Restaurant: Mizlala
Location: 4515 Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 91403. (818) 783-6698
Date: February 22 & March 29 & Sept 8 , 2018
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Rating: Really bright and tasty
Several people told us that Mizlala in Sherman Oaks was really good, and so a small group of us Hedonists decided to give it a try.
The interior is cute and modern Middle Eastern.
The menu.
NV Christophe Mignon Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 90. The Brut Rosé Pur Meunier is a rosé done with a blend of mostly Meunier vinified in white, off the skins, with the addition of still red Meunier for color and texture. Bright, red-tone fruit, tobacco and dried flowers give the wine striking aromatic depth to play off and contrast the fruit. The 6 grams of dosage feels just a touch sweet for this wine. Otherwise, the Pur Meunier is very nicely done. The current release is a blend of equal parts 2014 and 2013. Disgorged: February 2017. Dosage is 6 grams per liter.
Salatim. Four “salads” (3 pictured above).
With awesome house-made pita bread.
Eggplant babaganoush.
Lebane with Zaatar. I LOVE this stiff Middle Eastern yoghurt/cheese — so much that we ordered 3 plates of it for 5 people!
Creamy Beet salad. Also really good.
Smoked spicy eggplant (9/8/18).
Spicy Moroccan carrots. Love these too.
From my cellar: 2011 Raul Pérez Rías Baixas Muti. 90 points. With shrimp diablo, rice and black beans. Saline, lime, mineral crispness. Very lithe mouthfeel. Would have liked to see if it would have evolved, but too many eager sippers for it to last that long.
Jerusalem Salad. Cucumber, tomato, freekeh, lemon vinaigrette.
Mushrooms (3/29/18). Dates, hazelnuts, fig balsamic, puffed rice.
Potato Latkes (3/29/18). Horseradish creme fraiche, apple sauce, pecorino.
Bourekas (3/29/18). Cheese, truffled mushroom, spinach and feta. Unusual takes on these fried pastries.
Flaming cheese!
Haloumi Saganaki (3/29/18). Orange, honey, walnut chimichurri. The fruit really added a lot of sweetness to this which made me think of Hawaiian Pizza. I prefer it more tangy.
Hummus with crispy artichokes (3/29/18). Gremolata, cured lemon emulsion, aleppo pepper.
Moroccan Fried Chicken. Really moist and crispy.
smoked paprika aioli, Spiced duck fat.
World’s Best Greek Salad. Campari tomato, persian cucumber, feta, kalamata olive, oregano.
Garlic shrimp. White wine, preserved lemon, butter bean puree. I always love these garlicky shrimp. Like the Spanish Gambas Pil Pil.
Greek Octopus. Smoked paprika, grilled potato, celery, lebaneh.
Falafels (9/8/18).
1993 Faiveley Echezeaux. 95 points. Deep ruby, dense but bright. A touch of VA initially but this blows off quite quickly to reveal dark red fruit and a hint of the autumnal. Somewhere between silk and velvet on the palate, very cosseting and very drink…
1995 Daniel Moine-Hudelot Chambolle-Musigny. 91 points.
1970 Bodegas Olarra Rioja Cerro Anon Gran Reserva. Awesome!
Lamb Tagine. Colorado lamb shoulder slow braised with apples, dried fruit and silan, topped with sesame, served with saffron rice.
Shortrib Tagine. Slow braised with picholine olives, san marzano tomato and fennel.
Lemon Saffron Chicken. Brined airline chicken breast grilled over coals accompanied by baby artichokes, green olives, cherry tomato, and saffron rice.
Moussaka. Lamb Bolognese, bechamel sauce, gruyere cheese.
Moussaka, when done right, is such an awesome dish.
2007 Hundred Acre Vineyard Shiraz Summer’s Block Ancient Way. VM 93. Inky purple. Superripe aromas of cassis, cherry preserves and dark chocolate, with complicating notes of licorice and mint. Densely packed and chewy, offering palate-coating black and blue fruit flavors that show serious depth and building sweetness. A hint of smoked meat comes up on the long, clinging finish, which is framed by broad, pliant tannins. I’m not exactly sure what I’d serve with this but it would definitely have to be part of a dead mammal and it would be roasted, braised or grilled.
1994 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. VM 92. Medium red. Aromatic nose combines plum, redcurrant and cedary spices. Very suave, fine-grained, plummy wine with captivating saline minerality. Lovely balance and subtle sweetness of fruit here, not to mention suave, ripe tannins. Finishes firm and clean, with terrific subtle length. À point but will hold for a while.
Branzino (3/29/18). Cauliflower cous cous, lebaneh, currants, pine nuts.
Kefta and chicken kabob.
Grilled Merguez Sausage. Yum!
Fillet Mignon Kabob, Skirt Steak, and Lamb Leg. Really good, very tender kabobs.
Kefta and lamb kabobs (9/8/18).
French Fries!
Chocolate nut crunch dessert (3/29/18). Can’t remember what exactly was in it, but it was quite good.
I brought some more of my house-made gelatti. Ube Gelato. I roasted the Japanese Purple Yams from scratch and made them into this Filipino classic for Erick’s birthday.
And in Filipino tradition, Macapuno Coconut Sport.
You top the Ube with the coconut.
And one of my most unique creations: Gorgonzola Fig Walnut Gelato – a gorgonzola dolce gelato base with fig jam and candied walnuts.
You can see the candied walnuts and fig jam streaked through it. This gelato turned out perfectly. Super creamy, with a very distinct real Gorgonzola Dulce texture. Several at the table thought it was one of my best.
Overall, Mizlala was really good. It’s very bright modern Israeli, Moroccan, Lebanese flavors, much in the Yotam Ottolenghi style. Some of the best Middle Eastern I’ve had in a while. The second time I went (3/29/18) the food was just as good but the service was annoying. The girl was very slow to take our order, over-worked (or busy elsewhere), and said she was going to spread out our food but brought the entire dinner, 8 items, appetizers and mains all within a 7 minute spread (looked at the photo timestamps to verify!). Not even 2 courses really but 2 trips from the back. I hate that. Made for a super rushed meal. She felt totally checked out.
