Saam @ The Bazaar, SLS Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA

How do you ever get through 22 courses in a meal?

This was my question in anticipation of what I knew would be at the very least an impressive and fun experience, filled with lots of play with food (call it Molecular Gastronomy if you'd like) although chefs are moving away from that term more and more... but why? Who cares what you call it... it was a food-fun-tasting 4 hr marathon!

The making of liquid cheese, spherification with Creme de Cassis imitating caviar, cocktails with Jalapeno, etc, etc... the evening was filled with anticipation as most of our large group of 10 decided against perusing the menu prior to our meal... we went all in blindly, without any knowledge of what they had in store for us, hoping some of the "favorites" would be included... but they were not.

We missed the Liquid Olives (although I have tried them before, as well as Mr. Adria's in Barcelona), and would have liked to try the Philly Cheese Steak or the mini Foie Burger, but sadly none of these made their appearance that night.

Having been to The Bazaar and Bar Centro, I would describe them as a hip, over the top decorated establishment, bordering Gaudy... Filled with trust fund babies, women who look like sausages in tight dresses, and if you are allergic to makeup... just don't go in! LOL



Don't get me wrong, I love, love Bazaar & Bar Centro, don't feel intimidated, especially if you wait until midnight, when the crowd has sort of loosened up... with $18 cocktails... :)

But Saam (sort of a private dining room behind The Bazaar restaurant), was a breath of fresh air from all that commotion, with superb service, very attentive staff who anticipates your every need.
A grandiose fine dining experience, only slightly tinted by an exuberant charge of $15 per person for Water! (Total of $150) ...There better be some booze in that water! LOL

In hopes not to bore you to death, I won't go into detail of all 22 courses, instead, I will give you my "Hits" and "Misses", however, as always, if you have any questions I will be more than happy to elaborate.

Hits:
* The Maitre D' was amazing, starting from the moment we were waiting in Bar Centro and grabing some drinks... once our tables were ready, he took our drinks and delivered them to SAAM.

* The lovely waitress from Bar Centro remembered me from the prior time I was there... that makes you feel special, right?
*The service all night was superb and elevated leaving us with the feeling of royalty.
*The Halle Berry Drink- Amazing! Sweet notes from the Berries, hints of spice from the Jalapeno and as soon as you move the martini glass towards your mouth, an almost instant whiff of the spicy chili hits all your senses, but in a sort of soft, subtle way... this will be the one drink I must try to replicate at home!
*Beets & Yogurt: this little Amuze melted in your mouth, the Beet crunchy merengue filled with tart, rich and thick Greek Yogurt.
* Parmesan macaron: spicy notes of the Parm, though very light.

* Uni & Eel Risotto: Admittedly never having tried Uni... it was surprisingly yummy... I really couldn't describe the taste...but it was very mild in flavor and the risotto was as should be, creamy and al dente (being a Risotto fanatic... I seldom order it, because I'm usually disappointed...but not this one.

* Mini Banh Mi- I loved this little Vietnamese sandwich delight!...soft mini baguette, rich & delicious with a hint of spicy and notes of acidity from the pickled veggies.

* The Foie Gras & Mushrooms were my favorite of the night... I think i even made a sound on my first bite, because the rest of the night the joke was "I'm having a moment"... "are you having another moment"?? LOL anyways, I guess you had to be there.... It was super rich tasting, the broth with a bit of heavy cream, and tasting of the woodsy mushrooms, the rich Foie Gras and Mushroom dish was a hit throughout.

* Dragon's Breath.... of course this was a hit!... lots of fun! took turns capturing each of us on film!

* Our first dessert was Apricot Timbale with Amaretto, a Rich, delicious frozen Apricot puree with a crust that seemed "caramelized" ... not sure how that was done... but it was superbly rich and almost creamy, flavorful yet refreshing at the same time.

Misses: Not many misses, but there's were some...

* $15 per person for water... Totaling $150 in our bill for water... we didn't request any "special water"... not sure what happened, but it was a lot!

* My Wagyu beef was delivered overdone... no pink in the middle as all the others... but they happily took it back, even agreeing with me that it was so.  The fact that they remedied the situation without blinking... won me over.

* The Sexy Little Sweets did not impress... I wished the chocolate would have been richer, more depth of flavor...I did like the white chocolate with the pink peppercorns... but the dark chocolate with salt could have used a heavier hand on the savory component.

Total 1 person: $223, including 2 cocktails, 1 $5 coffee, the famous $15 water, tax and tip. ouch!

Smoke on the Water Drink

Inside SAAM (Private dining room @ The Bazaar) SLS Hotel, Beverly Hills

Kaviar Kir Royal

Beet & Greek Yogurt

Oyster & Jamon

Seabeans in Tempura

Parmesan Macaron

Jose's Combination - Jamon Iberico de Bellota with Caviar

Patatas Bravas

Chicken Skin and Cigala

Not your everyday Caprese - with Liquid Mozzarella spheres

Crispy Nigiri

Uni & Eel Risotto

Chipirones

Banh Mi - Mini Vietnamese Sandwich

Carrot & Scallops

Halle Berry Cocktail - Spicy & Amazing!
1 Slice jalapeño
7 Blackberries
2 oz Gin
¼ oz Cointreau
¾ oz Lime juice
¾ oz Simple syrup
Ice
1 Twist of lemon

Mirugai

Wagyu Beef & Mushroom Escabeche

Mushroom & Foie Gras
Waiter mentioned they are not allowed to use the words "Foie Gras any more!... they are calling it Duck Liver... Guess who's going to be still serving FG after the ban in California starting July 1?

Inside the pouch

Japanese Baby Peaches

The making of the "Dragon's Breath - Tableside

"Dragon's Breath" Popcorn ... I have been waiting for this dish not only all night...but for weeks! It was soooo fun!

Frozen Apricot Timbale with Amaretto

Dessert Desert

Sexy Little Sweets - Mignardise

At the end of the night, and a record for me of a 4 hr dining extravaganza, I was rather content and satisfied, although by no means "full" as the portions are somewhat minuscule and someone with a rather larger appetite might need to supplement this 22 course marathon with a pre or post 4th meal.

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!