The Bazaar by Jose Andres - Dine in LA Week

Monday,  January 21, 2019

Last dinner on our list for Dine in LA Week. This is a new one for me. The doors to the restaurant took up more space than the doors to the SLS Hotel. It did not look anything close to a normal dining establishment. Maybe that is why they call it the Bazaar. Lots of side rooms for different reasons. A bar that serves nothing but  Iberico Jamon  Ham and sausages. Around the corner from that a bar that serves nothing but cheeses.  Off to one side is the dessert bar. Also have odd things for sale. It is a Bazaar. One wall had pictures of the faces of notables. Go around the corner and there is the back of the wall with pictures of the back of the head of those notables. It was different and odd to me. There was lots to look at. Restaurant was semi busy but it was a Monday and a holiday.  Service to me was very spotty. We ended up opening most of our wines ourselves. The waiter disappeared quite frequently.

I had some negatives about this establishment. Service was hit and miss.  They seemed to have an issue replacing your used silverware. I am not interested in using the same spoon that I used on oysters on the ramen dish. The small plate that we had to put our "Tapas" on was never replace. with clean. If you asked you got but it was never offered.  Guess I am spoiled because of dining at other establishments that replace silverware and dishes constantly. But I was dining at an expensive restaurant not the Claim Jumper and was disappointed.

They had a special on top of the Dine in LA Week special prix fixe menu. For $30 per person you could get 4 grams of black truffle added to four different dishes. We all opted for that add on and it was well worth it.

I will say all the food was excellent. No complaints on that part. 

We started out with a Hamachi Cone. A Hamachi mousse filled tuille. Two bites and it was yummy.
Then onto a Cheese Tart with jam and Idiazabal cheese ( sheeps milk). A one bite wonder and lastly Beef Tartare with Kimchi crackers, pickled shallots and fried capers. Another delectable bite.

Next was a serving of raw oysters, with leche de tigre, aji amarillo and fresno chiles. Bit of a bite because of the fresnos and aji amarillos. Bit not overwhelming

Tuna Ceviche was supposed to me next but it came in later when we asked where is was. When it did show up it was a very good quality of tuna. Good flavor.

A platter of Fermin Embutidos which was a selection of dried, cured sausages, chorizo, lomo and salchichon along with a "tomato" bread. Very nice selection and very good quality.

Then onto Tortilla De Patatas "New Way".  Potato foam, egg 63 (poached egg at 63 degrees) and caramelized onions.. Served in a small glass with a wooden serving spoon. Interesting flavors and it was a finger licking good type of dish.

A bowl of Mushroom Ramen, quail egg, nori, fried garlic an pork belly.  The hot broth was poured into the bowl at tableside. This dish had excellent flavors but the very tiny "ramen" noodles were an odd taste sensation.

Next up was Croquetas De Pollo - chicken - bechamel fritters. Soft and gooey

A dish called Rossejat Negra was set down. Paella style pasta, squid ink, sepia sofrito and shrimp. Colors were beautiful and flavors were spot on.

All of a sudden we get another platter of meat but this one was Jamon Iberico Ham with tomato bread. This was not on the menu and we think it was ordered by another table because there were only 4 pieces of bread and we were a table of 5. Since it was already set on our table they let is keep it.

My least favorite dish was Brussells Sprouts with lemon puree, apricots, grapes and lemon air. Foamy, airy white stuff on top of the sprouts. Looked very strange. Did not think the flavors were there at all.

Next to last was Seared Wagyu beef cheeks with kalamata olives and black garlic. Outstanding flavor.

Last before dessert is a "Philly" cheesesteak. Air bread, cheddar and wagyu beef. This had some black truffle sliced on top. One of the best bites of the evening.

You had your choice between Dirty Chai Mousse Cake or Traditionsl Spanish Flan. No one asked what we wanted. They just brought 2 flans and 3 cakes. We pointed out that fact so they brought us 2 more flans and let us keep the extra cakes.

Again semi sloppy service and inattention on part of the waitstaff.

We had a fabulous selection of wines tonight. All excellent.  They did give us a glass of  Poema Spanish Cava at the beginning of the meal which was very nice..

2004 Bollinger, La Grande Annee, Brut Rose.

2005 Torres, Gran Coronas, Cabernet Sauvignon.

1987 Don Pedro Ximemez, Grand Reserva, Bodgeas T Albalb,

1996 Remirez dea Ganuza, Reserva, Rioja

2009 Saxum, Pederewski Vineyard, 

2008 Hospice de Beaune, Premier Cru