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Sunday, October 16, 2011

The Bazaar By Jose Andres-Los Angeles

I've been wanting to come here for a while, and was able to score reservations last minute for Saturday night @ 10:15pm... arrived by 9:45pm, and they advised us we could wait in the bar area, and they would come get us when our table was ready.
The bar was amazing, full of beautiful people, young, old and in between. its the perfect place to go with a diverse group because no one feels out of place (as opposed to other places that has a crowed too young or too old) this was a nice mix.
We had the Manhattan cocktail with the spherical "cherry" it was good but too strong for my taste (it had whiskey) which being a mainly wine drinker & not a cocktail drinker, I didn't know, but my mom loved it as she loves whiskey.

My mom had the "smoke on water" & it was amazing! with black berry juice and other things which I can't remember... it comes "smoking" having been frozen with liquid Nitrogen!... you 1st think "how am i going to drink this" as its frozen! ... wait a few minutes and it was liquify... it was an attention grabber as everyone around us looked in amazement at the "molecular" drink.

I had the American caviar cone, tiny but tasty with cream fraiche & caviar.

then the attendant came and got us to go to our table, and we were lucky to have been seated at the "chefs" table in front of the kitchen, so we could see all the action.

things we ordered:
Olives: molecular & traditional: the molecular were not as good as the ones I had at Ferran Adria's new place in Barcelona, but if you've never had these, they are a good fun thing to try. The traditional olives were amazing with orange peel & stuffed with anchovies. (the anchovies taste is not too strong, very very good.

Tortilla de patatas "new way": potato foam, caramelized onions & egg cooked to 63degrees... it was small, but very good. (it did have an eggy taste which my mom didn't like) but I didn't mind it... it did taste like a traditional spanish tortilla.

Cotton Candy Foie Gras: This was one of my favorite of the night!... its a 1 bit dish that leaves you wanting more... 1st you get the sweetness from the cotton candy, then the crunchy from the corn nuts and then the buttery livery goodness from the foie... amazing!

Croquettas de pollo: chicken croquetas made with bechamel and shredded chicken... my mom's favorite of the night (i thought they were very tasty, but if you've been to spain... no one does these as the "spanish' nonetheless, they were very good.

Gazpacho: this is a little different from what most people think of when they think of gazpacho... as this was a "algecira" style with bread and sherry vinegar... amazing, creamy but not too thick, amazing taste.

Plate of Jamon Serrano: (served with Pa'am tomaquet: Amazing! the bread was actually superb... perfect amount of tomato, very good bread, well toasted and with the Serrano ham... what can I say... very very good.

Bunuelos: codfish fritters: these were a disappointment.... they were ok, but I wouldn't order them again... the cod was kinda dry & chewy.

we had a couple of beers which complemented the meal wonderfully.

We then were asked if we wanted to move to the Patisserie for dessert: Of Course!
Another attendent came & walked us over the area of desserts, which by the way is beautiful... we had coffee (regular coffee): it was nice and strong (I hate when its so watery) and we shared a chocolate tart with caramel... trust me... share dessert!... this was very rich... we couldn't finish it...

The nice thing is that all the tabs were transfered over from Bar to Restaurant to Patisserie... so we ended up paying all in 1 at the end and it came to: $154 for 2 people which was not too bad.

Valet was kinda expensive ($14) but you can also use a credit card to pay for it)

the service was spot on, perfect and attentive... and for me, service is key: I want to feel like I'm important to them, and they came through with flying colors.

If you don't want to spend too much, but want to check it out I suggest going to the Bar (no reservations needed) order beers & croquettas ($10) for a luxurious inexpensive night out!.

we left at 1am, and there was still people showing up!... actually, it was full!... as if it was daylight!

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