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Archive for July 2013

Lazy Hed-Ox-ism

Jul31

Location: 241 South San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, California 90012. 213-626-5299

Date: July 30, 2013

Cuisine: American

Rating: Fab Fun

Lazy Ox Canteen is a regular spot on the Hedonist rotation. This downtown eatery is very much in the LA Zeiltgeist, offering up drinks, hard surfaces, paper menus, and really tasty ingredient driven flavor forward food.

There is even outside dining, a downtown rarity.

But the interior is all gastro pub.

As usual with Hedonist events, we all bring lots and lots of great wine (corkage free!).

1985 Bouchard Père et Fils Bâtard-Montrachet. In great shape, honeysuckle and creme brûlée.

Pigs ear chicharrones. escabeche, tomatillo salsa, harissa.

Holy piggy, I’m eating a pig ear!

2008 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre. Burgound 90. As it almost always is, this is aromatically more refined with admirably pure and wonderfully fresh hazelnut and peach aromas laced with discreet exotic fruit and citrus hints adding pretty top notes. There is good volume to the precise and energetic middle weight flavors that possess a bit more underlying material and fine length on the bone dry finish. I particularly like the complexity and overall sense of harmony.

Chicken liver pate violet mustard, grilled bread, pickled vegetables.

Like Rosh Hashanah.

2001 Gros Frère et Sœur Clos Vougeot Musigni. Burghound 88. Less expressive than the Grand Echézeaux with the classic young Clos de Vougeot austerity and flavors that are powerful but not as big or weighty as the GE. There is lovely length, good precision and this finishes with a dusty, earthy, beautifully complex quality. In short, this is delicious and well made.

Caramelized cauliflower chili flake, lime, pine nuts.

Very similar to the Gjelina dish, but still great.

1999 Louis Jadot Echezeaux. 95 points. Wine had a beautiful, intense aroma of bark, tar and musty dark fruits. On the palatte, lots of dark fruits–blackberries, black cherries and cassis. Lots of forest floor hints, and great minerality. If I had one complaint, albeit a very minor one, this wine lacked ever-so-slightly in elegance–I guess there’s the difference between this one and a Grand Echezeaux. The wine was medium to full bodied, showing wonderfully with still a bit of soft tannins on exhibit. I think this wine is in a great spot right now. As I always say, there’s no better wine than a fine burgundy–this and the Echezeau are prime examples. An extremely enjoyable wine!

Momotaro tomato kale lollipops, cilantro basil paste, balsamic, pinenut.

1969 Gevrey-Chambertin Cave Bouvier. Not in bad shape at all for 44 year old pinot noir. Still some fruit, and not particularly oxidized. Tasted like strawberry jam!

Green salad.

1961 Beychevelle. Parker 89. An excellent, but not outstanding effort for the vintage, the 1961 Beychevelle exhibits a healthy, dark ruby/plum-like color, attractive, cedary, ripe fruit, a round, generous, expansive palate, and a lush finish.

Really in excellent shape as well, considering.

Can of sardines aged galician sardines, herb salad, butter.

1970 Haut Brion. Parker 85. Although surprisingly light-bodied, consistently pleasant and enjoyable, this is an undistinguished effort. The 1970 Haut-Brion has always come across as angular, and lacking the exceptional perfume and complexity this estate can achieve. In this tasting, the wine displayed vegetal, tobacco scents, good spice, some fruit, and a medium ruby color with significant amber. The tannin and acidity were too high for the amount of fruit, glycerin, and extract.

Our bottle was a bit oxidized. It tasted porty with strong cassis tones.

Pescatore handmade basil pasta, manila clam, pei. mussle.

1978 Château Mont-Redon Châteauneuf-du-Pape. 95 points. Medium garnet colour, very bright and clear. Mature nose of medium intensity, with dried fruit, wet cedar wood and earthy forest floor, incense and sweet spice. Palate is medium bodied, elegant and velvety with dried plummy fruit, notes of chocolate, some floral nuances and sweet spice. Finish is medium with just a hint of tannins. Acidity is medium and mouthfell is velvety. Complete mature and complex wine, lovely.

Pan fried mackerel horseradish salsa, marinated tomato, potato salad.

1994 Chapoutier Ermitage le Pavillon. Parker 96. The 1994 Le Pavilion is a blockbuster, phenomenally concentrated wine. Le Pavilion is generally among the top three or four wines of France in every vintage! The 1994’s opaque purple color, and wonderfully sweet, pure nose of cassis and other black fruits intertwined with minerals, are followed by a wine of profound richness, great complexity, and full body. It is almost the essence of blackberries and cassis. There is huge tannin in this monster Hermitage, that somehow manages to keep its balance and elegance. Made from a parcel of vines (which I have walked through), some of which predate the phylloxera epidemic, the 1994 Ermitage Le Pavilion should be purchased only by those who are willing to invest 10-12 years of cellaring. It will not reach full maturity before the end of the first decade of the next century, after which it will last for 30 + years.

Porcini risotto asparagus, parmigiano reggiano.

2006 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis. Parker 97. The 2006 Barolo Cannubi Boschis is seductive, round and sweet in its ripe dark fruit. The wine continues to gain weight in the glass, showing a level of density that nearly manages to cover the tannins. Floral notes add lift on the finish. This is a powerful, linear Cannubi Boschis with tons of energy and muscle, but it will require quite a bit of patience. Sandrone harvests his three parcels in Cannubi Boschis separately. Vinification takes place in stainless steel. The wines undergo malolactic fermentation and are aged in 500-liter barrels (roughly 20% new) for a year. Once the final blend is assembled, the wine goes back into oak for another year prior to being bottled in the spring. Sandrone is one of the earliest producers to bottle, which he does to preserve as much freshness as possible.

Way too young though. Big Barolos are best after at least 15 years in the bottle.

Southern style whole fried chicken • biscuits + honey, collard greens, coleslaw.

This was some great fried chicken. Not as good as the ad hoc, but still great.

2007 Petrolo Galatrona IGT. Parker 95+. Petrolo’s 2007 Galatrona (Merlot) is another of the successes of the vintage. It is a dark, seamless Galatrona packed with dark fruit, cassis, minerals and French oak. Despite the wine’s opulence and richness, the fruit retains considerable clarity as well as nuance. Today the French oak is a touch pronounced, but in a few years this dense, plush Merlot from impeccably-farmed hillside vineyards should be firing on all cylinders.

Lazy ox burger bravo farms white cheddar, whole grain mustard, kennebec frittes.

Kongsgaard & Hatton Merlot Arietta Hudson Vineyard.

Lamb rack curry couscous, morel gravy, kale lollipops.

Really nice lamb.

2001 Jean-Michel Gerin Côte-Rôtie La Landonne. Parker 89-92. Made from 100% Syrah, the 2001 Cote Rotie La Landonne exhibits a saturated blue/purple color in addition to pure notes of liquified minerals intermixed with creosote, blackberries, and blueberries. Dense, ripe, peppery, and rich, this is an impressive effort for the vintage, but patience is warranted.

Brussel sprout garlic, chili, lime, crispy bacon.

This too is like Gjelina.

1996 Lynch Bages. Parker 93. The 1996 exhibits a dark plum/ruby/purple color that is just beginning to lighten at the edge, surprisingly velvety tannins and a classic Pauillac bouquet of lead pencil shavings, cedarwood, black currants, sweet cherries and spice box. This medium to full-bodied, elegant, savory, broad wine is still five years away from full maturity. It should continue to drink well for another 10-15 years.

Panna cotta vanilla panna cotta, strawberry jam, mint leaf.

Very light and refreshing.

1997 Joseph Phelps Insignia Proprietary Red Wine. Parker 96. The prodigious 1997 Insignia (83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, and 3% Petit-Verdot) lives up to its pre-bottling promise. Tasted on three separate occasions, every bottle has hit the bull’s eye. The color is a saturated thick-looking blue/purple. The nose offers up explosive aromas of jammy black fruits, licorice, Asian spices, vanillin, and cedar. Full-bodied as well as exceptionally pure and impressively endowed, this blockbuster yet surprisingly elegant wine cuts a brilliant swath across the palate. A seamless effort with beautifully integrated acidity, sweet tannin, and alcohol, it is still an infant, but can be drunk with considerable pleasure.

Rice pudding caramel, cookie crumb.

I love rice pudding.

2004 Lucien Le Moine Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 91-94. Mild reduction and pain grillé set off green apple, pear and white peach aromas that merge into rich, concentrated and very powerful full-bodied flavors that possess superb levels of dry extract and a strikingly long and driving finish that really stains the palate. This too finishes bone dry and will require extended cellar time to see its apogee.

Butterscotch pudding caramel, vanilla cookie crumb.

And I can’t say which I like better, rice pudding or butterscotch? It’s so hard to decide.

House made donut chocolate custard, caramelized apple. Who can knock a great donut?

All in all, this was another blockbuster Hedonist night. The food was awesome, tasty, and extremely wine friendly. They brought out the dishes mostly one at a time (which us photographers and drinkers love) and the wine was really to my taste tonight because there were a lot of Burgs, older stuff, and great Rhones. Yum. Good thing for the milk thistle (hangover cure).

Plus, the company as usual was awesome!

More crazy Hedonist adventures or

LA dining reviews click here.

Not all Hedonists are big middle aged guys working on their guts!

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Bâtard-Montrachet, Bouchard Père et Fils, Clos de Vougeot, Échezeaux, Grands Échezeaux, hedonists, lamb, Lazy Ox, Lazy Ox Canteen, Los Angeles, Maison Louis Jadot, Meursault, Wine

Orange is the New Black

Jul29

Title: Orange is the New Black

Genre: Prison Drama

Watched: July, 2013

Summary: first rate characterization

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Netflix has been very aggressive this year creating new content and I’ve taken the time to watch House of Cards, Hemlock Grove, and now Orange. The first was good. The second interesting (if flawed). And the third just plain excellent.

Orange is the New Black is the brainchild of Jenji Kohan, creator of the awesome (for 3-4 seasons at least) Weeds. While it retains the older show’s blended drama/comedy quality, Orange forsakes Weed’s satirical surrealism and shifts far closer to realist drama while maintaining a light touch.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nryWkAaWjKg]

Like much good modern long form television, Orange rejects the need to pigeonhole each episode into a classic dramatic arc. What it does is simple in concept, but hard in practice: build solid characters and put them through the ringer. The excellent mostly female cast is highly varied, and we, like Piper herself find them fairly opaque on first meet. The show deftly borrows the “Lost technique” to flesh out the personalities. Each episode (more or less) flashes back to reveal the character of an individual woman, showing who they are and how they got here. Structurally, this serves to take agents whose present time actions may be less than endearing, and build audience sympathy for them.

That 70s show star returns as the mysterious and sexy “Alex”

This is a powerful combination. Each backstory is vaguely tragic. Unfortunate circumstances and poor (if understandable) choices lead each character to their present miserable states. Nothing builds likeability like a checkered past. This depth of caring elevates the present-time drama above the norm. And it’s pretty good to start with. With the exception of the last two episodes, the twisting and turning is moderate, dramatic, and flowing from character. Orange mostly avoids the heavy-handed whiplash of over-plotted dramas (Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, and the like).

Fundamentally, good story telling is about giving characters you care for difficult emotional choices — and Orange delivers on that front.

Plus, a woman’s prison is an inherently titillating setting (couldn’t resist). The writers use a light touch here while deftly exploring the ins and out of this weird world. This is a minimum security prison and things are unpleasant, but not overly so — and sometimes surprisingly casual and informal. The women themselves are a weird mix and it all serves to be quite interesting. And for the most part, they’re also all pretty good people. Realistic? I have no idea, but fun to watch.

Check out more TV reviews.

By: agavin
Comments (8)

Posted in: Television

Tagged as: Jenji Kohan, Laura Prepon, Netflix, Orange is the New Black, Taylor Schilling, Television, Television Review

Wine on the Beach

Jul25

This week I was lucky enough to be invited to a absolutely fabulous wine dinner hosted by Eric Cotsen at his lovely Malibu pad. A number of us Hedonists attended. Eric has these diners regularly and they feature an awesome setting, great company, wonderful food, and amazing wines provided by both him and the guests. All the wines are served blind (more or less).

You can see the ocean is rather close! Like under the house.

The chefs whip up our feast.

Eric has these crazy high tech nitrogen dispensers that preserve (and aerate) the wines. He even has sets of glasses with etched number and letter combos so you can pair to the wines.

2005 Mayacamas Vineyards Chardonnay. Mineral driven, with a touch of oxidation on the palate. Finishes with a huge bright Chablis like burst of acidity, and then a slightly odd finish. I liked it for its uniqueness, and that bracing acidity. I would have guessed it was a Chablis.

2008 Aubert Chardonnay Reuling Vineyard. IWC 93. Pale, green-tinged yellow. Reticent but pure aromas of crushed stone, flowers and herbal tea. Broad, classically dry and powerful, with primary fruit flavors currently overshadowed by soil-driven minerality. This is chewy-verging-on-thick and seems the least expressive of this set of chardonnays today. Tasted blind, I would have sworn this was a Batard-Montrachet (albeit a slightly hot one).

1988 Chateau Margaux. Parker 89. In a somewhat chunky, full-bodied, rather muscular style, with a dark, almost opaque garnet color and a big, smoky, earthy nose, with hints of compost, melted asphalt, black fruits, mushrooms, and new oak, this wine lacks the elegance one expects from Chateau Margaux, but does have plenty of tough-textured tannin and an almost rustic, corpulent style to it. The wine is mouth-staining as well as mouth-filling, but in a relatively chunky style.

1988 Petrus. Parker 91-94. This wine has become increasingly herbaceous with the tannins pushing through the fruit and becoming more aggressive. The wine started off life impressively deep ruby/purple but is now showing some amber at the edge. It is a medium-bodied, rather elegant style of Petrus with a distinctive cedary, almost celery component intermixed with a hint of caramel and sweet mulberry and black cherry fruit. It has aged far less evenly than I would have thought and is probably best drunk over the next 8-10 years.

1988 Lafite-Rothschild. Parker 94. Broodingly backward and in need of considerable bottle age, the 1988 is a classic expression of Lafite. This deeply-colored wine exhibits the tell-tale Lafite bouquet of cedar, subtle herbs, dried pit fruits, minerals, and cassis. Extremely concentrated, with brilliantly focused flavors and huge tannins, this backward, yet impressively endowed Lafite-Rothschild may well turn out to be the wine of the vintage!

1988 Latour. Parker 91. The best showing yet for a wine from this under-rated vintage, the dark garnet-colored 1988 Latour reveals slight amber at the edge. A bouquet of melted tar, plums, black currants, cedar, and underbrush is followed by a sweet entry, with medium to full body, excellent ripeness, and mature tannin. It is a classic, elegant Latour with more meaty, vegetable-like flavors than are found in a riper year, such as 1989 and 1990. The 1988 has just begun to enter its plateau of maturity, where it should remain for 25 years.

1988 Mouton-Rothschild. Parker 89. The 1988 has an aroma of exotic spices, minerals, blackcurrants, and oak. In the mouth, it is a much firmer, tougher, more obviously tannic wine than the 1989. It is a beautifully made 1988 that will last 20-30 years, but the astringency of the tannins is slightly troubling. Patience will be a necessity for purchasers of this wine.

1988 Haut Brion. Parker 92. A more firmly structured Haut-Brion, built somewhat along the lines of the 1996, this dark garnet-colored wine is showing notes of licorice, underbrush, compost, truffles, dried herbs, creosote, and sweet black cherries and currants. Medium-bodied, rich, but still structured, this wine unfolds incrementally on the palate, showing superb density and a lot of complex Graves elements. It is just beginning to hit its plateau of full maturity.

A nice cheese plate with a variety of fermented dairy and some excellent truffle honey.

Slightly spicy salmon in little sesame crisps with flying fish roe. Very nice.

Fig on toast with cheese and a bit of mint.

Lamb chops and a dijon sauce. I saw the labradors eyeing these!

A pizza-like quesadilla (or vice versa).

Avocado with a bit of Jalepeno.

Salmon on pizza-like bread with creme-fraiche and capers. Good, although not as good as my version :-).

After a bit we all moved outside to this lovely table with a firepit. The waves were crashing UNDER us!

2002 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros Cote de Bouguerots. Burghound 94. The subtle hint of wood spice this displayed in its youth has now been completely absorbed which gives full rein to the wonderfully complex nose of minerals, white flowers and a hint of crushed oyster shells that introduces muscular, powerful, deep and broad flavors that are blessed with superb length and terrific vibrancy. Those that may doubt that Bougros merits its grand cru status need only experience this wine to be persuaded. A great effort that is drinking well already though for my taste, it needs another 2 to 4 years in the cellar first. I have tasted this wine many times with consistent notes.

1993 Masson Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Vergelesses. I couldn’t find anything on this wine, and I’m not even sure I tasted it. That’s the trade off with tasting blind, as I would have for sure.

2008 Domaine Joseph Roty Charmes-Chambertin. Burghound 93. A pungent mix of wood spice, earth, red berry fruit, game, smoke and an interesting menthol note highlights the moderately animale character of the rich, full, refined and pure broad-shouldered flavors underpinned by ripe and very firm tannins that culminate in a moderately austere and still very backward finish. This will require moderate cellar time to be at its best, which at this early stage I would estimate at 12 to 15 years.

2005 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Galitzine Vineyard. Parker 97. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Galitzine Vineyard comes from the fifth leaf of this estate vineyard and in this vintage contains 4.5% Merlot. The wine was aged for 22 months in 100% new French oak. Opaque purple-colored, its distinctive aromatics leap from the glass. Toasty oak, scorched earth, a hint of truffle, black cherry, black raspberry, and blackberry liqueur aromas are quite mesmerizing. On the palate, this sizable effort is firm, full-bodied, and structured, demanding 6-8 years of cellaring. It falls a bit short of the flagship Cabernet Sauvignon in terms of complexity but bear in mind that this is still a very young vineyard.

From my cellar, 1999 Fougeray de Beauclair Bonnes Mares. Burghound 91. Saturated deep ruby color, whiff of new oak to go with the explosive black raspberry fruit and almost liqueur-like flavors with lots of sweet pinot sap, buried tannins and excellent length. It is very ripe and powerful yet not over the top and remains beautifully elegant.

I was disappointed at how this was drinking now. I think it needs a bit more time to open up and gain more secondary notes. There was still a good amount of oak on it, and I like all my oak gone in a burg.

1997 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Fay Vineyard. Parker 87. As long time readers know, I have not been overwhelmed by the winemaking direction taken at Stag’s Leap. That said, this 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Fay Vineyard exhibits a dark ruby/purple color in addition to an attractive nose of minerals, Asian spices, black currants, and earth. The wine is medium to full-bodied, with good acidity, ripe tannin, and a slightly compressed finish. This elegant, but unexciting effort should drink well for 10-12 years.

2000 Plumpjack Cabernet Sauvignon Estate. Parker 87-89. The only 2000 I tasted was the Cabernet Sauvignon Estate. It reveals the vintage’s charm, sweet tannin, and lovely ripe fruit, but those characteristics are slightly negated by the fact that it does not have the depth, persistence, layers, or concentration of a great Napa vintage.

Tomato, basil, burrata or mozzarella, and a fried eggplant thingy.

2000 La Mission Haut Brion. Parker 100! One of the wines of the vintage, the 2000 has barely budged in its evolution since it was bottled and released in 2002. After ten years in bottle, it still reveals a dense opaque purple color along with a potentially sensational bouquet of blueberries, black currants, graphite, asphalt and background oak. Extremely powerful, full-bodied and superbly concentrated with good acidity and high but round tannins, this massive La Mission-Haut-Brion should take its place among this estate’s most hallowed vintages when it hits full maturity in another one to two decades. I was surprised by just how youthful this wine tasted at age 12. If tasted blind, I would have guessed it to be around 4 to 5 years old.

2003 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. Parker 95. The brilliant, opulent, fleshy 2003 Pichon Lalande (65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot) possesses a high pH of 3.8 as well as 13% alcohol. Reminiscent of the 1982 Pichon Lalande (which never shut down and continues to go from strength to strength), the dense plum/purple-colored 2003 offers gorgeous aromas of blackberries, plum liqueur, sweet cherries, smoke, and melted licorice. Fleshy, full-bodied, and intense, displaying a seamless integration of wood, acidity, tannin, and alcohol, this beauty can be drunk now or cellared for 20 years or more.

2003 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Da Capo. Parker 100! For the fourth time, the Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee da Capo has been produced, and for the fourth time, it has received a perfect score although I might back off the 2000’s perfect score based on the fact that it seems to be more of an upper-ninety point wine than pure perfection these days. The 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee da Capo has distanced itself ever so slightly from the 2003 Cuvee Reservee. Before bottling and immediately after bottling, these two wines’ differences were not as evident. At present the Capo reveals that extra level of flavor, power, complexity and richness. It is a big wine (16.1% alcohol – less than in the 1998, but more than in the 2000 and 2007) boasting a dark plum/garnet color as well as a stunning bouquet of aged beef intermixed with pepper, herbes de Provence, and steak au poivre. This unctuously textured, full-bodied Chateauneuf possesses enormous body, huge flavors and sweet, velvety tannins. Still youthful, it has not yet begun to close down, and I’m not sure it ever will given this unusual vintage. It is a modern day classic that should continue to provide provocative as well as compelling drinking for 20-30+ years.

2006 Arkenstone Cabernet Sauvignon Obsidian. 95 points. This was young and full throttle, still showing a harsh oak treatment on the palate and finish that covered the quite ripe red fruit. Long vanilla cream finish. While the fruit was big enough with the heavy oak, seemed disjointed and overdone in this lineup. Revisit in 5yrs unless you aren’t shy of oak.

From my cellar, 2004 Cantine del Castello Boca Piemonte Conti. I brought this because it’s sneaky, and this was a blind tasting. The 2004 isn’t drinking nearly as well right now as the 2003. It has a lot more structure and needs several years to mellow out.

Conterno Barolo Monfortino Riserva. I couldn’t see what year this was, but it was classic mid aged barolo and full of stiff tannins.

Filet in “special” marinate and sauce with a bit of salad and wasabi mashed potatoes. The sauce was great, close to one of those Kentucky style bourbon type steak sauces.

2001 De Suduiraut. Parker 98. A prodigious effort, possibly the finest Suduiraut since 1959, the medium gold-colored 2001 offers notes of creme brulee, caramelized citrus, Grand Marnier, honeysuckle, and other exotic fruits as well as a pleasant touch of oak. With terrific acidity, a voluptuous/unctuous palate, and sweet, powerful flavors buttressed by crisp acidity, it is a phenomenal Sauternes.

1988 Coutet Cuvee Madame. Parker 99. Tiny quantities are made of Coutet’s Cuvee Madame, a spectacularly rich Barsac that, along with Yquem, is the quintessential example of what heights a great sweet wine can achieve. The 1988, 1989 and 1990 vintages are nearly perfect wines. The 1990 is the richest and most powerful, but the 1988’s extraordinary perfume is other-worldly. All three wines offer a profound bouquet of smoky, toasty new oak combined with honeyed peaches and apricots, as well as coconuts and a touch of creme brulee. With extraordinarily rich, full-bodied, marvelously extracted personalities, as well as wonderful underlying acidity, these are spectacular wines.
As a postscript, many readers may not realize that Coutet’s Cuvee Madame is only released in great vintages. It is produced from the oldest vines and most botrysized grapes.

My favorite of the deserts wines by far. Really fabulous.

Tokaji Aszu Disznoko. Also nice, with that crisp acidity mixed in with the sweet.

Chocolate soufflé. It maybe had a bit of coffee in it and it certainly didn’t suck.

A kind of sticky toffee pudding type cake. Rather lovely.

This was just a great great evening. A wonderful setting with fun company — and the wines! There were some real bruisers here. Although I’m still not a massive fan of the blind and unordered format. I think the wines themselves are best enjoyed 2-4 at a time in pretty strict sequence. You can’t appreciate a great Chardonnay after tasting an 88 Petrus. That part isn’t about the quality, but subtle wines can’t be appreciated side to side with massive ones.

Still, not complaining, as many of the bruisers were really first rate wines. Hehe. The food was great too and I miss the sound of the waves crashing. Several of my old places were on the beach, but now I’m up higher. More view. Less surf.

More crazy Hedonist adventures or

LA dining reviews click here.

I miss my own puppy. But this guy had great ears.

By: agavin
Comments (4)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Bordeaux, Chablis, Chardonnay, Chateau Margaux, cotsen, Eric Cotsen, hedonists, Malibu, Petrus, Wine

Eating England – Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons

Jul22

Restaurant: Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons

Location: Church Road, Great Milton, Oxford, OX44 7PD, England. +44 (0)1844 278 881

Date: July 10, 2013

Cuisine: French

Rating: Wonderful

No Gavin vacation would be complete without a couple top gastronomic restaurants. As it turned out, this year our summer travels brought us to England, and specifically to a little town just fifteen minutes away from Raymond Blanc’s gastronomic temple, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. This lovely (and pricey) country hotel is a Relais and Chateaux (absolutely stellar hotel group) and the restaurant has two Michelin stars. Several English friends recommended it as being perhaps the best restaurant in England!

Certainly a lovely spot! They sat us in the bar before dinner for aperitifs.

These included some fabulous olives in these cute boats (notice the spout like hole for tucking away the pits).

Marcona almonds.

There are two different tasting menus. I’m sure they vary seasonally.

Kir Royale. French.

Pimms Cup. English.

Gin and Tonic. English.

The first of two different arrangements of amuses. I don’t remember the exact ingredients. We have salmon on radish. Fritters. I think an eggplant mouse on crisps. A think much like a caprese.

This second plate has a few more meaty versions.

Then we moved into the restaurant itself, and I couldn’t help but photo these cool custom plates.

1988 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet. While this wine wasn’t perfect, and was quite restrained, it was in great shape, not oxidized in the least. It had that wonderful quality that mature white Burgundies get, even if it was a little alcoholic on the finish at first (this blew off).

Fantastic bread.

Terrine of baby beetroot, horseradish sorbet. A wonderful light take on the “beet and goat cheese salad.” The slab was cubed and the horseradish provided a very bright flavor contrast.

Confit of Salmon, elderflower, garden radish, yuzu cream. This salmon was perfectly cooked, tender, and full of soft flavor. There was an interesting and exotic tone set by the other ingredients, particularly the elderflower. Really excellent.

Ricotta agnolotti, artichoke and tomato vierge. Tasty summery pasta.

2005 Domaine de L’Arlot Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de l’Arlot. Burghound 92. Mild reduction detracts from the otherwise ripe aromas of plum and red pinot fruit where there is also a trace of vegetal that gives way to rich, full and sweet flavors that remain pure and refined on the sappy, dusty and obviously mineral-infused, firm and beautifully balanced finish. This is quite linear at present and will need time to flesh out and I would strongly suggest decanting this first if you’re going to try one young to dissipate the reduction.

Chick peas done “all ways.” I’m not sure it’s exactly every way possible, but it is more than a few!

Devonshire crab, garden courgette flower, lemongrass. Another exotic take. At some level at stuffed zucchini flower, this had a Thai crab bisque vibe.

Mango sorbet. Intense!

Risotto of summer vegetables, chervil cream.

Roasted loin of rose veal, watercress puree, madeira jus.

Assiette of Cornish lamb, jersey royals, artichoke and gooseberry puree.

With the jus. This was some really fine lamb.

Mothais sur feuille goat’s cheese and goat’s curd, honey, sorrel and hazelnuts, kalamata olive. This unusual cheese course was very intense and flavorful. Lots of goat (in a good way).

2010 Donnafugata Passito di Pantelleria Ben Ryé. 93 points. Like liquid apricot. Unctuous and sweet panoply of marmalade, citrus, mixed exotic fruit; a whiff of smoke; reasonable acidity manages to keep up with the sweetness.

You can see how dark and thick this is — and it’s brand new!

Raspberry soup with fresh mint and basil.

Apricot Almondine, caramel croustillant. Really nice and intense. It also paired fantastically with the dessert wine.

Chocolate dumbo! This was some intense chocolate and a bit of candied hazelnut – plus the various textures and the ice cream. Really lovely.

Textures of coconut and Chana chocolate Grand cru. A wonderful coconut/chocolate combo. Like the flavors from a Nutella and coconut crepe — but so much better!

Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons didn’t disappoint. This isn’t radically modernist as top gastronomic places go, but the execution and presentation was superb — plus what was really interesting was the subtle complexity of each dish. There were a lot of floral and herbal notes going on, and they blended seamlessly, adding to the dishes rather than distracting. Clearly a very fine chef hitting on all cylinders.

For more English dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Burgundy, Cheese, Dessert, England, Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Michelin, Oxfordshire, Raymond Blanc

Return to Milo & Olive

Jul19

My wife and I return to one of Santa Monica’s best pizzerias for some more tossed dough balls… find the details here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Milo and Olive, Pizza, Santa Monica California

More Mori Sushi

Jul15

Restaurant: Mori Sushi [1, 2]

Location: 11500 west pico blvd. los angeles, california, 90064. 310-479-3939

Date: June 25, 2013

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: One of LA’s best traditional sushi restaurants

There is always considerable date as to which of LA’s many great sushi bars are the best — and it’s a fairly subjective question — but there is no doubt that Mori Sushi is often on the short list.

The owner in the foreground, Chef Masanori “Maru” Nagano who bought the restaurant from his former boss, Morihiro Onodera back in 2011.

Our main chef of the evening.

The bright interior.

NV Agrapart & Fils Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Terroirs. Parker 92. Agrapart’s NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Terroirs is another fabulous wine. Here it is the combination of tension and weightlessness that is especially appealing. Sweet floral notes and a suggestion of mint meld into white orchard fruit in this effortless, totally gracious wine. All the elements meld together on the seamless, crystalline finish. The Terroirs is a blend of fruit sourced from Avize, Oger, Cramant and Oiry, equal parts 2007 and 2008 vintages. This release was aged partly in 600-liter barrels. Dosage was 5 grams per liter.

Homemade Tofu with wasabi and special homemade soy sauce. This is my favorite kind of tofu, the silky soft kind. It has a very soft texture and seductive subtle flavor.

1990 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. Burghound 93. A truly wonderful nose of simply knockout complexity features notes of yeast and baked bread along with now fully mature aromas of a variety of floral notes and spice hints that gives way to mineral-suffused round intense and detailed medium full flavors that also offer outstanding depth on the sappy and mouth coating finish. This is drinking perfectly now. A beautiful effort of real style and grace.

Our first round appetizer plate.

A sweet marinated fish. Really tasty. The bones are so soft you just crunch them up.

Skewers of abalone with yuzu. The green behind is a special farmer’s market spinach that is chewy.

On the left eggplant with bonito flakes. On the right, Conger eel roy in a gelatinous cube (be afraid!) made from conger eel bones!

Left to right: some kind of row balls from a fish. Farmer’s market tomato, okra, and kumquat.

Conch boiled in dashi and shell with shitake mushroom quail egg.

Here you can better see the meat itself. One drinks the tasty broth afterward.

Santa barbara spot prawn, santa barbara uni. Charred flavors contrast beautifully with sweetness.

And who is this?

Die lobster, die!

2007 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 96. Seemingly like all of Boillot’s wines in this vintage, a strikingly pure nose of green apple, white flower and spice aromas complements perfectly the delicious, intense and stony flavors that are among the ripest in the range yet remain wonderfully vibrant and gorgeously detailed on the taut, transparent and bone dry finish that bathes the palate in dry extract. This is beautifully balanced and among the best wines of the vintage from Corton. In a word, brilliant.

The sashimi plate. In the back is the spiny lobster tail drizzled with lobster gut sauce. In the middle special Hokkaido scallop. In the front, tuna, and baby barracuda sashimi. The last had a bit of a sweet charred flavor.

Yummy, lobster guts!

1996 Joseph Drouhin Romanée St. Vivant. Burghound 90. Airy, pure, elegant and extremely expressive as the aromas just float from the glass with rose petal and assorted floral notes. The mineral-infused, racy and finely delineated flavors are nuanced and textured though the backend has a somewhat dry and edgy quality to it that is highlighted by the racy finishing acidity.

Traditional grilled river fish and in the front a shiso sandwich filled with fish meat. To the right is sauced daikon radish and pickles.

This I’ve never had. The fish is a deep deep sea fish, with the lantern and big eyes! To the left is shiso pepper and on the right abalone tempura.

Guess who comes back for round 2? Mr. Lobster head, this time boiled up in some lobster miso soup (which was fantastic).

1996 Comte Armand Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux. Burghound 91. Still quite deeply colored. A perfumed nose that is now in a transition phase from primary to secondary aromas is given added nuance by the presence of earth¡ subtle spice notes and a smoky quality that is also picked up by the fresh¡ bright and energetic medium-bodied flavors that possess excellent detail and obvious minerality on the ever-so-slightly dry finish where the dryness does not seem to compromise the length as this is seriously persistent. The structural elements of acidity and tannins are still quite firm though not aggressive and this should continue to successfully age over the next 25 to 30 years as the balance is almost perfect. Tasted several times over the last few years with consistent notes save for one disjointed bottle that seemed unduly dried out.

This may have been Tai (Red Snapper).

Cuttlefish. Creamy with a bit of chewiness. There was shiso underneath which I love.

Wild yellowtail (seki buri).

I think this was Aji (Spanish Mackerel).

Chu-toro. Delicious.

O-toro, even richer.

Japanese Mackerel (Saba). A little fishier than some of the other fish, but firm and delicious.

Geoduck clam (Mirugai). Not always my favorite, but in this case tender and delicious.

Ikura (salmon roe). Incredibly sweet.

2005 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale. Burghound 91. In contrast to the expressiveness of the first two ’05s, here there is a completely different aromatic profile and one that is brooding with more deeply pitched and quite ripe blue and violet aromas combining with pungent earth and game hints that continue onto the sweet, rich and sappy flavors wrapped around a firm tannic spine. This is impressive as it is clearly Nuits in character yet with refined and sophisticated structural elements. Also recommended.

Lightly grilled albacore? I can’t remember.

Santa Barbara Uni. Super sweet.

Hokkaido Uni. More of a brine note.

Sea eel (Anago). Really soft and fabulous. The sauce is reduced from eel bones.

Hokkaido scallop sushi.

Sweep shrimp sushi.

Chef/Owner Sal Marino of Il Grano (a fabulous nearby Italian – one of the best Italians in the city) joined us about halfway through the meal and partook in our libations.

A number of different roles. Some have shiso leaf, some various pickles, some tamago. Really yummy and refreshing.

1995 Philippe Leclerc Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combes aux Moines. Parker 90-94. A few wine writers have recently written that some producers in Burgundy are making Pinot Noir that resembles Syrah. My impression is that highly extracted, late-picked, and lavishly oaked Pinot Noir does in fact show traits of Syrah in its youth. Both varietals have a tendency to contain high acid levels (relative to Merlot and Cabernet) and often exhibit berry fruit characteristics. Philippe Leclerc’s dynamite Gevrey-Chambertin Combe Aux Moines certainly could be confused with a northern Rhone wine during its early stage of development. Readers who love Cote Rotie and Hermitage will adore it. Dark-colored, almost black, and revealing an awesomely dense, ripe, deep, nose of cassis, mocha, spices and oak, this monster of a wine explodes in the mouth with rich, layered, roasted black fruits. Full-bodied and thick, with a hard tannic backbone, it indeed reminds me more of a young Syrah (but without the typical raspberry and red currant notes) than what I generally taste in Burgundy.

All four red burgs lined up for tasting.

Two kinds of homemade ice cream. On the left, soy sauce ice cream, on the right tofu ice cream. Both were fabulous.

Hojicha (roasted green tea) to finish.

Overall, this was some really stellar traditional Sushi. Both the fish itself and all the starters were fantastic. Mori sushi sticks fairly closely to traditional Japanese techniques and flavors. It doesn’t jazz things up with too many vinegars and crazy sauces, but uses first rate ingredients that emphasize the purity of the flavors: very Japanese.

The produce mostly comes from the farmer’s markets. He makes his own tofu and soy sauce and I believe, even the rice, which is specially sourced from some special rice farm. All in all, really fabulous.

For more Foodie Club meals click here.

For more LA sushi reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Foodie Club, Japanese cuisine, Lobster, Masanori "Maru" Nagano, Mori Sushi, Sushi, Tofu

Quick Brunch with Joe

Jul11

Restaurant: Joe’s Restaurant [1, 2]

Location: 1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

Date: June 23, 2013

Cuisine: California Farmer’s Market

Rating: Consistently good

I’ve been coming to Joe’s since 1995 or 1996 and they are approaching their 20th anniversary any day now. In a major metropolitan restaurant scene, that’s an eternity. Chef Joe Miller was an early proponent of the ingredient driven “farmer’s market style” of California cooking that is very popular right now. And despite the restaurant’s venerable age, the menu is continually rotating and the dishes remain fresh and relevant.

The Abbot Kinney frontage.

Quaint bar. Further inside is a little maze of little rooms and a lovely patio that is perfect for brunch.

The brunch menu.

Joe’s has good bread. Particularly the brioche. At brunch there is also banana bread, but I forgot to photo it.

Buttermilk pancakes. Made in an iron mould by all appearances.

Brioche French Toast. Cherries jubilee, vanilla whipped cream, toasted almonds. Decadent, like a dessert!

Pan seared skuna bay salmon. Couscous, green onion, roasted radishes, snap peas, parsley sauce. A lovely piece of salmon.

Reuben sandwich. Corned beef, sauerkraut, gruyere cheese, 1000 island dressing, pickled vegetables. Simultaneously classic and reinvented.

Wild dungeness crab hash. Roasted peppers, country potatoes, rosemary nage, soft poached eggs.

Joe’s offers not only a great brunch, a lovely patio, but considerable value as well. For this kind of gourmet treatment, the brunch entrees are extremely reasonable, averaging perhaps $13. You could expect to pay close to this for an omelet at a typical LA short order joint!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Abbot Kinney Blvd, California, Farmer's Market, Joe Miller, Joe's Restaurant, Reuben sandwich

UK Playstation Mag Interview

Jul08

The below is an interview I did earlier this year:

Andrew, give us a bit of background about yourself before the days of Naughty Dog. (growing up, interests, coding background)

I grew up in the simultaneously cosmopolitan and suburban area of Northern Virginia (just outside of Washington D.C.). I was the right age to catch the first big wave of gaming in the late 70s, early 80s. I played all the arcade classics as they came out and eagerly pestered my dad for an Atari 2600. This was a time when there was tremendous experimentation and creativity going on. New video game genres were invented all the time.

In 1980 my science teacher brought into class a Heathkit H8 her husband built. We were given a single mimeographed sheet of paper with the BASIC commands. I read this and then wrote out longhand a draft of a text-based RPG where you wandered around and fought orcs and trolls for gold and tretchure (I could program, but I couldn’t spell). During lunch I typed in and debugged the game, editing my paper copy as needed. It may seem overly ambitious to try and recreate D&D as one’s first program, but you have to make what you love.

This was taken just after Jason & I moved to California in 1994

At the age of twelve, I met Jason Rubin in class (we were both bored and loved games). Seeing as I was a great programmer and Jason a great artist (by middle school standards), an instant partnership was formed. We sold our first professionally in 1985 (at fifteen). This partnership continued all the way through school and beyond. Our company, first called JAM Software, was soon renamed to Naughty Dog (1987). We made and published six games before the original Crash Bandicoot.

Since Crash Bandicoot: Warped, the third title in the franchise and Naughty Dog’s final main instalment in the series, gamers have felt that Crash Bandicoot has lost its magic. As someone who was there at its creation, how do you think the series could be revitalised?

Crash needs a total reboot. There is an opportunity to reset the history and go back to his creation story and the original conflict with Cortex. In that context, one could reprise classic Crash 1 and 2 settings and villains. At a gameplay level, it would make sense to use a more modern free-roaming style, ala Banjo-Kazooie, but with state of the art graphics. There are very few (almost none) true platform games being made today and it’s a shame, as the mechanics were really fun. I would concentrate on Loony Tunes style animation and really addictive action oriented gameplay. That’s what we did with the original Crash and there is no reason it couldn’t be done today — but it would look every bit as good as early Pixar cartoons.

Given the current Crash games, people forget that he was once cool. Our Crash had a certain whimsical edge to him. Sure it was goofy, but it wasn’t dumb. Crash has a deliberate touch of post-modernity, not unlike other cult favorites like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s thematically very different, but the same kind of self-referential meta-cultural quality is there.

What do you make of Crash Bandicoot today? Are you sad that he’s gone from PlayStation Icon to yesterday’s mascot? (Maybe also talk about your opinion of non-Naughty Dog Crash endeavours, did they fail?)

I don’t pay much attention to recent Crash games. For me, He’s like the hot high school girlfriend who put on 50 pounds. I just can’t look.

Post Naughty Dog Crash games fall down not only in being too goofy, but in gameplay and balance. We tried very hard to make every level and every segment of every level evenly paced, addictive, and engaging. Every pile of boxes, every set of enemies, was carefully placed to try and build a rhythmic pulse to the gameplay. Crash was about being frantic, but at the same time relatively free of frustration (although some Crash 1 levels were too hard). There was a lot of layered depth so that you could merely finish the level, or you could try to maximize your performance in terms of collection, speed, or both.

The latest game in the Jak series was the PSP spin-off Daxter in 2006, which was developed by Ready at Dawn. Do you think the Jak series should be resuscitated, or is it best left in the past? (perhaps speak about what it had going for it, how you feel the series progressed in terms of quality, if it needs to be brought back)

There is a lot of opportunity in the Jak franchise as well, but fortunately for the little orange back-talker, Naughty Dog (aka Sony) still owns the rights. Who knows, he might surface again.

What was it about Sony and Playstation that made you feel that it was the perfect brand for Naughty Dog to partner up with? (relationship with Sony over the years, why you felt it wouldn’t harm Naughty Dog’s future)

In 1994 when we started, Sony didn’t have a mascot character. So we set about creating one on the theory that maybe, just maybe, we might be able to slide into that opening. I’m still surprised it worked.

Ultimately the relationship with Sony was a really great partnership. Sony is a quality driven company, and we were a quality driven studio. Naughty Dog products are fully commercial in the spirit of early 80s George Lucas and Steven Spielberg efforts. We believed in mass market pulp that through sheer quality rose above its commercial pulp sentiment. This jived well with Sony’s culture, which was driven to high quality products with the broadest appeal.

In 2004 both Jason Rubin and yourself left Naughty Dog. Considering the company was, and still is, producing high quality games, why did you leave? (perhaps talk about your time at ND, memories of working on certain games, where you think you brought the company, what state you feel you left it at, and where it is now)

This is complex. At the simplest level, when Jason and I sold Naughty Dog to Sony, the deal structured the working relationship for the next four years. Highly unusually, this actually played out according to plan and to the total satisfaction of both parties. We intended to make threes games, and we did: Jak 1, 2, and 3. In addition, by 2004, Jak X and Uncharted were well underway.

As the company grew, Jason and I groomed senior guys who were capable of running the teams. Namely, Evan Wells, Stephen White, and Christophe Balestra. By Jak 3, Evan was the game director anyway, so it was time for them to fly by themselves. And fly they did, as the post Andy & Jason Naughty Dog games are probably even better.

The two biggest Naughty Dog Ips since your leaving would have to be the Uncharted series and the upcoming title The Last of Us. As someone who is now on the outside looking in, how do you view both of these franchises? (Do they keep in line with what you hoped ND would achieve? Do you wish you were still working at ND in order to help develop these kinds of titles?)

Uncharted is in every way a Naughty Dog series. It follows from, and improves upon, the things we were working on with Crash and Jak, taking them to the next level. Evan was an instrumental co-creator of all the Naughty Dog games since Warped, and he was both steeped in and a major contributor to the games from 1998 on. He and the rest of the gang kept heading in the same direction, they just raised the bar on execution even further.

For a long time, Naughty Dog games have been about integrating narrative and gameplay. We wanted to draw people into the world fully and give them a rich story without detracting from a game’s most important quality: fun gameplay. Uncharted took this to the next level with storytelling that’s better than a lot of movies, while retaining intense playability.

Now I’m also really excited for The Last of Us, as apocalypses and teen girls who fight are two of my favorite things (in fiction).

With talk of the PS4 on the horizon, what do you think Naughty Dog is capable of on next-generation systems? (technically, narratively)

I think NDI will just keep taking it to the next level. Uncharted 3 and The Last of Us already look so good it’s hard to imagine where there is to go, but I expect not only will things look even more real, but the machines will have the power to include more and more enemies (or whatnot) on screen. We could see zombie games with a couple hundred zombies (not necessarily from NDI).

Finally, tell us about Flektor and your new passion for writing novels, Andrew. (also, perhaps mention how/if working in the games industry fuelled or influenced your passion for writing)

As a serial creator it was interesting how similar writing a novel was to making a game. Video games and writing are both very iterative and detail oriented. They use a lot of the same mental muscles. My latest novel, Untimed, is about a boy name Charlie, who falls through holes in time. A clockwork man is trying to kill him, but there’s an eighteenth century Scottish girl who can bring him back home – assuming they don’t destroy history by accidentally letting Ben Franklin get killed.

Untimed (http://untimed-novel.com) is very much in the same broad fun spirit that characterized Crash and other Naughty Dog games. I return to one of my favorite mechanics, time travel, which I forced into Crash 3 and Jak 2 (no one complained). Creating the world was very similar to what you do with a game. I had to balance the pros and cons of time travel for my heroes. If your characters are too powerful, there is no jeopardy. So I had to invent all the restrictions and deal with the issues of paradox. In many ways, this is like balancing a video game control set. There are differences of course: games are about fun, and novels are about character and dramatic tension, but the fundamental creative process is similar.

By: agavin
Comments (29)

Posted in: Games

Tagged as: Crash Bandicoot, Heathkit H8, Jak, Jak & Daxter, Jason Rubin, Naughty Dog, Playstation, Sony, Uncharted

Le Petit Restaurant

Jul05

Restaurant: Le Petit Restaurant

Location: 13360 Ventura Blvd. Sherman Oaks, CA 91423. 818-501-7999

Date: May 27, 2013

Cuisine: French

Rating: Decent old fashioned fair

Le Petit Restaurant has been a Sherman Oaks fixture for decades, serving classic French flair with a bit of Moroccan influence.

The cosy interior.

2001 Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes. Parker 98. The spectacular 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes is one of the monumental Chateauneuf du Papes of the vintage. A saturated plum/purple color reveals a thick, rich appearance. The wine combines freshness, power, elegance, and great intensity, all wrapped into a full-bodied, concentrated personality with phenomenal persistence on the palate. Remarkably pure, but neither over-done nor over-ripe, this spectacular, youthful Chateauneuf du Pape should hit its prime in 5-6 years, and last for two decades. It is a brilliant tour de force!

The bread comes with tapanade and marinated vegetables in the Moroccan style.

GODDESS SALAD. Organic baby mixed greens, jumbo shrimp, avocado, asparagus and ranch dressing.

GOAT CHEESE CROSTINI SALAD. Mixed greens, dried pears & balsamic vinaigrette.

BABY MIXED GREEN SALAD. With House vinaigrette dressing.

A special creme of zucchini soup.

SHRIMP PICANTE. Sautéed shrimp with bistro secret spices.

1994 Pavie-Macquin. Parker 91. The 1994 Pavie-Macquin is a backward, yet promising star of the vintage. The saturated ruby/purple color is followed by sweet aromas of black-cherries, licorice, and spice. The intense, sweet, rich, old vine flavors are well-displayed in this medium to full-bodied, tannic, impressively-endowed wine. One of the most backward wines of the vintage, it will require 4-6 years of cellaring, and is capable of lasting for 20+ years.
As I have reported previously, this biodynamically-farmed vineyard has some of the lowest yields in Bordeaux because of the extremely old age of the vines. This wine has come of age since the late eighties and is consistently one of the finest wines produced in St.-Emilion. In addition to its powerful, old style, it has another advantage – the presence of world-class oenologist Michel Rolland. The style is comparable to the intensely-concentrated, structured wines of the famous Pomerol estate, Lafleur.

SEAFOOD PAELLA DU BISTRO. Shrimp, wild jumbo scallops, black mussels, clams, calamari served with saffron rice. This was tasty, but loaded with cream, which isn’t typical of any paella I’ve had.

ANGEL HAIR PICANTE. With Sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil, roasted garlic and extra virgin olive oil. With shrimp.

The same, with chicken.

POTATO CRUSTED ATLANTIC SALMON. Served with asparagus, carrots and dill sauce.

ROASTED CHICKEN. Served with herbs de Provence, Pommes Frites and thyme sauce.

STEAK AU POIVRE. Filet mignon served with pommes frites and cognac peppercorn sauce.

BAKED LAMB SHANK. In a red wine vegetable sauce, served with couscous and carrots.

CHARBROILED NEW ZEALAND BABY LAMB CHOPS. Served with old fashion mustard sauce and Pommes Frites.

Pot Du Chocolate. Baked Chocolate Mousse Served Chilled.

Chocolate Fondant Cake. Dark Chocolate Cake, Rich Chocolate Fondant.

Souffle Au Chocolat. Served with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Chocolate and Vanilla Sauce and Whipped Cream (15 min).

Ice creme and chocolate sauce.

Profiteroles. Vanilla Ice Cream, Whipped Cream, Chocolate Sauce and almonds.

This is an old school place with 70s-80s style Bistro French blended with a bit of California and Moroccan style. This last elevated it from “tired” to “mildly interesting.” Dishes were a little uneven, with some quite tasty and a few staid. All in all, not a bad casual family place if you’re in the mood for something old fashioned.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Dessert, French Cuisine, Le Petit Restaurant, Sherman Oaks, Wine

The New Nobu

Jul02

Restaurant: Nobu Malibu [1, 2, 3]

Location: 22706 Pacific Coast Hwy. Malibu, CA 90265. (310) 317-9140

Date: May 29, 2013

Cuisine: Japanese Fusion

Rating: Maintains it’s very high standards, and price.

In my continuing quest to eat the oceans of the earth clean in the form of sushi I returned to one of my “old” haunts, Nobu Malibu — but in it’s new glamorous ocean-side location.

The various Nobus represent the corporate version of the Japanese-Peruvian fusion begun by Nobu Matsuhisa at his eponymous Matsuhisa (REVIEW HERE). While not quite as inventive as the original, the Xerox job is pretty darn good. Food quality is extremely high and highly consistant. The atmosphere is fun. The only deficit is the price, which is perhaps 40-50% higher than most similar restaurants, like say Takao (REVIEW HERE). And it’s not like these are cheap either!

The new location is really quite stunning. The outside is covered on 2-3 sides with couches and tables. Too bad it’s so cold along the ocean in Malibu, on all but the warmest of summer nights, even the heat lamps aren’t enough to make those girls in their little dresses comfortable.

The inside looks great too, and it’s huge!

Just two of several wood lined chambers.

And an inside/outside patio covered in heat lamps.

2003 Domaine de la Vougeraie Vougeot Clos du Prieuré. 90 points. Pleasant wine, golden hued with a clear ring around the base. Sticky pitted fruit and white florals on the nose, with a bit of light oak. Wet slate minerals also pleasant on the nose. Lower in acids than some newer vintages, but it does still make my mouth water. There is a pleasant mouth feel, with the orchard fruits joined with some nuttiness and wood. More like a West Coast wine than and aged bourgogne blanc. I wouldn’t think this refreshing as some whites, but enticing nevertheless. Decent fruit on the finish with that touch of acid keeping my mouth wanting something wet to refresh it.

“Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno.” The total Nobu classic, but it still holds it’s own. This version is as good as any i’ve had.

A Matsuhisa classic, “Toro tartar with caviar and a miso ponzu.” I’ve always loved the combo of the rich fatty toro and the acidic punch of the sauce. This theme of adding acidity to the fish is a consistant one.

“Miso Soup.” Classic, and as expected.

Special “salmon sashimi” with ponzu, onion, and mayo. Very tasty.

“Red snapper carpaccio” with ponzu, salt, and a bit of chili. Great, but a little salty.

2009 Raul Pérez Rías Baixas Muti. IWC 91. Bright yellow-gold. Deeply pitched aromas of smoky lees, bergamot, apricot pit and salty minerals. Viscous, palate-coating orchard and pit fruit flavors are enlivened by juicy acidity and complemented by honeysuckle and a hint of spun sugar. Wild, complex and singular wine with strong finishing cut and sappy persistence. This is far removed from your classic albarino.

“Sashimi Salad.” Another Nobu classic. The dressing has this nice flavor and texture I’ve always liked, and the mildly seared tuna is succulent. The overall salad is a bit salty, but Japanese cuisine usually is.

“Lobster taco.” Slightly underwhelming.

“Tuna taco.”

“Tai sweet shiso with cripsy shiitake.” Tasty and crunchy.

“Cauliflower special.”

“Shrimp Tempura with Ponzu Sauce.” More classics. I’ve always loved these little fellows. Basically the normal Shrimp Tempura, but pre sauced, and in smaller bite sized chunks. Addictive, but eat quickly before it sogs up.

“Black Cod with Miso.” Another Nobu classic, and delicious as always.

Our sushi plate. There is Tamago (egg), salmon, albacore, scallop, freshwater eel, and king crab.

Our dessert spread.

“Chocolate and banana spring rolls,” plus various ice creams and sauces, a crepe.

And this “coffee shaved ice” with coffee cake crumble and coffee/chocolate sauce.

Overall, the food is just like is always was here at Nobu. The atmosphere is stellar and it would be really cool to eat outside on a hot summer night (although they don’t usually serve dinner outside due to the cold). There must be an army in the kitchen too because the stuff appeared minutes after we ordered (except for the sushi). All in all, it’s a great experience, if a tad manufactured and divorced from its chef driven origins.

The only problem: the price. Nobu is expensive. This meal for four was $600 with tax and tip. Given that the food isn’t that far off from Paiche, it hardly deserves to be three times as expensive!

Check out more LA Sushi places I’ve reviewed here.