Cosme review

December 30, 2014January 2, 2015 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

While much of New York had been in a state of near apoplectic delirium as it anticipated the opening of Mexico City master-chef Enrique Olvera’s newest dining sensation Cosme, I have to confess that I also smooshed my nose against the glass on more than one occasion as I’d walk past the former sleazy strip bar (or “gentlemens club”) to witness the progress. Thankfully the space bears absolutely no resemblance to its former existence. Instead Olvera’s team has created a sleek and moody, dark gray, L-shaped room with sparse lighting, bright wooden surfaces and eye-level racks of wine. In the off chance that there might still be an open ear for improvements, I would make a plea for some desperately needed sound-absorptive materials. Hidden fabric ceiling panels, cushions, rugs…anything to facilitate hearing some of the intricate preparation details from the authentically accented wait staff.

I think it’s imperative to point out that if you’re expecting a typical taco/burrito/quesadilla dinner, you wouldn’t be reading a review by me. Chef Olvera’s menu is the culmination of homegrown authenticity combined with unexpected and unusual international preparations that elevate Mexican cuisine into the culinary stratosphere. The flavoring is bold – but not blunt. The dishes are diverse – but not random. The presentation is full of bright contrasts, but still very appetizing and approachable.

Occidental Heirloom Blue-corn Tortillas with Pumpkin seed and Habanero butter

Instead of bread and butter, they serve a heavenly (yet modest) portion (I was obliged with three subsequent follow-ups) of Occidental Heirloom blue corn Tortillas, that have been dried and freshly fried until they deliver a deeply earthy and dark purple crunch with a curry colored paste of pumpkin seed, garlic, habanero peppers and butter – the perfect introduction to the dozen or so appetizers ranging from sea urchins to eggplants.

Seafood vuelve a la vida

I am a huge fan of ceviche, but no one ever served me a Seafood vuelve a la vida (comes back to life) inside an avocado before. The combination of sweet tomato and horseradish, with morsels of fish inside the cocoon of a creamy avocado is utterly simple, remarkable and wonderful. We had to try the much bleated about Burrata with salsa verde and “weeds”, which is another confident combination of simple flavors and fresh textures that might crisscross multiple borders, but delivers flawlessly nonetheless. The only disappointments to the daily printed menu were the Chicharones which were quizzically sold out by 7:00pm, and our first two wine choices were both temporarily un-locatable, but the main courses proved to be fierce distractions.

Back garlic rubbed NY Strip Steak

It was a fairly close call for the Broiled Red Snapper with a Hoja Santa salsa and plantains, but I ended up settling on the magnificent Black garlic rubbed New York strip steak. Hiding between the rare seared domino sized medallions of tender steak was one of the rare appearances of guacamole in the entire establishment. I had no idea that the über-popular green dip was such a red-headed stepchild, that it needed to be disguised as “avocado purée”! Velvety smooth and finished with tarragon and spiked with wasabi, who cares what they called it – to me it was absolutely delicious.

Duck Carnitas

The most popular dish has to be the Duck Carnitas – and with good reason. The boneless breast of succulent, salty duck literally tears apart with little more than a suggestion, before being inserted snugly into warm, fresh tortillas along with white onions and a citrusy salsa verde. They describe it as a sharable dish, but that depends on the familiarity of your fellow diners.

Husk Meringue

Olvera’s contra-ordinary prowess shifts ceaselessly into the desserts. His two fluffy Husk Meringue halves are actually made from dried, ground corn-husks, which are separated by a surprisingly light and airy mound of corn and mascarpone mousse (although a dose of liquid nitrogen can even make me light and airy) but the dominant sweet and subtle savory combination is the work of a flavor maestro who knows what he’s doing. Also taste-worthy is the unpronounceable yet utterly caramelicious Nixtamalized Carrot paired with a cinnamon cake and sweet-tart cream-cheese ice cream.

Nixtamalized Carrot with Cinnamon Cake

Even though Enrique Olvera named Cosme after his favorite obsession – the cosmos, in my mind the man wasn’t just reaching for the stars – he seems to have clutched a few fistfuls before bringing them down to the Flatiron district to share with the rest of us.

http://www.cosmenyc.com/

Hinoki and the Bird, Los Angeles review

December 7, 2014December 7, 2014 / Roger Hyde / 1 Comment

Hinoki scented Black Cod

Tucked away beneath a condo tower just beyond the eastern edge of the 20^th Century Fox backlot, you might discover one of the greatest stars this town has ever unveiled. Hinoki and the Bird – brainchild of Sona and Comme Ca chef David Myers and Kuniko Yagi, (a waitress-becomes-a-chef success story of her own) is a surprise-filled candy-box of an east-meets-west bistro defying any other SoCal dining experiences heretofore.

Hinoki and the Bird, Los Angeles

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I was struck by the expanse of unfinished Japanese cedar wood planks (Hinoki) lining the walls, doors and floors, that under less subtle direction might have resembled the inside of a cuckoo clock or the Unabomber’s cabin, but Myers’ attention to detail and the pools of amber light and shadows creates a formative oasis – just rustic enough for an after-work foo-foo cocktail – yet utterly sophisticated enough for an original and transformative dining event.

Chef Yagi’s varied menu bounces between the familiar and the exotic like a restless ping-pong ball, from all across south-east Asia, with dominant overtones of her Japanese heritage to her adoptive California. Things start calmly enough with a raw bar including a silky Beef Tartare spiked with pickled jalapeño, and a couple of sashimi’s. Not being a huge fan of raw fish with fruit, the popular Hamachi seemed a touch out-powered by the intense sweetness of persimmon and pomegranate, but who cares when you practically gorge yourself on a milky, cheesy, yoghurty Japanese ranch dip on the backs of Dutch Potato Chips?

Lemongrass Lamb Sausage

We were issued deliberate instructions along with the nugget-sized Lemongrass Lamb Sausages, to tear off a piece of the hoja santa leaf they rode in on, bundle them up, and then dip them into the chili-lime sauce. As the complex flavors and textures began to unfold, from the furry aromatic leaf to the citrusy sauce surrounding the succulent meat, even the avid non-lamb-eater at the table couldn’t resist but to reach for more.

I couldn’t contain my curiosity as to why a sub-section of the menu is called Inspiration! I was politely informed that “those are dishes inspired by flavors from around the world.” Hmmm, which would suggest that all the other dishes must have been inspired from…someplace else? Regardless, this menu-within-a-menu includes notable signatures such as Coconut-curried Mussels with shaved cauliflower and crumbled sausage, and the conversation-stopping Hinoki scented Black Cod with maitake mushrooms and shishito peppers – which arrives with a thin canopy of burning wood, delivering wafts of smoldering cedar smoke over the delectably sake-laden and wonderfully juicy, miso-flavored fillet. Sake is also to blame for the fate of the impossibly tender and ridiculously delicious Drunken Duck Breast that could quite easily be sliced with the back of a spoon.

Of all the times I have ever enjoyed Short-rib (and there have been numerous), I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of it braised in cumin and coriander before. Chef Yagi if you’re reading this, please grant your Curry Short-rib special a permanent spot on the “Inspiration” section, as this has to be the most inspired and original execution of one of my favorite cuts of beef.

Roasted Yam

There is nothing particularly remarkable about the names of the ample side dishes, but their preparations are so astonishingly original, it felt as though our table clocked a million frequent flier miles into the future: the rice is neither steamed nor fried – it’s grilled, the roast potato with crème fraiche and crunchy lardons is a toffee-sweet yam, the bok choy is smothered in lemongrass and shallot, the swiss chard on steroids is all about the sesame. (Somebody, stop me!)

Miso Donuts

In addition to the Ice-creams, Sorbets and Mochi’s, desserts include a multi-textural death-by-chocolate Ice-cream Sandwich and the curiously salty and feather light-and-fluffy Miso Donuts with a sublime honey flavored caramel dipping sauce – the kind you can spread on an old shoe-brush and still enjoy.

Hinoki and the Bird, you are without doubt my restaurant of the month!

http://hinokiandthebird.com/reserve/

Cherche Midi review

December 3, 2014December 3, 2014 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

Could it be that Keith McNally (the New York Times proclaimed restaurateur who invented downtown) has the caviar touch when it comes to creating dining hotspots that become indelibly entrenched into the culture of New York City life, or is it even remotely possible that the culinary impresario might only have one, two or possibly three well practiced tricks up his sleeve? The man who brought us Balthazar, Lucky Strike, Pastis, Morandi, Minetta Tavern and so many other hard-to-get-into variations on a very similar and well-regurgitated theme, recently unveiled his empire’s newest clone – Cherche Midi – on the northern edge of his well-trodden stomping ground.

Cherche Midi

Once you recover from the overdose of déjà vu as you step into the brightly lit room, dotted with pillars that stretch the matrix of hexagonal floor tiles apart from the stalactite maze of white balloon light fixtures, you realize that McNally’s manufactured familiarity will probably go a long way to convince many of his loyal diners that he has once again given birth to yet another baby Jesus of the Steak Frites world.

The menu is well peppered with dishes that have continued to satisfy tourists and locals for nearly three decades. The Salade Nicoise is there, so are the Beet Salad and Steak Tartare. There is a new Short-rib and Gruyere spin to the (Black Label) Burger, and although the always delicious Pan-roasted Foie Gras with briefly poached apples in the shade of a mahogany loaf of soft and salty brioche is as remarkable as can be, I couldn’t help feeling a bit stung by the $27 price point for such a paltry portion.

Butternut Squash Soup

On the less-exorbitant side, the addition of micro-diced challah croutons gives a welcome crunch to the decadently creamy Butternut squash Soup.

Lobster Ravioli

Considering the overwhelming popularity of the Steak Frites, the fish-to-meat ratio of entrees (while familiar) is fairly generous. In addition to two ocean and one river fish, the fennel-flavored Bouchot Mussels are finished in Pernod and crème fraiche. But a heavy-handed bombardment of ginger annihilated any trace of shellfish in the Lobster Ravioli with piquillo peppers.

Filet Mignon au Poivre

It was hardly surprising – yet thoroughly delightful to bite into a flawless cut of Filet Mignon au Poivre, sealed with a thin crust of charred peppercorns – neither too peppery nor drowning in jus – accompanied by a handsome harvest of twice-fried in peanut oil, Idaho potato French fries. As a side dish, we tried the Roasted Sunchokes, (which were an off-menu option and should probably remain as such) with an overly-crispy crust and an overly-mushy interior.

Ile Flottante

But I must say that it has been a while since I enjoyed an lle Flottante this good. The multi-textured dessert featured a perfectly poached, foamy meringue floating on a vanilla cream lagoon covered by a fibrous wig of spun sugar. Sweet, light, fluffy and utterly un-sharable.

Only after an hour surrounded by so much familiarity: the tried-and-true French dishes, the white paper-covered tables, the hip crowd and the long burlap-aproned wait staff – did it finally dawn on me that Cherche Midi just increased my chances of landing a reservation at either Minetta Tavern or Balthazar – thanks to the addition of twenty extra tables in a very similar space a mere neighborhood or two away.

http://www.cherchemidiny.com/reservations/

Joe’s Shanghai review

November 21, 2014 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

Xiao Long Bow (pronounced: Soup Dumplings) is somewhat of a not too well kept New York secret. Judging by the multi-culti masses who clutch well-worn copies of Zagat’s or concierge-issued city maps while waiting in the doorway of any of the three Joe’s Shanghai locations (Queens, Midtown and Chinatown), it’s obvious that this is a very well telegraphed “must-try-when-in-New-York” hot item. But tourist agendas aside, from time to time, when New Yorkers get that umami-salty itch that needs immediate scratching, nothing satisfies quite like a bamboo steamer basket of tongue-blisteringly hot and uniquely delicious Soup Dumplings.

Soup Dumplings

This rather curious method of trapping a tiny pork meatball inside a mouthful of meaty broth hails from a suburb of Shanghai and is rarely spotted on Chinese menus in the west. Before I divulge the secret behind their preparation, humor me and try to imagine just how tricky it would be to wrap scalding soup inside a thin, square piece of dough without any of it leaking out? (It reminds me of a “Candid Camera” shtick, where unsuspecting victims were asked to wrap helium-filled balloons in brown paper and string.) The answer is chemistry 101 – changing the state of the soup from a liquid to a solid before wrapping (either as ice or gelatin) which melts during the steaming process.

Pork Soup Dumplings with Vinegar sauce

Enjoying Soup Dumplings involves a fairly specific protocol too.

Step 1: After a dumpling is carefully hoisted out of its cabbage blanket and lowered onto a spoon, bite a tiny hole into its side in order to suck out the soup.

Step 2: Add a spoonful of dark Chinese vinegar with shredded ginger to give the remaining solids a blast of sourness.

Step 3: Eat and repeat until complete!

http://www.joeshanghairestaurants.com/

Saxon + Parole review

November 20, 2014 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

Saxon and Parole were two racehorses in the 1800’s, and they happen to be the inspiration behind the crop-and-bridle décor at Executive chef Brad Farmerie’s über-popular NoHo bistro. Horses are neither welcome here, nor are they mentioned on the menu in any way, but instead, the generous bar (serving ready-mixed, pre-chilled, ice-free Manhattans on-tap) leads to a couple of wood-framed dining areas teeming with dressage tchotchkes, amongst a spirited stable of regular diners.

Manhattans on-tap

Chef Farmerie keeps the kitchen gimmickry to a minimum. His prowess is more evident in his confident broad-strokes menu featuring abundant favorites done impressively well, with a few whiplashing surprises mixed in. The raw bar items share space with a Razor Clam Egg-Salad or a Sea Urchin Muffin with bacon bits. See what I mean?

Brussels Sprouts with Poached Egg

The “First course” section offers a familiar variety of soup-salad-crudo options, with an obvious commitment to fresh, sustainable and fashionably de rigueur loco-moco-yoko ingredients like watercress and radishes, but the steamed Brussels Sprout Leaf Salad encircling a perfectly runny poached egg, covering smoky lardons with a zesty, salty and heavenly yuzu lemon hollandaise dressing combines everything I love about late autumn.

Grilled Berkshire Pork Chop

Land and sea options are very well represented in the “Second course,” with some standouts including a simply seasoned, yet handsomely fileted Hangar Steak, revealing a dark-pink, marbled and juicy interior – in the shade of a marrow bone brimming with velvety Béarnaise sauce.

Farmerie’s perfectly measured use of Harissa provides just sufficient horsepower to spruce up the Crispy Roast Chicken (on a saddle of barley and faro wheat) giving it a marvelously Moroccan bite.

It’s hardly surprising that the supple, crisp and amazingly moist Grilled Berkshire Pork Chop has become one of the most loyally requested dishes. While it shares the plate with an all-too-safe glazed apple, the limelight is snatched by that creamy and pungent goat-cheese laden polenta.

The only under-whelmer of the evening was the offensively sweet, chili-caramel roasted Brussels Sprouts, which were soon forgotten by the arrival of desserts. As popular as they may be, the Warm Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts with a trio of dipping sauces were left at the starting line by one of the most original S’Mores presentations in history.

Infusing the S’Mores with barrel smoke

We insisted on a table-side demonstration as a ball-jarful of chocolate pudding, graham crackers and marshmallows were forced to inhale a few puffs of barrel smoke before the lid was tightly sealed, trapping an authentic bonfire flavor into the dessert, instantly rewinding me back to my pre-teen summer camp nights.

And so while some from the chewing police may have hemmed and hawed that Saxon + Parole hasn’t altered the culinary horizon enough, I would argue that Farmerie has carved himself an uncontested niche as New York’s torchbearer for reliable, enjoyable and above all impressive comfort cuisine – and let’s not forget those Manhattans on-tap!

http://saxonandparole.com/

Marta review

November 6, 2014 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

Marta

When I found out that yet another New York master-chef was about to create his version of yet another pizza joint in a city already so replete with pie options, that our municipal mascot has affectionately become a crusty wedge of pepperoni, I decided to measure the square-footage of my disappointment in advance. I figured that even if Danny Meyer (Mr. Mealtime Midas Touch himself) was able to do to pizzas what he had done to hamburgers with his chain of Shake Shacks, I still couldn’t imagine how much more runway there was to re-invent an 11-inch pizza with a handful of toppings. Couldn’t we all agree that the time has come to focus our culinary attention on a different hangover-curing, post-weed-munchie-satisfying, carb-diet-busting, TV-complimenting snack? Just how many more times does the pizza need to be reborn in our lifetime? Turns out, Marta might very well have been the one we’ve all been waiting for!

The newest star in the Meyer galaxy is a big, bright and bustling showpiece that isn’t just located in the lobby of the Martha Washington Hotel – it is the lobby. The ultra-high-ceilinged trattoria’s whitewashed walls offer views of 29^th street, a voyeur’s mezzanine and a white, marble bar facing the demonstration-style kitchen, under the watchful eye of two inescapably huge, flame-licking, black-tiled pizza ovens.

In addition to a surprisingly affordable all-Italian wine list and an authentic selection of Roman appetizers, salads and entrees, Chef de cuisine Nick Anderer (graciously borrowed from Maialino) has crafted eleven pizzas in two categories: Rosse and Bianche. Heading up the Rosse group is the vanilla of them all, the Margharita Classica (originally made exclusively for Margharita – Italy’s Queen consort – in celebration of the colors of the Italian flag) delectably combining satiny-soft cheese, pungent basil and Mt. Vesuvius lava-sweetened San Marzano tomatoes. As you work your way down, ingredients like house-stretched buffalo mozzarella, anchovies, thyme and sausage are gradually added until we suddenly find ourselves face-to-face with tripe and mint. The tomato-less Bianche group enjoys even more freedom from convention with a wider variety of cheeses, eggs, potatoes, ham, vegetables and white truffles.

Salsiccia

When the cracker-crisp, antique-paper-edged pies appear, it’s clear that Anderer has kept his promise about delivering the thinnest crusts in the land – permitting his fresh ingredients to relish unobstructed in the limelight. Never before have I enjoyed morsels of fragrant pork sausage, scattered between freshly sautéed porcinis, with cream oozing (literally) from dollops of mozzarella over a crunchy red crust as I did with the Salsiccia. And I couldn’t help recalling one of Anderer’s signature Maialino breakfasts with the black-peppery Pecorino and eggs as the heart of the Patate alla Carbonara, concealed beneath a delicious layer of soft potato chunks with chewy lardons of smoky guanciale. It felt a bit like walking in on texture, flavor and aroma in the middle an intimate group hug.

Patate alla Carbonara

Ladies and gentlemen, Marta is not just another pizza joint – it’s front-page news!

www.martamanhattan.com

Mapo Galbi, Los Angeles review

November 1, 2014November 1, 2014 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

As downtown Los Angeles increasingly evolves into a hip canvas for new toques to show off their kitchen prowess, diners are just as increasingly tempted to cross the 405 and 110 Freeways after dark, in search of some of the city’s most acclaimed food. But as you head east from the familiarly popular restaurant rows of Fairfax Avenue or West 3^rd Street, you venture through an oddly exciting (yet unnervingly foreign) neighborhood, which is home to some 120,000 Korean residents. And without GPS and a solid phonetic recommendation, finding an authentic and satisfying meal in K’town can be a bit of a long shot. You see, with the overabundance of brightly illuminated Korean signs screaming for your attention, what you hope might be a good steakhouse…could turn out to be a good gynecologist instead.

Mapo Galbi

As far as first impressions go, Mapo Galbi is a slight jolt to the expectation system. But don’t let the indecipherable Korean sign, nor the rather nondescript storefront or any of the interior choices of functional vinyl, 70’s wood veneer and sensible mirrors sway you. When you sit around one of the 10 gas-griddle tables, and slip on one of those cute, red aprons – you realize that you are about to venture more than a few feet outside the box.

Dak Galbi Stage 1

As our evening progressed, the hostess seemed to grow measurably more charming – even as we careened repeatedly into our substantial language barrier. When I mentioned that I had “wanted to try this restaurant for some time,” she obligingly pointed to the restroom door. The very succinct menu was equally tricky to navigate, but with the aid of hand gestures, charades and the translation services of a neighboring table in between a gush of giggles, we somehow managed to order the highly popular Dak Galbi (spicy chicken with vegetables).

Dak Galbi Stage 2

Our appetizers included a sliced cabbage salad with a creamy dressing, and a small dish of Water Kimchi, which consisted of a few submerged crunchy carrot and radish sticks under a milky, briny yet pleasantly refreshing, fermented broth. At this point, our griddle pan arrived, and the dish assembly began with alacrity. The ingredients started with rather simple chunks of marinated chicken, sweet potato chips and short ropes of rice-cake. Once browned, these were followed with coarsely chopped cabbage and a most unstinting helping of Gochujang (chili, sugar, sesame, garlic) sauce.

Dak Galbi Stage 3

Just prior to serving, sesame leaves and scallions were scissored in, giving the dish a fresh green accent.

Dak Galbi with Banchan (side dishes)

The side dishes (Banchan) included a rather soft, sweet and chewy strip of kimchi fish cake, a wonderfully flavorful seaweed salad, roasted zucchini and a few very crispy taco-sized slices of pickled radish. Our challenge was to balance a portion of chicken, rice-cake and cabbage onto a radish slither – without dropping the contents during the chopstick-assisted journey toward the lips. (If the need for the red aprons wasn’t clear earlier, it was blatantly obvious now.) The delectable combination of the sweet, sharp, savory and spicy, warm chicken against the cold and briny radish was a perfectly restrained contrast of the foreign and the familiar. And the incredible texture variety of melt-in-your-mouth rice cakes on one hand with crunchy scallions on the other, took the rather simple and gimmick-free dish to a unique and unexpected level.

Kimchi rice stir fry

And just when the evening began to wane, our hostess reignited the griddle and stirred up a small bowl of rice with chopped kimchi and a few black ribbons of dried seaweed, for a delicious post-course, sizzling stir-fry.

While I can happily vouch for the quality, I cannot speak to the authenticity of Mapo Galbi, but über-esteemed Momofuku chef David Chang not only can and does, but he even goes so far as to consider it one of his all-time favorites.

http://www.visitkoreatown.org/mapo-dak-galbi-restaurant/

https://wwww.facebook.com/…/mapo-galbi

ABC Cocina review

October 22, 2014 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s ABC Cocina might be more rustic and noisier than its big locavore brother ABC Kitchen, but it takes itself a lot less seriously too. On one hand the impressively lavish menu seems to steer solidly in the direction of Iberian-inspired tapas, but then a sudden sharp turn suggests we’re on a runaway taco truck with no brakes, picking up a litany of multi-culti hitchhikers as we perilously head for the border. With a chipotle pepper here or a chorizo there, here a taco, there an empanada and everywhere a salsa…Vong has created the ultimate pan-Latin kitchen comedy, by masterfully staging a telenovela right in the middle of a bullfight.

Spiced Ground Beef Empanadas

Many of the usual suspects are re-imagined with new and exciting textures and flavors like adding hearty eggplant to the Spiced ground Beef Empanadas or laying landmines of crispy chicken skin with lemon zest into the Arroz con Pollo giving the otherwise mundane staple some unexpected crunch and purpose.

Patatas Bravas

I was initially suspicious of the 24-karat gold roasted Patatas Bravas that were nested next to a pool of mysteriously dark and picante sauce suspended in the heart of an ivory aioli, but after mixing the liquids together and then dribbling them over the crispy nuggets, I found myself pleasantly overwhelmed in rosemary rapture.

Grilled Maitake Mushrooms

Even though the woody-smoky-charcoaly Grilled Maitake Mushrooms were crowned with melted herb goat cheese, their tart Fresno pepper vinaigrette might have shifted the earth on its axis by a hair.

Chipotle Chicken Tacos

Of all the gourmet Taco options, the Chipotle Chicken seems to have done the best job at already establishing its own fan club and Twitter account. But as delectable as it might have been, with just the right amount of fuss you’d expect to find inside a floppy masa shell, something was definitely missing. Too dry? Too crunchy? Turns out the grilled Jalapeño salsa was left in the kitchen and only arrived after we had digested the final morsels. Oops! But the sublimely moist and flavorful Grilled Chorizo sausage arrived with all of its parts fortuitously present.

Housemade Chorizo Sausage

While things may have changed slightly since former chef de cuisine Dan Kluger left the ABC’s to start his own venture, his footprints for success are still well-entrenched in these polished-concrete cocina floors. ¡Esta bien!

http://www.abchome.com/eat/abc-cocina/

Trois Mec, Los Angeles review

October 10, 2014October 10, 2014 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

Trois Mec

Trying to get into any of LA’s “it” restaurants at the peak of their game has always involved a bit of high stakes drama. But none can rival the theatrical shenanigans of securing a seat at Jon Shook, Vinny Dotolo and Ludo Lefebvre’s Trois Mec (three mates). Just like any other live performance, the website offers tickets to specific sittings on specific dates. The “pay now – see you in two weeks” scheme permits diners to sample Lefebvre’s unconventional cuisine in a daily changing, omakase (chef’s choice) menu of whatever happens to be in season, in vogue or in the pantry.

Trois Mec exterior

Thrilled to be finally clutching a ticket, I gingerly opened the door to a roar of “Bon soir”, in an utterly unremarkable dining room, that occupies the space of a formerly unremarkable pizza joint at the end of an unremarkable strip mall in the shade of the Hollywood hills.

Then for the next couple of hours I found myself drowning in a tsunami of mediocrity as the giant candle of hype melted away into a puddle of weak tea. Sure, the notion of a don’t ask, don’t tell, hush-hush, say-no-more, pre-pay, chef’s choice supper club sounds rather enticing, but when the eloquently described dishes yield little more than the total sum of their parts, its hard not to feel like you’ve just been taken for a bit of a backstage joyride.

Garlic Bread

A series of pre-menu Snacks included the house signature Buckwheat Popcorn – a decent enough, salt and vinegary blocker for the gaps in between the teeth; the peppery Tapioca cake with melted Parmesan cheese – a solid runner-up in the rice-cake cook-off; a Dijon Crème Brulee – every bit as unnecessary and pretentious as it sounds; a highly forgettable miniature sesame crisp something-or-other with shredded greens; and finally the first applause-worthy item, a square inch block of fire toasted Garlic Bread with melted herb butter.

Spot Prawn

The five menu items started with the melancholy death of a Santa Barbara Spot Prawn, which was camouflaged from sight by slithers of crusty tomato, and camouflaged from taste by the violent upstaging of horseradish-infused crème fraiche.

Grilled Eggplant Caviar

The Grilled Eggplant Caviar reminded me of a bucket of red laundry with Jamon Iberico swimming in a soggy pond of honey melon juice amidst a few crushed hazelnuts in suspension.

The Sunchoke salad, the only real hit among the misses included a medley of the thinnest slithers of delicately pickled sunchokes amongst a splendid blend of crunchy green beans and roasted sunflower seeds over a bed of citrusy hummus, spiked with thyme powder, giving the dish a fresh elegance and a little hope for the rest of the evening’s performance.

Sunchoke Salad

The jury is still out as to whether it might have been easier to slice through my wallet or the Grilled Beef Belly, which would have also benefited more from the company of a crispy roast potato than the paltry abalone mushroom and green herb jus.

And finally a sugar-crusted, raw egg yolk topped the Carolina gold Rice Pudding, which came peppered with brown butter powder, making for a curiously savory and unnecessarily rich dessert.

Sesame Crisp

If I’m ever in the area again, I just might pop next door to Ludo’s Parisian bistro Petite Trois, which by all accounts looks and feels (and hopefully tastes) like a real meal – and may yield slightly more value for the $100 seat!

https://www.troismec.com/

Flex Mussels review

October 6, 2014October 6, 2014 / Roger Hyde / Leave a comment

Flex Mussels

Can we please hear it for mussels – those inexpensive, scrumptious, highly adaptable and relatively unsung heroes of the shellfish world?

“Bombay” Indian curry, star anise, garlic, cinnamon, white wine

While they might make an appearance on many a menu in many a city, they often seem to do well at being overlooked or under-ordered. Is it the size of their shells that belies the amount of flesh within? Or could it be because they require actual physical contact and dexterous assistance? Or maybe that their classic preparation (white wine, leeks and cream) fails to put the lust back into lackluster?

Thanks to Bobby & Laura Shapiro, the Canadian duo who are somehow able to haul in an endless catch of the most perfectly sized, beardless, Prince Edward Island farm raised bi-valves that snap open as they soak up flavors from all around the world at Flex Mussels.

The menu offers 23 different options that are as delicious as they are audacious. From simple, low-key ingredients you might expect to see in a pot of mussels: Dijon mustard, orange zest, fennel and tomatoes, to some you’d be surprised to see: curry coconut broth, pesto, spinach or Kalamata olives, to some you’d be outright flabbergasted to see: bacon, ham, chipotle adobo, prosciutto or blue cheese. The kitchen goes even further to include lobster, calamari, shrimp, crab and an entire sausage gumbo into some of their most memorable concoctions. My favorite is the Bisque, with hearty chunks of succulent lobster tail, sweet San Marzano tomatoes and a generous hint of brandy in the bread-dippingly delectable garlic cream.

“Gumbo” Andoille sausage, peppers, ochra, shrimp, roux

The scene at both of their strictly informal Manhattan-based bistros (West Village and Upper East Side) is equal parts young, noisy, popular and energetic, with not much room for décor beyond a few enlargements of the Prince Edward Island setting sun, allowing the punch-line-printed (“Mussel-tov”), black T-shirt-wearing staff to deliver pot after steaming pot to the dozen or so crowded tables.

Curiously enough and contrary to the laws of nature and physics, the longer these pots sit on the table, and the deeper you dig to extract your harvest of delight, the hotter they get! Hmm.

Flex Donut Collection

The menu also offers a sizable Not Mussels section, including a wonderfully light and crispy, mixed seafood plate called Burnt Fingers, a very affordable selection of California and European White and Red wines (including a rarely-seen-in-these-parts Turley Old Vines Zinfandel) culminating in the Flex Donut Collection, where 4 or 6 (or more) tennis-ball sized donuts are served with a vanilla dipping sauce on a wooden rack, practically exploding with your choice of sinful fillings, from Salted Caramel and Wild Blueberry to Meyer Lemon…but it’s still all about the mussels!

http://www.flexmussels.com/

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Roger's Digest

FOOD. My favorite 4-letter F-word.

Year: 2014