Spago Beverly Hills - Los Angeles, CA

When someone mentions Wolfgang Puck, I usually think of his casual airport chain, which, admittedly I am usually not in much of a hurry for. His flagship Spago Beverly Hills, on the other hand, is a pretty serious restaurant in Los Angeles with two Michelin stars (hm..) and a loyal following. So, when I was in LA, I was curious to check out Spago and form my own opinion. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch on the patio on a sunny (per usual) LA day. We ordered the tasting menu and added two items a la carte.


Tuna tartare in a sesame tuile with bonito flakes. The tuile was cloyingly sweet; the whole thing eaten together was a bit of a strange combination.


Roasted Chino Farm's beet layer cake - warm sautéed goat cheese, toasted hazelnuts and shallot-citrus dressing


Smoked sturgeon lemon herb blini


Bacon confit gougère. Pretty tasty and addictive.


Cucumber with roe


Raw Nantucket bay scallops


Sautéed Nantucket bay scallops, pickled ginger vinaigrette, Asian cabbage. Fresh scallops in both preparations; nothing too groundbreaking but good.


Broiled langoustine with a side of pad thai (served tableside from a mini saucepan; elicited my chuckle)


Marinated Kobe “Szechuan” steak - stir fried bok choy, choy sum and shiitake mushrooms. Pretty flavorful and tender steak, and the far east accoutrements surprisingly did not distract.


However, this frivolous side of rice did.


Hand-made agnolotti with foie gras and pork. Probably my favorite course; well done house made pasta with a surprisingly light and delicate filling.


Grilled lamb chops with cauliflower puree and wine-black truffle reduction and shavings. The lamb was quite good, but the sauce overpowered all other ingredients.


Warm fig compote, mandarin sorbet, grapefruit, creme fraiche, bent shortbread


Twelve layer chocolate cake

The food at Spago is pretty fresh and tasty. Nothing was that standout but I'd return for good standard California cuisine fare. Not a 2 star establishment in my opinion, but the whole US system is puzzling to say the least.

Spago Beverly Hills
176 N Canon Dr,
Beverly Hills 90210

Soto - New York, NY

New York has a good number of great sushi restaurants, and Soto occupies an attractive niche: excellent uni and its frequent usage in inventive small plates. Some flavor themes are consistent throughout the menu - shroomy broths, miso, truffle salt, an abundance of ponzu - but done thoughtfully and with high quality fish. 


Ainame ponzu - thinly sliced Japanese greenling fish with chive, ginger shoots, shiso leaf, under mizore ponzu sauce


Sea trout carpaccio - cured tasmanian sea trout with black truffle sea salt, sweet miso mustard sauce, served with sesame cresoon


Uni and yuba - black soy bean milk skin with uni, served with shiitake broth. Thin, delicate sheets of soy skin rolled tightly and topped with the freshest uni. It turned out that the rest of our uni dishes would be standout too.


Uni ika sugomori zukuri - sea urchin wrapped in thinly sliced squid with shiso, served with quail egg and tosa soy reduction


Cyu toro tartare - chopped fatty part of big eye tuna with avocado coulis, garnished with caviar, chive, served in sesame ponzu sauce. The finely minced toro was very high quality, but overpowered by the avocado.


Uni cocktail - sea urchin sashimi with soy reduction and fresh wasabi

The fish at Soto is very high quality and the small plates are done with great attention to detail. You also can't go wrong with anything that has uni. It really is a wonder though, why the place isn't packed with more people.

Soto
357 Sixth Ave.
New York, NY 10014

Restaurante Moo - Barcelona, Spain

In the lobby of the chic Hotel Omm in Barcelona is one-star Restaurante Moo, overseen by the Roca brothers - the three chef/owners of the much celebrated three-star El Celler De Can Roca in Girona. Can Roca is one of the restaurants on the forefront of avant-garde Catalan cuisine; having read the two reviews from Chuck, it had been one of my to-visits ever since. Unfortunately, we did not have time to make it to Girona on this trip, so Moo would have to suffice as the closest thing to getting a sense, however far removed, of the Roca's creations.

It must also be noted that the Cap de Sumillers at Moo is Roger Viusà Barbara, who won Best European Sommelier WSA in 2008. The world's best sommelier, and a very gracious fellow to boot.


Canapés


Foie gras mousse in cherry candy shells - quite good.


"Our appetizer" - Oyster on crostini with julienned green apple, celery, and hazelnut sauce


Our Russian salad
Fino Piedra Luenga. Bod. Robles /G/ Montilla-Moriles / Pedro Ximenes

Ensaladilla rusa, a Spanish variation of Russian salad, is pretty ubiquitous in Spain. Here, Moo replaces tuna with chunks of barely-seared toro, and puts a lighter touch on all the usual ingredients: baked red pepper crisps, potatoes, green peas, shaved pickled carrot, and a dollop of vinegary mayonnaise. High quality ingredients on their own, unified by a modern, sensible interpretation of the Spanish/Russian classic.


Scallop with chervil
Dom Mouscaillo 06 /B/ Limoux / Chardonnay


Sea bass with green beans and ginger
Pezas da Portella 06. Val de Sil /B/ Valdeorras / Godello

The bass was seared nicely and accented with some strong but delicate aromas from the accompanying ginger/haricot vert slivers and broth. Done well, but nothing too exciting here.


Lamb’s Shoulder with paprika
Roda II 98 /T/ Rioja / Tempranillo, garnacha

Cooking sous vide and/or at low temperatures is a signature style of the Rocas; the lamb here is prepared to achieve a texture similar to suckling pig, with a thin, nearly-crackling layer of skin. Well-flavored, but a tad dry.


Pigeon with stew cereals
Cims de porrera 00. Coop Agrícola de Porrera /T/ Priorat / Grenache

The medium rare pigeon slices, subtly gamey and untouched by additional seasoning, were completely overwhelmed by the side of quinoa and barley. In addition to being oversalted, the cereals were unpalatably hard and chewy. An unbalanced dish and my least favorite course of the day.


Cheese

The previous course was somewhat redeemed by the cheese course; manchego comes in two styles: subtle and smooth as a gelato, and sharp and spicy in its natural form, both brought together by a tart green apple puree.


Mango, coconut and wheat
Saint Aubin 08. Dom. Delesvaux /D/ Coteaux Du Layon / Chenin blanc


Tiramisu
Donato degli Antinori /D/ Vin Santo/ Trebbiano

The concept of Restaurante Moo works well as a trendy restaurant in a swank hotel. It serves up a solid tasting menu that is fairly well-executed and beautifully plated, and the wines are excellent. The food itself is nothing to write home about: not wildly inventive, if rather ordinary. There is no show stopping meal here, but there really could be no comparison to Can Roca, tucked away in Girona where the three brothers are actually running the restaurant. Come to the hotel in Barcelona for the bar/people watching, but take a trip to Girona for the food.

€100.00 - Joan Roca’s Tasting Menu (~$170 - September 2009)
€40.00 - "Wines that harmonize"

Restaurante Moo
Rosselló 265
08008 Barcelona
+34 934454000

Coi - San Francisco, CA

Let me start out by saying that I did not enjoy my meal at Coi. And as such, I am a barbarian. If you do not like reading words from a Neanderthal, it would behoove you to stop reading, NOW!

Good, you're still here. I enjoy experimental cuisine, and understand that, although not mutually exclusive, tastiness and interestingness are often a tradeoff. But while not everything strikes me as delicious, I do appreciate all the intellectual thoughtfulness (and whimsical rigmarole) that goes into a meal. I enjoyed Alinea greatly; wd-50, not so much. There is just something - perhaps ambition, restlessness - about the genre that keeps me coming back.

Coi is probably as close to that as you'll get in San Francisco. There is just so much fresh produce and happy cows and ambling chickens that the local restaurant scene would rather focus on ingredients; and for good reason. But Coi is very different from the alchemists in Chicago, NY, and Barcelona. Conversely, it takes more of an Ubuntu approach: exploring the full potential of ingredients and their context with some modern techniques. It's more an appreciation for seasonality and locality than a show to turn things into gelees and frozen orbs. Ok; I would say that I get it. Coi had been on my list since I moved to SF, so I was excited about this meal with I and H. However, our meal left much to be desired (say, sustenance).


Caramelized pear and root beer


Frozen Mandarin Sour - satsuma ice, angostura bitters

Satusuma shaved ice with accents of bitter. Nothing very interesting to note, except maybe, whoa! Flavored shaved ice.


Geoduck Clam - black radish, bean sprouts, yuzu, shiso

Comparable to a good omakase first course. Ok.


Beet and Goat Cheese Tart (broken, inverted) - rye, dill

A variation of the classic beet and goat cheese combination; good. It is deconstructed! Come on, even Bix was more creative with their beet and goat cheese than this.


Sunchoke-Buttermilk Soup, Hot/Cold - Asian pear, cocoa nib, mint

While the soup was actually really good - the pear worked extremely well with the sunchoke - the temperature (the focal point here) was just unpleasant. Cold soup was poured tableside over the hot ingredients, but the combination was unpalatably lukewarm with absolutely no temperature differentiation between the broth and contents. The "hot/cold" was meaningless since we could not detect either.


Fall, Pastoral - young carrots roasted in hay, radish powder, soyoung's pecorino

It is indeed a lovely fall evening in San Francisco. The local carrots, per description and taste, are nubile. They were roasted on "a bed of hay", which our server really emphasized, so they taste smoky. Flavorwise, they're not all that different from lowbrow carrots; not sweeter or more complex or anything. But I think I get it. I am eating fresh, local ingredients that are questionably well prepared; all of Fall is embodied in these carrots.

No, I actually don't get it. As non-delusional young adults, we were laughing because this was just silly. Daniel Patterson argues that elite kitchens should challenge the antiquated customs of fine dining; that gilded luxury ingredients do not a good meal make. He believes that chefs should instead revalue and start using previously thought to be lowly ingredients, and subsequently transform them with creative and often deeply personal forms of expression.

This course is what I consider the epitome of a rarefied and inaccessible food movement. This is a $120 tasting menu. It is much more pretentious serving roasted carrots than foie gras at this price point; and to validate it with some preachy food philosophy is downright offensive. Carrots are the new caviar? Give me a break.


Monterey Bay Abalone Grilled on the Plancha - nettle-dandelion salsa verde, spicy breadcrumbs, lemon zest

This was the course that we anticipated most. Sweet and crunchy, the abalone was very simply prepared: grilled, sliced, and dressed with lemon zest and breadcrumbs; it was elegant, extremely flavorful, and a great showcase of high-quality ingredients. The course was very good (we each ordered another near the end of our meal because we were still hungry).


Savory Chanterelle Porridge - pig's feet, garlic confit, wood sorrel

At this point in the meal, we're still pretty hungry (I apologize again, I'm a barbarian). You can imagine how excited we were when we saw pig's feet as the next course. We started digging in; cutting a piece of the woodsy chanterelle transparent film (inventive) and wrapping it around each mound of porridge. Texturally, the collagenic porridge and slippery film were mush. We hungrily wondered where the pig's feet was; and it turned out they were minced finely into the porridge. Only subtly flavorful, the porridge was extremely restrained.


Chicken/Egg - slow-cooked farm egg, crisp chicken skin, chard, green farro

This was really good, and reminded me of the egg I had at Arzak. Texturally similar, both slow-cooked eggs were topped with crunchy bits; Coi's chicken skin version was more interesting and flavorful, though too agressively salted.


Camembert (Herve Mons) - sweet and spicy greens

I was tickled by the meticulous and exacting effort that went into arranging the leaves on the plate.


Steamed Kabocha Squash Cake - apple, pomegranate, vadouvan


Caramelized White Chocolate Parfait, Semi-Frozen - huckleberries, anise

We left feeling flummoxed, not to mention hungry. Not only is it celebrated by the critics (two-stars), but locally, Coi is surrounded by a lot of hype. We went in expecting to be impressed, if not by taste then by inventiveness; instead, we were confused, even slightly guilty, we did not enjoy our meal. I ultimately concluded that my palate is not refined enough to enjoy this food because I'm a barbarian. This was a caustic comment that someone left on my Alinea post: "Ridiculous - a perfect example of people with more money than sense". I beg to differ on the Alinea experience, but it is awfully fitting and damning here.

$120 - 11 course tasting menu (Nov 2009). 18% service charge automatically added per party.

Coi
373 Broadway
San Francisco, CA 94133-4512
(415) 393-9000

Providence - Los Angeles, CA

For those of you who don't know me in real life, my exasperated companions can tell you that I sometimes fall privy to a gripping obsession of cities. It's quite rational, really: I like new experiences, and exploring / living in new places is what I consider to be one of the greatest joys of life. Well, here is the seemingly irrational part: I have recently have become obsessed with Los Angeles - in many regards, the antithesis of NY. You drive everywhere, the traffic is merciless, and everyone and their mothers are trying to "make it"; but, the weather is beautiful, the scene is a lot of fun, and sometimes getting away from the grind is a treat in and of itself. Wash.

And since I'm in my phase, I will take a small detour from my Spain recaps. I spent a weekend in LA about a month ago for work, and was excited to try Providence, a two-star seafood focused restaurant headed by Michael Cimarusti of Top Chef Masters fame. B and I secured a Saturday night reservation and though we arrived much later around 10 (sorry B, my bad), the staff was super accommodating about my request for a tasting menu (I think tasting menu last call is around 9). I opted for the 5-course tasting menu (the only one time allowed for) and added an extra course for good measure.


From left: gin and tonic gelee, mojito, and cardamom carrot soup

Providence likes to get the party started with some form-altered aperitifs. Everything tasted true to its alcoholic forebearer; and as an added bonus, the mojito was a minty throwback to the exploding orbs a la Arzak.


Japanese kanpachi - rice cracker, crème fraiche

Similar concept to the tuna/hamachi tartare with toasted rice at Redd. The crackers turned out to be a little overpowering for the undressed kanpachi, which I preferred to eat by itself.


Santa Barbara sea urchin - served in a farm fresh egg, champagne beurre blanc, fines herbes. Added as a supplement to my 5 courses

It is difficult to discern the slow-cooked yolk, uni, Champagne butter sauce, brioche croutons, and fines herbes individually, and brought together in this melting pot of an eggshell, this was sinfully rich and buttery. While it was very good, I actually would have preferred a lighter variation with a bigger emphasis on the uni, which was overwhelmed by all the other heavy ingredients.


Hokkaido sea scallops (Japan) - chanterelles, haricot vert, applewood smoked bacon, jurançon sec

Perfectly seared and delightfully massive.


Wild striped bass - burdock, shiso, lemon


Tenderloin of veal - crushed butterball potatoes, spring onions, hazelnuts, spring garlic confit

The veal, prepared sous-vide, was really tender but not too flavorful. This made way for the real treats: springtime trappings in the middle of Winter, which, lest I forget, doesn't exist in LA.


Chocolate bread pudding with avocado puree and corn tortilla ice cream

Providence is known as much for the seafood as for its creative dessert tasting menus, and Adrian Vasquez is known to be a complete pastry whiz. Combining some unlikely flavors which actually work really well, Vasquez's techniques reminded me a lot of Sam Mason, who was still at wd-50 when I went a few years ago.


Chocolate canelé, coffee ice cream, and hazelnuts

Overall, the meal was very good. The latter half was a little underwhelming, as Cimarusti's more creative side was really allowed to shine earlier in the amuses and appetizers. Since our late arrival only allowed for a limited tasting menu, I'm excited to come back to try the chef's menu, which I think would feature some of Cimarusti's more adventurous concoctions. Service was absolutely stellar. Our servers were knowledgeable, witty, and kept it real.

An aside about the Escort Scene
Like many high end, much-talked-about establishments in LA, Providence has a vibrant escort scene. The age disparity is not the ultimate giveaway. It's the forced civility of the awkward first date encounter, with disproportionately a lot more talking (i.e. didacticism) from the paying party and mere nodding and smiling from the other. And why wouldn't you choose Providence? It's sophisticated, the food is great, and waxing poetic about the Hokkaido scallop can sound really suave. It is a similar scene at San Francisco's own RN74. M and I learned this the hard way.

$85 - 5 courses
$110 - full tasting
$160 - chef's menu

Providence
5955 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 460-4170