and how the Bibb formed a base on which the salty feta and wonderfully tangy vinaigrette could shine.
RED WINE RISOTTO [$20.00] | WILD MUSHROOMS, PARMESAN
This really reminded me of a similar "Riso di Valpolicella" I'd had recently at Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder. Imagine cheesy, savory rice, imbued with just a hint of red wine flair, all augmented by the earthy weight of mushrooms. Tasty, but a bit too forward for me.
SALMON [$28.00] | POTATO PUREE, SUGAR SNAP PEAS, PEARL ONIONS, PORT WINE SAUCE
The salmon turned out to be out of my favorites of the meal. I positively adored its fantastically rare, tender consistency (reminding me of a salmon that I'd had at Le Bernardin) and brazenly briny flavor. And the peas? A perfect accoutrement.
COD [$26.00] | ORZO, TURNIPS, CARROTS, ARUGULA, MUSSEL CREAM
Much to my surprise, the cod was actually very light, delicate even, in flavor. Thus, the mussels, with their marked brininess, were instrumental in adding depth and power to the dish. I also appreciated the orzo pasta here, but wasn't so much of a fan of the carrots, which I found overly sweet.
BRAISED LAMB SHANK [$32.00] | COCO BEANS, PRESERVED LEMON, ARUGULA SAUCE
Our first meat course was this imposing-looking lamb leg. As expected for a braised preparation, the meat was falling-off-the-bone tender (I'm not sure if I needed to chew), bursting with rich, dark, fatty, flavors. The beans and arugula, meanwhile, did an admirable job in trying to temper the power of the lamb.
CHICKEN [$27.00] | CELERY ROOT PUREE, RED CABBAGE, BRUSSEL SPROUTS, WHOLE GRAIN MUSTARD-CHICKEN JUS
Next was a tender, silky, straightforward portion of chicken, with an enchantingly savory skin. What did it for me with this dish was the interplay between the bird and the astringent, bitter Brussels sprouts. However, I wasn't a huge fan of the celeriac purée, which I found distracting.
STEAK FRITES [$34.00] | ANCHOVIE BUTTER
We closed with perhaps the quintessential bistro dish. Taken alone, the steak reminded me of a more tender version of the meat that I'd had at Church & State. What set this dish apart, though, was the anchovy butter, which added an intense, fishy saltiness to the beef that I rather enjoyed (not everyone at the table did, however). Frites, meanwhile, were first-rate.
And there we have it. The new Bastide. Gone are the esoteric eccentricities of meals past, replaced with "accessible," top-notch brasserie-inspired food. On one hand, I miss the vagary, the conceit, the no-holds-barred approach of yesteryear, but at the same time, I appreciate, and understand, what Mahon's doing--this is much more than mere "bistro" fare. Bastide is off to an amazingly strong start: every dish was good, many were great. Right here, right now, this just feels right. Welcome back Bastide--don't leave us again.
Full review with photos: http://www.kevineats.com/20 10/02/bastide-west-hollywoo d-ca-2.htm
Recommended Dishes
WATERCRESS CUSTARD, YELLOWTAIL, GRILLED SQUID, ONION SOUP, SALMON , STEAK FRITES
93
12/22/2009
Bastide, version unknown: Refined, Accessible, Tranquile, Brilliant.
Read more from their blog
96
Ambrosial, Delectable, Other Words for Delicious
8/15/2008
CAVEAT: I heard that they changed chefs since I went a couple months ago, so I hope it is still as fabulous. You can only get tasting menus here, either with or without wine pairing, so it is a expensive venture ($500 for two with wine pairing/tip). But it is EXCELLENT. Each course is a work of art and only made with fresh ingredients of the season. They give you a lot of extra free courses, so our 7 courses turned into more like 11 and a 3 hour experience. They accomodate preferences (i.e. vegetarian) and allergies, the service is impeccable, and the patio is the most romantic in LA. Highly recommended for a very special occasion.
93
10/7/2008
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