Dining Room at the Langham
Average user Rating: 92
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Given one of the few Michellin stars in Los Angeles, the Dining Room at the Langham, formerly the Ritz-Carlton. The old-world décor reflects a European background. It may be slightly dated, but the Dining Room has maintained a quality culinary experience through the years.
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96
8/8/2010
I can't even PRETEND I'm going to write a review about this meal. It's impossible. If I tried, I would consider the resulting review to be an insult to the food and the experience, both of which were incomparable. So I'm just going to write a quick intro and let the pictures speak for themselves.
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Recommended Dishes
Gougère with Caviar Cream, Soft Shell Crab, Vegetables of the Season, Foie Gras Terrine, Pacific Cod, Carrot Cake
96
Running the gamut at The Dining Room
5/29/2010
We arranged to sample all 21 menu items, split between two people. In addition we asked for and were granted the private dining room, which is normally limited to parties of 8 or more.
I had the opportunity to get an early look at The Dining Room under Chef Voltaggio at Hatchi. I remember thinking the food was still a bit rough around the edges and the influence from his time at The Bazaar too apparent. Since then he has grown by leaps and bounds, using some of the same techniques but putting his own personal stamp on the food. I came to the restaurant with high expectations and this meal utterly shattered them. It wasn't just Chef Voltaggio who went all out for this meal but the Sommelier Josh Goldman who paired 21 distinct wines, one for each course. I can't wait to see what the two of them have in store for us at the revamped Dining Room.
Recommended Dishes
Langoustine - White Asparagus, Tiny Eggs, Fried Calamari, Japanese Shima Aji - Jamon Iberico, Sea Sponge, Finger Lime, Garden Harvest - Vegetables of the Season, Warm Burrata, Veal Sweetbreads - Green Olive, Lemon, Romaine Lettuce, Kurobuta Pork Belly - Bok Choy "Kim Chi", Kabocha Squash Preserves, Peanut Butter Powder, Pastrami Pigeon - Swiss Cheese, Sauerkraut, Rye
93
4/7/2010
Who hasn't watched Top Chef? For any avid cable television watcher, the name Voltaggio has become synonymous with Bravo TV's hit reality show, Top Chef. Chef Michael Voltaggio first created national buzz when he was chef de cuisine at The Bazaar by Jose Andres and that buzz grew into a whirlwind of much-deserved fame. Having experienced Chef Voltaggio's amazing food and creative vision at the Bazaar, I followed him (and his brother, Bryan) religiously throughout Top Chef. And, naturally, once I heard of his move to the Dining Room at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena, I knew I had to go... I just needed a special occasion. So, what better timing than my birthday? My best friend treated me out to a wonderful meal at the Dining Room for my birthday and I couldn't have asked for a better present!
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93
The Dining Room at The Langham (Pasadena, CA) [2]
3/6/2010
My last visit here was in August of last year, shortly after Michael Voltaggio had replaced Craig Strong in the kitchen. The Dining Room was scheduled to shutter for renovations at the end of summer 2009, but due to Voltaggio's win on Top Chef, the restaurant has remained open to capitalize on Voltaggio's newfound fame. Renovations have currently been pushed back to Q3 2010. I definitely had planned on coming back prior to the closure, and I was recently presented with the perfect opportunity: the startup that some friends of mine worked for was about to get acquired. A celebratory dinner, thus, was called for.
The standard menu just wouldn't do, so we requested to run the gamut, getting a taste of all 21 courses on the menu, paired with a mind-boggling assortment of 21 libations, courtesy of new Sommelier Josh Goldman.
1: Japanese Shima Aji | Jamon Iberico, Sea Sponge, Finger Lime
The gauntlet of courses started with a shima aji, or striped jack, sashimi, done up in a somewhat crudo-inspired style. Taking the fish alone, I really appreciated the tartness imparted upon it by the finger lime. The best part of this, though, was the use of Jamón Ibérico, which added a fantastic saltiness to counter the relatively restrained flavor of the jack. The "sea sponge," meanwhile, with its mirin and dashi verve, contributed a briny, umami-tinged finish to the course.
2: Langoustine | White Asparagus, Tiny Eggs, Fried Calamari
Next up was perhaps some of the best langoustine I've ever had. Its texture was just fantastic--soft, snappy, supple--while the taste was delicately sweet, lightly sea-tinged. The eggs added an appropriately luxurious complement, while the squid ink-tinted asparagus' bitterness also made itself known. The star here, however, was the calamari--crisp, crunchy, and absolutely bursting in salty savor.
3: Garden Harvest | Vegetables of the Season, Warm Burrata
This was an interesting course, and not one that I'd exactly expect from Voltaggio. It harkens back to other Gargouillou/Michel Bras-inspired vegetable compositions such as David Kinch's signature "Into the Vegetable Garden," Paul Liebrandt’s "From the Garden," and Daniel Patterson's "Garden, Late Fall." Made with a whopping 20 types of veggies and supplemented by vegetable gelée, sherry vinaigrette, harissa paste, burrata, and cardamom-coffee soil, it was an intriguing exposition of disparate tastes and textures, a cacophonous symphony of savory-bitter-sweet.. One the highlights of the meal for me.
4: Octopus | Buttered Popcorn, Piquillo Confetti, Cilantro
I adored the octopus' firm, yet yielding consistency here, along with its mildly sweet flavor, perked up with the subtle heat of piquillo pepper. Meanwhile, the popcorn purée added a palpable weight to the course, but was a touch too buttery for me.
5: Tasmanian Sea Trout | Hibiscus, Pink Peppercorn, Puffed Mushroom Cracker
I loved how the fish itself was cooked--rare, raw almost, with a nearly gelatinous consistency and a biting, briny sapor. Besides the fish, I really appreciated the porcini crackers, which lent an earthy finish to the course, and which made for a great crispy textural element. The hibiscus air, however, was considerably more jarring, a bit disconcerting even; I was sort of ambivalent.
6: Foie Gras "Chaud" | Celery, Medjool Date, Mustard Sabayon
Next, Chef Voltaggio wanted to demonstrate two foie dishes--hot 'n' cold (get thoughts of Katy Perry out of your head)--side by side. Now, regular readers will know that I'm somewhat of a terrine slut, so imagine my surprise when I actually preferred the chaud. It was one of the best hot foie gras I'd ever had, in fact. I appreciated its fabulously finespun foie flavor, and how the astringency of the celery (a veggie I usually abhor) formed a faultless foil to the gravity of the liver. Fantastic.
7: Foie Gras "Froid" | Apple, Saffron, Marcona Almond, Aerated Brioche
For the cold preparation, Voltaggio presented a seemingly simple cylinder of foie, accompanied by sous vide apples in saffron syrup, grated Marcona almonds, and the Chef's famous microwaved nitrous oxide brioche. However, penetrate the terrine, and you'll release a deluge of apple juice and vanilla, making for an amalgam of counterbalancing sweet and salty flavors. The light, fluffy brioche, thus, acts the part of a tempering element, sopping up all the goodness on the plate.
8: Kurobuta Pork Belly | Bok Choy "Kim Chi", Kabocha Squash Preserves, Peanut Butter Powder
Kurobuta Pork Belly--is there any ingredient that's more played out? Perhaps not, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this was a simply outstanding example, one of the best I've had, in fact. I loved the use of kimchi, and how it, profuse in piquant spice, steadfastly stood up to the heft of the belly--a perfect counterweight. This was easily the best use of kimchi I've seen in a non-Korean setting.
9: Veal Sweetbreads | Green Olive, Lemon, Romaine Lettuce
The sweetbreads, chiseled into cuboid form, could've been mistaken for the pork belly above. Flavor-wise, though, they were quite distinct. This was much more in-your-face, dense and buttery, with plenty of that signature sweetbread savor, perked up by the sourness of the lemon and the bitterness of the olive "caviar." The key here, though, was the romaine, which served as a light, juicy, crispy counterpoint to the weightiness of the veal--it absolutely made the dish for me.
10: Jidori Chicken | Winter Truffles, Egg, Sunflower Root, Sunflower Seeds
Yes, though it may not look the part, this was indeed a chicken dish. Truffle and slow poached egg is almost unavoidably a winning combination, and this was no exception. Their classic, heady flavors were apt complements to the relatively subdued chicken, which took on more of a supporting role in the dish. The use of sunflower seeds, meanwhile, provided a lovely nutty punctuation to complete the course.
11: Pastrami Pigeon | Swiss Cheese, Sauerkraut, Rye
This was the one course that was repeated from my last visit, and I'm happy to report that it was definitely improved this time around. It was a bolder, more balanced dish, with the delectable, spicy cured pigeon beautifully complemented by the cubes of sauerkraut gelée and heightened by the pieces of puffed Swiss. This pigeon, a Moto-esque deconstruction of a Reuben sandwich, is quickly becoming one of Voltaggio's signature dishes, and with good reason!
12: Mediterranean Sea Bass | Mussels Billi-bi, Fennel, Quinoa
Here we have a expertly prepared cut of seabass, semi-flaky and supple in body, with a softly briny flavor, and a delectably crisp, savory skin. I wasn't in love with the quinoa, but I did appreciate the billi-bi, along with the pungency of the fennel, which played nicely with the spicy-strawberry flavors of the paired rosé.
***For courses 13 through 21, please refer to the link below.***
When I look back and compare this dinner to my first visit to The Dining Room, it's obvious that Voltaggio has experienced some real growth in his cooking. The food is undeniably more confident, more focused, more self-assured--the Chef has really come into his own here. The result, quite simply, was a meal of epic proportions--somewhat cerebral, but not esoteric, approachable. In fact, if Michelin were still around, two stars would not surprise me for arguably the most progressive cookery in Los Angeles.
Full review with photos: http://www.kevineats.com/20 10/02/dining-room-at-langha m-pasadena-ca-2.htm
Recommended Dishes
Garden Harvest, Foie Gras "Chaud", Kurobuta Pork Belly, Pastrami Pigeon, Jamison Farm Lamb, Milk-Fed Veal Breast
85
Didn't quite live up to the hype
2/10/2010
The Dining Room at the Langham is one of the toughest tables to book right now in Los Angeles, thanks to chef Michael Voltaggio's fame. For some reason, I pretty much missed that entire season of Top Chef, so I didn't go in star-struck. Arrived late because of the heavy rain storms and found the restaurant to be strangely half full because Angelinos melt in the rain.
The menu has changed, and is now divided into "beginning, middle and end." It's $79 for a four-course meal (2 beginning, 1 middle and 1 end) and $95 for a five-course (adds 1 more middle). Or you can go all-out for a 7-course chef tasting for $125.
A group of 4 ordered a variety of things off the menu. The formal atmosphere reminded me of a starred Michelin restaurant in France, which is the first time I've ever felt anything so formal in LA. Not my preference.
Autumn vegetables were beautifully presented, good comination of flavors. Foie gras was just OK. A terrine with apple essence in the middle. Langoustines were excellent (I heard), and the Pastrami pigeon itself was good, reminded us of Chinese cha-shu though, but with the "wine" pairing, the combination was memorable.
That was a consistent theme throughout our dinner. The new sommelier had just arrived from Church & State, and he just has a magic touch. Definitely go with the optional "wine" pairings, because some of the combinations will blow your mind. And it's not always wine -- he throws in some sherry, rare Belgian ale, even a French Arbois which tastes like a semi-dry sherry to pair with the Autumn vegetables which was something I couldn't fathom.
So for the "middle" courses, we tried the lamb, turbot, sea bass and veal cheeks. They were all decent, the lamb and sea bass were probably the best. But in general, the food did not stand out by itself. Considering the price and hype, I probably would have rated the food a B- or lower by itself. The reason is that the flavors tend to blend together. When you read the descriptions on the menu, it seemed like there would be an explosion, a kaleidescope of flavors (like many of Ludo's dishes). Instead, you tend to get one medium tone. Often harmonius, yes, but a little flat. But you add in the wine, and voilla! Kaleidescope!
So pretty hard for me to judge this restaurant. Would I go back? Probably not. The food itself wasn't overly impressive, the atmosphere is incredibly stuffy (unless it's warm and you sit on the balcony), but the sommelier gets an A+.
Recommended Dishes
Autum harvest, langoustines , pastrami piegeon, lamb
93
2/9/2010
The Dining Room was mostly empty when we arrived for our 7 PM reservation, save for a handful of couples eating quietly and speaking in hushed tones. The Astronomer and I were seated quickly and with a smile by the hostess. As expected, the room's decor was dated and stuffy. The green paisley wallpaper was the sole bright note in a sea of dark cherry wood and framed pictures of ships. Renovations are currently in the works to transform the space into one fitting of Chef Voltaggio's modern cuisine.
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Recommended Dishes
foie gras with saffron-poached apples, crushed Marcona almonds, and aerated brioche
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