09/03/2010
The last time we saw Walter Manzke, he was taking us around the world with his Pan-Asian and Pan-European menu at Hatchi.

I really enjoyed that meal as a departure from his previous French bistro digs at Church & State so, when I heard he was guesting at pop-up zeitgeist sensation Test Kitchen, I jumped at a reservation.

To recap, Test Kitchen is the brainchild of Bill Chait, the business mind behind Rivera, and industry insider Brian Saltsburg, a six week pop-up restaurant featuring an ever changing and unannounced line up of well known chefs and mixologists testing out menus and cocktails for future ventures without the constraints of expectation. Ricardo Zarate (of Mo-Chica) provides some continuity in the kitchen by consulting with each chef and will also be testing for his new restaurant Anticucho, which will open above the space now occupied by Test Kitchen. Behind the bar, mixologists Julian Cox (of Rivera and testing for John Sedlar’s new restaurant R26, opening in the old Grace space) and Joel Black (of Caña and testing for the mysteriously named Project 9575) sling cocktails accompanied by guest mixologists for each chef.

When I was last at Jordan Kahn‘s tasting at Test Kitchen, I chatted to Chef Walter Manzke at the bar and asked him if his menu would be along the same lines as his Hatchi tasting or a return to his Bastide/Church & State territory. He was diplomatic and deliberately vague in his answer and, secretly, I was hoping that it would be a return to either classical or contemporary French cuisine. So when I saw a largely Asian inspired menu for the night, I was mildly disappointed. I say mildly because a chance to eat Chef Manzke’s cuisine can hardly be labeled disappointing!
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Recommended Dishes:
Lobster Custard , Porcini Mushroom, White Corn Fritters , Parmesan, basil aioli, Thai Curry-Coconut soup , Maine Lobster, Coconut Tapioca

 
08/31/2010
The zeitgeist is like the G spot.

Sometimes you’re right there and you don’t even know how you found it.

Elusive and ephemeral. But when you hit it, you know.

And so it is with Test Kitchen, the pop-up restaurant without a chef that’s at the intersection of every food fetishist, twitterrati, food blogger, cocktail crawler, taste maker and industry insider’s wet dream.

The lovechild of Bill Chait, the business brains behind Rivera, and industry insider Brian Saltsburg, Test Kitchen is a six week pop-up restaurant featuring an ever changing and unannounced line up of well known chefs and mixologists testing out menus and cocktails for future ventures without the constraints of expectation. Ricardo Zarate (of Mo-Chica) provides some continuity in the kitchen by consulting with each chef and will also be testing for his new restaurant Anticucho, which will open above the space now occupied by Test Kitchen. Behind the bar, mixologists Julian Cox (of Rivera and testing for John Sedlar’s new restaurant R26, opening in the old Grace space) and Joel Black (of Caña and testing for the mysteriously named Project 9575) sling cocktails accompanied by guest mixologists for each chef.

First up at Test Kitchen was the team behind the upcoming contemporary Vietnamese eatery Red Medicine – Chef Jordan Kahn, Managing Partner Noah Ellis, and Bar Manager Matthew Doerr. I didn’t know much about Jordan Kahn prior to this meal, only that he was a hot shot pastry chef (previously of Per Se, Alinea, Michael Mina, XIV) taking on his first non-pastry chef position in LA. And that he was teaming with Adam Fleischman, the man behind the ever growing Umami chain.

The menu would be a 12 course tasting served family style. Priced at $40, it was the most affordable menu to date. Accompanying cocktails were $10, again a relative bargain compared to the other teams.
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Recommended Dishes:
Cured AMBERJACK, lime leaf, french melon, nuoc cham, bird chili, mint, BEEF bavette, bacon X.O., chinese eggplant, chinese celery, lime, palm sugar, sesame, COCONUT bavarois, coffee, thai basil, peanut croquant, chicory

 
08/24/2010
One of my regrets at Church & State was that, on the two occasions I dined there during Chef Walter Manzke’s tenure, he wasn’t in the kitchen.

And on the second visit, I felt that it showed in the food.

Now I’ve eaten at many restaurants with absentee chefs (e.g. John Besh’s August, Tom Colicchio’s Craft, Hubert Keller’s Fleur de Lys, Gordon Ramsay at the London, L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Michael Mina’s Nobhill Tavern, Jose Andre’s The Bazaar, etc) and had no problem with it because I knew the name on the door wasn’t the man behind the stove. But Church & State under Walter Manzke was never intended to be that.

So when Walter Manzke surfaced at Hatchi after he left Church & State, I jumped at the chance knowing he would definitely be in the kitchen.

In a departure from his French bistro fare at Church & State, Chef Manzke decided instead to take diners around the world in eight dishes.
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Recommended Dishes:
Yellowtail Ceviche with Jalapeno and Tomatillo Sorbet, White Corn Curry Soup with Mussels and Coconut Tapioca, Tarte Flambe with Caramelized Onion, Bacon and Gruyere

 
08/10/2010
I’m the antithesis of a meat and potatoes guy.

Which explains why I haven’t set foot in a steakhouse for as long as I can remember.

So it wasn’t until I received an invitation to Fleming’s to try the new additions to their menu that I ended my self-imposed exile.

Now, I’ve always considered Fleming’s the epitome of the steakhouse. But in May of this year they tweaked their menu to offer smaller portion sizes of two “New Classics” (a porcini rubbed filet mignon and a peppercorn steak), two new seafood offerings (a Tillamook Bay petrale sole and a salmon nicoise salad), two new apps (roasted mushroom ravioli and lump crab lettuce wraps), and two new sides.

An attempt to provide more variety, healthier choices and smaller portions, the new menu targets the demographics the steakhouse has lost ground in – women, business people with shrinking expense accounts, and the “not meat and potatoes” crowd.

Which would be me.
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Recommended Dishes:
Roasted mushroom ravioli, Peppercorn steak

 
08/05/2010
Most people come to Vegas to gamble, to party and to sin.

Truth be told, I don’t gamble and I can party much harder and sin far worse in my hometown of Los Angeles than I can in Vegas.

My sin in Vegas is gluttony. Add to that worshipping at the temple of Michelin, whose bright stars cast a long shadow over Vegas, and idolizing the three French gods of cuisine who have set up outposts here (Joel Robuchon, Guy Savoy and Pierre Gagnaire), I’d say I have my fair share of penance to pay.

So it’s surprising, then, that the best meal of my recent trip was neither Michelin starred nor devised in France.

It was at Sage, Shawn McClain’s contemporary American ode to the farm-to-table/artisanal/sus tainable/seasonal ethos.
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Recommended Dishes:
Foie Gras Custard Brulée , Bing Cherries / Toasted Cocoa Nibs / Salted Brioche, Heirloom Beet Salad , Duck Prosciutto / Point Reyes Blue Cheese / Roasted Walnuts / Celery Vinaigrette, Vancouver Island Kusshi Oysters , Piquillo Pepper and Tobasco Sorbet / Aged-Tequila Mignonette

 
08/05/2010
I should learn to be less trusting.

I’ve already learned the hard way not to trust them when they say, “Trust me, I’m a lawyer.” And that’s coming from an ex-lawyer, so you can trust me.

I am inclined to believe “Trust me, I’m a doctor,” and even “Trust me, I’m a Michelin starred chef.”

But I’m starting to question “Trust me, I’m the executive chef at a celebrity chef’s Las Vegas outpost.”

You see, the Chef’s Tasting menu at Fleur de Lys is not listed. You tell them if you have any allergies or if there’s anything you don’t eat. Besides that, you’re in the chef’s hands. In this case, Executive Chef Steve Wolf.

Now, here’s the thing. I’m not really sure if the ever changing chef’s menu is really Chef Hubert Keller’s menu, Chef Wolf’s menu, or Chef Wolf channeling Chef Keller’s menu. So I’m not really sure where to lay the blame for a meal that was, well, hit and miss. Don’t get me wrong, there were some outstanding dishes. But there were also some dishes that missed the mark enough to make me question if they were coming from the same chef.
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Recommended Dishes:
Truffled onion soup / braised duck ragout / shaved black truffles, Veal and Yukon Gold potato ravioli / sunchoke foam / English peas

 
08/05/2010
I came to Vegas looking for sin.

And I found six of the seven deadly ones right here at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon.

Read their decouverte tasting menu and tell me it doesn’t inspire gluttony and greed. Baby Kusshi oysters, Maine lobster, langoustine carpaccio, foie gras stuffed quail with truffled mashed potatoes.

Look at the photos and tell me it doesn’t inspire lust, followed quickly by envy.

Dine here and tell me you don’t feel a tinge of arrogant pride as you consider the buffet-dining hoards.

And enjoy nine perfect courses and tell me your satisfaction is not soon followed by a blissful, slothful afterglow.
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Recommended Dishes:
Poached baby Kusshi oysters with French “Echiré” butter, Foie gras ravioli in a warm chicken broth with herbs, Foie gras stuffed free-range quail with truffled-mashed potatoes

 
08/05/2010
Sometimes you need to go for a full three hours to feel satisfied.

Variation after variation, experimentation upon experimentation. Pushing the boundaries of taste and sensation.

But sometimes you only have 45 minutes to cut to the chase, knock it out and hit the road.

That was the case with Nobhill Tavern.

After consecutive 3 hour tastings at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon and Fleur de Lys over the past two nights, I had 45 minutes for a final meal in Vegas. It was either that or stop on the drive home at Baker or Barstow and their fine dining options are limited. And by limited I mean non-existent. There was no way I was ending my Vegas eating adventure with drive-thru.

And then Nobhill beckoned. Inviting, warm, familiar. And with the promise of quick and easy satisfaction.

Who was I to say no?
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Recommended Dishes:
Braised short ribs, American Kobe burger

 
08/05/2010
Food trucks have become the cable television of the food world.

And I don’t mean that disparagingly.

Remember when cable TV was the last resort of the waning actor? Now it’s common to see big name film stars headlining shows.

And so it’s become with food trucks. From roach coaches that few Angelenos dared eat at to the darlings of the LA food scene. And now, it seems, you increasingly need TV celebrity to launch one.

Susan Feniger (Top Chef Masters) and Mary Sue Milliken have their Border Grill truck, Ludo Lefebvre (Top Chef Masters) has his fried chicken Ludo Truck and now Debbie Lee (Next Food Network Star) has her Korean pub grub Ahn-Joo truck.

Ahn-Joo has been serving the streets of LA for six weeks now but, way back in June, I was invited to their soft rolling. Serving a fusion take on Korean pub food with nary a Korean taco in sight, the menu is broken down into categories of small grub, medium grub, large grub and sweet grub.
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Recommended Dishes:
Korean nachos, Korean fried chicken, Spicy chilled buckwheat noodles

 
04/26/2010
The night started off with hibiscus champagne as is customary at Petrossian. After all, what is caviar without champagne? Or vice versa?

Luckily, this wasn’t a question we needed to answer as the first course to arrive was the much talked about “Caviar Surprise”. King crab and apple cider gelée, topped with a layer of creme fraiche, and topped again with a generous layer of caviar, all served in the distinctive blue Petrossian caviar tin with blinis and toast points. A decadent beginning to the meal, I almost felt bad eating this on camera. The equivalent of an edible “Fuck you” to the recession. The sweetness of the apple cider gelée complemented the brininess of the caviar and the crab, the creme fraiche softening the punch of the dish like a velvet and butterfat glove.
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Recommended Dishes:
Caviar Surprise, Crispy Egg, Vanilla Panna Cotta with Mango and Pop Rocks