Post 105: dineLA - A Top Chef's Hospitality - Stefan's at LA Farm (LA: Santa Monica)

From San Diego Restaurant Week, we move back up to the City of Angels for our own restaurant showcase called dineLA.  At Ken's suggestion we selected Stefan's at LA Farm for its six course dineLA menu.  Chef Stefan Richter from the fifth season of Top Chef prepared the only six course menu.  That made for some easy decision making.

At the end of a long Monday in the office, the only thing I wanted to do was sit at the bar and have a drink.  So sit at the bar we did... except that was all we did because the bartender did not notice my desperate plea for alcohol.  No matter.  Chef Richter saw my frustration and jumped behind the counter to pour a glass of whiskey for me.  He recommended a super smokey Laphroaig 10 year Scotch whiskey.  Chef dropped two ice cubes in the whiskey glass and suggested to take one sip right at that moment and then again only after the ice melted.  It was seriously smokey... like a chimney during Christmas kind of smokey.

The strain of corporate America eased up, and the tension of another manic Monday melted away.  Here is our six course meal.

Michael's starter course: Cali crudo with thinly sliced hamachi and lime yuzu vinaigrette.  I always enjoy starting a meal off with raw or fresh ingredients.  It is a smart way to ease the palette into multiple courses with lighter flavors and relatively cooler temperatures.

Ken's starter course: Roasted acorn squash salad with burrata and walnuts.  Continuing with raw ingredients we were served more fresh farm fare.  The burrata cheese had a bit of acidity that worked to bring out the earthy sweetness of the squash.

Michael's pasta course: Pumpkin raviolo with brown butter and pecorino.  The brown butter combined with a fresh pasta made for a classic flavor.  I was glad that Chef did not use butternut squash in the ravioli... it is used entirely too often.

Ken's pasta course: Mushroom risotto with hen of the woods fungus and bleu cheese.  It was creamy and al dente, savory and earthy.  Mushrooms, as opposed to meats, always provide suitable flavor without making risotto or pasta dishes too greasy.

Michael's soup course: Acorn squash soup.  I was so surprised by the flavors in the soup.  It was so intense because there was a sweetness from the squash, but I also tasted hints of cinnamon and nutmeg in it.  It was reminiscent of Thanksgiving pumpkin pie.  I love that the creme fraiche was there to balance out the intensity of the flavors.

Ken's soup course: Smoked leek & potato soup.  The soup was not bad, but it tasted much milder after having spoonfuls of the intense acorn squash soup first.  Ken started with this one, so he was able to taste the leek and potato more.

Michael's fish course: West Coast halibut cooked with brik dough, zatar spice, edamame, chanterelle & shimeiji.  There was a good sear on the exterior, and the fish itself was soft and almost fluffy. 

Ken's fish course: Crispy white fish with chipotle butter, black beans, cilantro, corn, green beans.  I liked the abundance of vegetables because it prevented the dish from feeling heavy from the butter.  The crisp fish skin was a plus.

Michael's meat course: Beef tenderloin.  Celery root mash, hollandaise sauce.  Slightly raw meat... good.  Hollandaise sauce... good.  Celery root mash to sub for potato mash... good too.  This dish had warmth, which I think is very important for the diner to feel full toward the end of the meal.

Ken's meat course: Duck breast.  The braised red cabbage and lingonberry sauce had a slight sourness that contrasted the savory flavor of the duck breast.  The pretzel galette with the herbs and spices tasted like a bread stuffing that usually goes with turkey during the holidays.  This dish was a creative way to pair poultry and starch.  The duck was so tender.  So good.

Michael's dessert course: Apple beignet.  A different take on classic American apple pie a la mode? Hell yeah.  The crunchy crumbles and chocolate curls are always welcome on my dessert plate.  And ice cream? Bring it on.

Ken's dessert course: Coffee & vanilla panna cotta.  Panna cotta is a favorite of both mine and Ken's.  I have only ever had a uniform flavor of panna cotta, so to see the swirl of coffee and vanilla together sparked more than just curiosity.  I preferred some sort of whipped cream to tie the final course together, but it was good nonetheless.

Ken and I thoroughly enjoyed our experience at Stefan's, especially because Chef made a full fledged effort to introduce himself and immerse in conversation.  We also appreciated that Chef and his staff complied with my troublesome request to walk into the kitchen after each dish was prepared to take photographs.  Thank you very much Chef Richter for the hospitable welcome and delicious meal.  And we will definitely take you up on the chance to have a meal in the kitchen while you run your "shit show."  I can't wait.

The event celebrating Chef Stefan's 15th anniversary in America is upcoming and will feature a three course preset menu for 15 per person.  Until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20130128

Post 96: Two Times Quartino (Chicago: Near North Side)

In my very short trip in Chicago, most of which was spent in the suburbs by O' Hare Airport, I managed to come across Quartino twice.  The first time was a planned dinner with an old friend.  The second time was accidental... the result of a digestive walk after consuming Chicagoland staples on Ontario Street.  Quartino, is a tapas restaurant, but one that specializes in Italian small plates rather than the traditional Spanish snacks.  The menu is extensive, ranging from pizza to pasta to risotto.  There is a section for salumi and formaggi, and three of the eight folds in the paper menu are dedicated to wine.  Quartino was an ideal place to meet Jen, my friend from back home who had recently moved to the Windy City.

Whether sitting at the bar in the afternoon or settling down for dinner in the evening, the meat and cheese charcuterie is one that must be ordered.  The full platter is of salumeria tasting is two selection of meat and cheese each, three spuntini, and an assortment of olives.  The star of the salumi on the menu is definitely the house made duck proscuitto, a seasoned duck breast that is smooth and fatty, peppery and fragrant, vibrant and beautiful.  Another highlight is the fontina val d'aosta, a cow's milk cheese that is creamy and soft, and perfectly spreadable over crusty bread.

And now we turn to the dishes we ordered for dinner the night before.  The first thing we ordered was crisp calamari, which has become a must as an Italian appetizer.  It was cut in wide curls, and it was so fresh.  It was not overcooked to the point of tasting like a rubber band, just tender in the middle and slightly crisp from the breading on the outside.  The lemon and organic tomato sauce only added to its freshness.  It had to have been one of the best calamari plates I have ever had.

The next item we ordered was the sea scallops, grilled with beautiful sear impressions with a hint of lemon and caperberries.  There are not too many ways to grill sea scallops, so I appreciated that the restaurant served them on a bed of vegetables and sliced peppers in a buttery sauce.  The peppers gave a pleasant kick to an otherwise mild dish.  It wasn't completely out of the ordinary, but it was just different enough to make this dish have its own personality.

When Jen and I saw that angus beef carpaccio was on the menu, we had to order it.  Any carpaccio, tartare, or steak for that matter, is simply a favorite of mine.  Topped with shaved celery, parmigiano reggiano and extra virgin olive oil, the dish was a perfect balance of savory protein, salty dairy, and light greens.  I really liked that celery leaves were shaved along with the stalk.  The celery leaves gave the dish a very clean taste.  My only wish was that the cheese was grated as thin as the beef, but it was good nonetheless.

For a more substantial dish, we also ordered the roasted Tuscan sausage and peppers.  It was the first truly meaty dish that was served during the meal.  Even though the calamari and the scallops were hot dishes, the sausage and peppers were the first dish to make me feel warm.  Thanks to this dish I had forgotten all about the elements in the Windy City.  It was raining, and the wind was definitely blowing hard.

Of the four risotto dishes on the menu, we selected the mushroom risotto made with portobello, balsamic and pork stock.  The risotto was creamy and hearty, cooked to just al dente.  The comforting, hot food was a smart way to cap off the meal to make us feel full and satisfied. 

Even though we were absolutely stuffed, we had to have dessert.  Okay, so maybe I had to have dessert, and I conned Jen into joining me for dessert.  First were the zeppole, freshly made Italian doughnuts that were like a cross between giant donut holes and mini cream puffs.  They were dusted with powdered sugar on top and served with chocolate dipping sauce on the side.  Chocolate, of course, made the deep fried ball of dough that much better.

We also got chocolate cake.  What's wrong with us? Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs that night... maybe not just that night.  The torta al cioccolato topped with vanilla gelato sealed the deal for the night.  The hot chocolate cake melted the gelato too quickly, so I had no choice but to order another scoop.  Jen looked at me like I was crazy, but a cold gelato must be eaten the proper way.  I made sure to walk up and down the stairs to the bathroom a number of times to somehow stir up the digestion.  I'm not sure it worked out the way I had thought.

It had been years since I had eaten with Jen, but it seemed like we made up for all the lost meals in one night.  I was very glad that we were able to catch up while trying a variety of different Italian dishes all done tapas style.  With all the food that we had ordered for two people, I was surprised that we didn't even order from the pizza or pasta section.  That, I guess, will be saved for next time.  It was good to see both Jen and Chicago again.  Jen, come back and visit soon! Until the next business trip, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20121018-19

Post 58: Be Happy... Chatting over Tartare (LA: Beverly Hills)

Back when I still had full use and employment of my teeth, a long lost friend and I decided to throw on our bourgeois attitude and roll up to Chaya for a five-course chef's tasting.  I had B.H. tattooed on my aura for that meal.  And if the letters B and H didn't mean Beverly Hills at that time, it meant be happy for the two of us.  And we were as happy as two long, lost friends could possibly be... we watched beautiful people sit and just be as beautiful as their food... and we chatted as puffy, white clouds rolled away in the big, blue sky... and we chatted as the big, orange star we call the sun lowered itself to cast a shady gloom over my risotto... and we chatted until the last dollop of vanilla caramel ice cream camouflaged itself against the ceramic dish it came in.  These are the three dishes from Chaya Brasserie that made us the most happy.

Melon y jamon
compressed melon, burrata cheese, salame, arugula, aged balsamic vinegar reduction

The first time I had melon and cured Italian meat in combination, I was a recent high school graduate vacationing with family in Canada of all places.  It was the Fairmont resort somewhere in the wilderness of Alberta that introduced me to my first combination of sweet melon and salty Italian prosciutto.  I hadn't had a serious relationship at the time, but I knew I was in love.

There's something about the contrasting sweet and salty flavors and the rough and smooth textures that makes complete sense... like when smooth slices of salty ham is placed on top of fibrous triangles of pineapple on pizza... when sprinkles of course sea salt is introduced to smooth, sweet caramel anything.  I love that I can take the salami or prosciutto and fold it over a freshly cut piece of melon.  I breathe a sigh of happiness when I do it... as if burdens have been lifted from my shoulders and pressures from life tip toe away from my heart.  I feel the same comfort when I wrap myself in blankets at bedtime.  It's not the same blanket wrap that I do when I'm freezing in the middle of winter or the blanket wrap that I do at the end of a tough day.  It's a light, delicate wrap.  A peaceful one that produces a sigh of happiness.  The kind you do on vacation.  Yes, that one.  And each bite is like having your head hit the fluffiest of down pillows... again and again... happiness.

Salmon tartare and mi-cuit
tartare: wasabi tobiko, cilantro blossom, pickled daikon radish squares
cucumber raita, wild arugula, ahi amarillo aioli, seaweed jelly
mi-cuit: sovid, wasabi creme fraiche

It's not quite tuna tartare yet not quite salmon sashimi... it's a profound dish in its own right.  The seemingly simple dish of salmon tartare actually produced a couple of wows.  The tenderness of the salmon protein became even more supple as the light layer of olive oil marinated with the salmon's own natural lipids.  Is anyone thinking about bikini mud wrestling besides me? Not so much? Hey, the analogy works.

What else works are the uniquely shaped but uniformly sized pieces of salmon.  They fit together like a chaotically constructed Jenga set teetering on the edge of collapse, yet they remain as stable as the Bird's Nest in Beijing.  So rather than being distracted by which piece of salmon is bigger or smaller than the other, the tongue can simply relax and focus on how fresh the salmon is... and the brain can say, "wow, this is good... wow, wow, wow."  The brain will be so pleasured by the bliss of deliciousness that it won't know it's fish at all.

Spring pea risotto
Japanese green risotto, sugar snaps, English peas
Parmesan, mascarpone, curry, basil, confetti flowers

Normally I wouldn't find rice and vegetables to be very exciting, but the spring pea risotto invoked a sense of happy relaxation in me.  It was as beautiful tasting as it was beautiful looking, albeit the image was marred by both the lack of natural lighting and my lack of savvy with photo editing.  But no matter... what's good is still good.

The feeling of intense absence of tension in my body was brought by the sudden surprise of curry in the waves of creamy rice.  I had a feeling that it was Japanese curry powder, which unlike Thai or Indian curries, is a bit more subtle and slightly sweet.  The taste is not as prickly on the tongue as a Thai green curry or an Indian masala.  Other surprises came in the form of a pea here and a pea there, just the right amount of healthy vileness and just the right amount of pleasant, non-shocking discovery.  This was the kind of dish that I could eat by the pool.  I wouldn't mind replacing the obligatory poolside cocktail with this risotto dish either.  Swirling a big, metal spoon around in creamy, not firm, not mushy, perfectly spiced rice is so much more gratifying that twirling a swizzle stick in a martini glass.  It's just not the same.

The final dish was a beef duo of short rib and tenderloin with porcini puree and daube sauce.  It was... alright.  And the dessert tasting was a chocolate croissant bread pudding with vanilla caramel ice cream.  I was already too happy to be bothered with a sugar high.  But no matter... good food and a good friend to jumpstart a Friday evening creates a casual, lingering happiness that carries over into the start of Saturday.  To the start of a happy weekend, everyone... let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Esther of e*star LA posted on her off-menu tastings at Chaya Brasserie here.

ML - 20110610