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Archive for Middle Eastern

Nothing Boring about Bavel

Jan21

Restaurant: Bavel

Location: 500 Mateo St, Los Angeles, CA 90013. (213) 232-4966

Date: November 26, 2018

Cuisine: Modern Middle Eastern

Rating: One of the best tasting new places in town

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Bavel is a new Modern Middle Eastern place from the Bestia people — and like that place it’s hip and crowded. It’s own webpage describes it as a Middle Eastern restaurant from Chefs Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis. With family roots in Israel, Morocco, Turkey, and Egypt, Ori and Genevieve have always wanted to open a restaurant that showcases the cuisines of their family lineages, bringing together the flavors and dishes they grew up with.

Ori and Genevieve were both born in the Los Angeles area – Genevieve was raised in Southern California, while Ori and his family moved to Israel where he spent his formative years.

Ori grew up traveling with his family and was exposed to fine dining across the globe, but it wasn’t until his year-long stay in South America, where he realized his passion for cooking. Genevieve is a self-taught pastry chef who started baking out of necessity to satisfy her sweet tooth. At the time, she was studying to be a classical French horn player.

In 2001, Ori returned to Los Angeles. He landed his first kitchen job at an Israeli cafe, before working at La Terza—the restaurant where Ori and Genevieve, who was a hostess, met for the first time. From there, Ori spent time in the kitchens of Pizzeria Mozza, All’ Angelo, and under chef Gino Angelini at Angelini Osteria, where he worked for four years as chef de cuisine.

In 2012, Ori and Genevieve pursued their dream of opening their first restaurant, Bestia and in 2018 their second restaurant, Bavel. With a background in the field of interior design, Genevieve played a key role in the design of both restaurants. When not in the kitchen, Ori and Genevieve can be found spending time with their daughter, Saffron.

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It’s also located in the DTLA Arts District, which would be cool except for being so darn far for me.

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The interior is large, stylish, not particularly Middle Eastern (on purpose) and very very loud (unfortunately).
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We ate out on the patio — which wasn’t nearly as attractive and had worse chairs but was much much quieter (which is actually more important). I wish restauranteurs would get off their louder is better horse. It’s really annoying.

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The menu — we ordered most of it.
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Kirk brought some fake Chard. 2015 Alheit Vineyards Chenin Blanc Magnetic North Mountain Makstok Skurfberg. VM 91. Restrained aromas of citrus fruits and flowers, plus a whiff of crushed stone. Offers noteworthy texture and sweetness in a still-reserved package. There’s minerality here and a positive dryness to the wine’s stone fruit and citrus flavors. The firm, spicy finish is not at all harsh. Quite strong on the back end. I suspect this will blossom in bottle.
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FARM CHEESE. rose petal za’atar, olive oil, maldon, buckwheat loaf. This was standing in for Lebneh — or is a lebneh variant. The bread was amazing. Tons of flavor and nicely grilled. Loved the yogurt-like cheese and olive oil too — I always do.
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Close up of the cheese.
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FOIE GRAS HALVA. creamy paté, date puree, black sesame, buckwheat loaf. Same bread. Kind of sweet. One of those foie and sweet preps. I liked it a lot though.

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DUCK ‘NDUJA HUMMUS. creamy garbanzo beans, jerusalem mix spice, herbs, pita. This might be the bavel signature dish. The “original” in Lebanon would be beef, pine nuts, and onions on top of the hummus. This variant was superb and the pita was also top notch.

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A close up of the hummus, of course.
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Two vintages of the same fake pinot. One was okay, the other kind of middling.
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I wish these American winemakers wouldn’t stick the vineyard and vintage info in such small type on the side, but they do. Better than the ones that put it on the back (hate that) but still couldn’t read it. I think one was 09, the other very recent. Can’t remember. I don’t buy fake pinot.
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GRILLED PRAWNS. harissa marinade, cured zucchini tzatziki, herbs, lime. These were superb. Really really great. The prawns were juicy, full of briney flavor, and a certain sweet char. It paired perfectly with the tangy tzatziki.
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GREEN LIP MUSSELS. makrut lime, coconut milk, ginger sofrito, white wine, citrus, serrano chile. This didn’t feel Middle Eastern at all (more Thai) but it did taste amazing. Really fabulous mussel prep. Coconut curry-like.
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ROASTED CAULIFLOWER. hawaij chile sauce, lime leaf, crème fraiche serrano dip, pistachios, dried flowers. I’m not a vegetable person but this was one of the best dishes of the night! A more fried variant is a Lebanese staple but this was just incredible cauliflower packed with flavor.
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And the creamy dip really knocked it up.
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Kirk also brought this overpriced fake pinot. 2005 Sine Qua Non Pinot Noir Over & Out. VM 92. Ruby-red. Exotically perfumed nose features energetic raspberry and blackberry scents complicated by cinnamon, mace and fresh rose. Plush and sweet, offering powerful red and dark berry flavors, suave tannins and impressively chewy finishing grip. Less a pinot than a Sine Qua Non wine, and that’s not a bad thing.

agavin: I didn’t like it at all. Doesn’t taste like pinot at all, more like Syrah.

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LAMB TARTARE. burnt onion crème fraiche, pickled chive blossom, mint, cinnamon, toasted sesame, laffa. Good stuff, very tangy.
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The laffa? Not to be confused with luffa?
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FRIED QUAIL. cardamom date sauce, pickled celery, smoked yogurt, fresh herbs. Awesome. The sauce was quiet sweet. Like fried chicken with some interesting Middle Eastern dessert reduction.
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David brought: 1989 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. 93+ points. I have always been a fan of the 1989 Château Beaucastel, which I rank just behind the superb 1981 at this fine estate. The most recent bottle I tasted of this wine was still just a touch youthful, but offered up fine complexity on both the nose and palate and shows excellent promise. The bouquet is a blend of roasted fruitcake, cherries, new leather, venison, incipient notes of sous bois, woodsmoke and hot stones. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and rock solid at the core, with a bit of tannin still to resolve, fine focus and grip and a very long, classy and slightly chewy finish. I would be tempted to give this wine a few more years to really resolve, as it will be a superb wine and it would be most enjoyable to drink it at the same plateau that the 1981 has been enjoying for a good decade already.
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LAMB FLATBREAD. Spicy fermented sausage, grated tomato, red onion, parsley, pine nuts, nigella seed, mint, sumac.

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Marinated Tomato. Whipped feta, smoked eggplant powder, savory, sea salt, olive oil. People didn’t love this dish. The feta was very salty and I think people expected a sweet/creamy vibe like with burrata. I’m not a tomato fan, so it was hard for me to tell.

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GRILLED DORADE. herb-stuffed, red chermoula, preserved orange, smoked anchovy. For a fish, it was very good as the paste on top was spicy and had a lot of flavor.

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From my cellar: 2006 Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri Sassicaia Sassicaia. VM 95.  Bright red-ruby. Complex nose melds red cherry, blackcurrant, minerals, dried herbs and a delicate oaky vanillin nuance; the fruit aromas show an almost roasted quality without going over the top. Sweet, concentrated and nicely fresh, with an impression of strong extract and a hint of exotic fruits to the flavors of ripe red and dark berries, chocolate, plum and wild herbs. The candied fruit quality carries through on the long, smooth finish, where there’s a trace of heat and hints of menthol and minerals. A very successful Sassicaia but, in my notebook, just a little below the lofty heights of the 2001 or 2004. But given the quality of this wine, that’s quibbling.
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AGED HALF DUCK. breast kebab, confit leg, duck bone broth, green amba, chicory salad. If this was half a duck, it was a VERY small duck! It did taste good, a bit like peking duck.

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duck bone broth.
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2002 Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT. 93 points. Such a great wine. Italian merlot. Loads of blueberries, black cherries and such a rich and voluptuous wine. Awesome texture. Supple and generous. But balanced and so well made. Plenty of life left in this bottle. Really enjoyable.
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SLOW ROASTED LAMB NECK SHAWARMA. tahini, amba, pickled vegetables, laffa. Yum!
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tahini, amba, pickled vegetables.
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The tagine before opening.
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BRAISED PORK TAGINE. prunes, serrano chile, cous cous, cashews.
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cous cous, cashews and the usual tagine “sauce.”
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The dessert menu — oops I mean dessert menu.
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Yarom had this ice wine in his bag.
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LICORICE ROOT ICE CREAM BON BON. sour licorice caramel, muscovado cake, caramelized white chocolate, maldon.
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CARDAMOM APPLE PRUNE CAKE. date toffee sauce, cream

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STRAWBERRY SUMAC & SWEET CHEESE PASTRY. pistachio ice cream, labneh cream, cured sumac

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PAGLAVA. rolled walnut & apricot filled pastry, farm cheese, honey, dried borage flower

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COCONUT TAPIOCA. passion fruit, basil syrup, lime zest, coconut tuile
Desserts were excellent too!

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The red wine lineup.
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We also ran into Liz Lee and a friend — what a coincidence!

Bavel is a really great new addition to the LA scene. The only similar spot food-wise I’ve been to in LA is Mizlala — which is also fabulous (if more casual). While LA has lots of Israeli, Lebanese, and Moroccan places, Bavel (and Mizlala) really notch the cuisine up with their bright flavors, fun fusions, and attractive plating. Service was fine. The place is too loud. The food is amazing. Unlike Bestia, Bavel is fairly liberal in allowing you to open wine bottles — but they do charge a medium-high corkage. It’s tres LA and would be great for out of town guests if it weren’t so far and hard to get into.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

  1. Midweek at Mizlala
  2. Little Sheep Hot Pot
  3. Lucky Ducky
  4. Hot Pot Hot Pot
  5. Stick It – Feng Mao
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bavel, hedonists, Hummus, Italian wine, lamb, Liz Lee, Middle Eastern, Wine

Midweek at Mizlala

Mar19

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

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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.
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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.

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Mushrooms (3/29/18). Dates, hazelnuts, fig balsamic, puffed rice.
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Potato Latkes (3/29/18). Horseradish creme fraiche, apple sauce, pecorino.
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Bourekas (3/29/18). Cheese, truffled mushroom, spinach and feta. Unusual takes on these fried pastries.
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Flaming cheese!
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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.
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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.

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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.
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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.

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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.
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Kefta and lamb kabobs (9/8/18).

French Fries!
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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.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

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By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, Gelato, hedonists, Middle Eastern, Mizlala, Tapas, Wine

Hedonists at Dahab

Nov09

Restaurant: Cafe Dahab

Location: 1640 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, Ca, 90025

Date: November 6, 2012 & September 21, 2015

Cuisine: Egyptian

Rating: Tasty!

_

Just a mere three days after the Hedonists tore up Totoraku, we return to this nearby casual Egyptian cafe and Hookah bar: Dahab.

This was a decidedly more casual affair, although the basic rules are the same. Each person needs to come with at least one great bottle of wine. Standards aren’t as high as for a stellar meat dinner like Toto, but there was still some great stuff. And this drew a crowd of over 20!

The Dahab menu can be found here.


This is a third of the table. It was a crazy warm November night and we sat outside, filling the entire patio. There were so many of us that Yarom (our fearless organizer) had to float chairless! There also wasn’t even close to enough space on the table and the restaurant doesn’t even own wine glasses. Good thing I brought 8 Riedels of my own and several others did as well.


We started with this champagne brought by white and bubbly maestro Ron. The NV Brut Rose is a pretty, gracious wine. Freshly cut roses, red berries and spices take shape nicely in the glass as the wine shows off its understated, timeless personality. Billecart-Salmon’s NV Brut Rose is a reliably tasty wine.


Olives and pickled radishes.


Parker 95, “This year there is also only one Willi Haag wine with the name 2006 Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Auslese, athough for the record this carries the A.P. #6. It mingles white peach, vanilla, honey, and nut oils in a wine of uncanny refinement, delicacy and palate-saturating richness, representing a classic example of the magic in the Burgerslay section of the Juffer, whence Marcus’s father drew some of the greatest (if too-little appreciated) Middle Mosel wines of the ‘70s, ‘80s and early ‘90s. Juicy melon and white peach and kinetic citrus are beautifully folded into a creamy, vanilla-tinged envelope, then burst forth in a lusciously long finish with a distinct note of slate stone. It’s impossible not to compare this Auslese with the great 1975, and I believe it to be the masterpiece of Marcus Haag’s career thus far. If you are lucky enough to latch on to bottles of this incredible value – and I have seen them floating around at prices far lower than the already low suggested retail price noted above – treasure them and if possible wait 8-10 years before opening. There exist more than enough wonderful 2006 Mosel Auslesen you can enjoy younger. This one may well be worth following for 30 or more years.”


Warm pita bread.

A dry styled Oregon Riesling and “The opaque blue/black/purple-colored Noon Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is even more impressive from bottle than it was from barrel. This is a great effort displaying first-growth quality. It boasts a stunningly pure nose of creme de cassis, cedar, licorice, smoke, and vanilla. As it sits in the glass, notions of chocolate also emerge. This full-bodied Cabernet builds incrementally in the mouth. The finish lasts for 45 seconds. A magnificent example, its seamlessness and concentration are profound.”


Another third of the table.


An awesome shaved rice sake with that soft anise thing that I love from great sake.


Things are just starting to get going.


Ron, always good for great white Burgundy, brought this 2008 Dom Dublere Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 92, “Here too mild wood sets off extremely fresh aromas of pear, green apple and wet stone the latter of which is also reflected by the vibrant and overtly muscular broad-scaled flavors that possess impressive drive and length. Interestingly, this is not as complex as the Chaumées though it’s longer.”


I actually convinced my lovely wife to join us this time. She’s a sucker for the vege plate (below).


I brought this older Grand Cru Mazy-Chambertin (1996). It also had a funky nose that blew off, but this bottle wasn’t nearly as good as the other 3-4 I’ve opened recently of the exact same wine. Pity, those previous bottles were fantastic.


Parker 91-93, “The 2007 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast displays plenty of raspberry and floral notes, has a deep ruby/purple color, nicely integrated wood, medium to full body, and a spicy finish. Drink it over the next decade.”


Lana was generous to donate this Parker 100 blockbuster, “The 1998 Cote Rotie La Landonne is a perfect wine … at least for my palate. Its saturated black/purple color is accompanied by an extraordinary nose of smoke, incense, tapenade, creosote, blackberry, and currant aromas. It is densely packed with blackberry, truffle, chocolate, and leather-like flavors. The wine possesses high tannin, but perfect harmony, impeccable balance, and gorgeous integration of acidity, alcohol, and tannin. It is a tour de force in winemaking.”


From my cellar. Parker 95, “The profound 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul (85% Grenache and the rest equal parts Syrah, Mourvedre, and Cinsault) tips the scales at 15% alcohol. From an old vineyard and cropped at 15 hectoliters per hectare, and aged only in foudre, it boasts a dense purple color in addition to an exquisite nose of violets, minerals, blueberries and blackberries. Pure and concentrated, but atypically tannic, it requires considerable aging as it is one of the vintage’s more backward, broodingly powerful efforts.”


Big assembled feast plates of various vegetarian mezze. In the center, grape leaves  stuffed with rice, chopped tomato, parsley and special seasonings. The white stuff is lebnah, Middle eastern style yogurt mixed with mint, red pepper & topped with olive oil. Then clockwise are falafel: ground fava beans and vegetables with special seasonings. Next hummus: ground garbanzo beans with garlic, lemon juice and special seasonings. Then foul: pureed fava beans with garlic, tomatoes, onions and special seasonings. And last, babagannouj: eggplant dip with tahina sauce and special seasonings.


This alternate version has in the 7 o’clock position, yogurt salad: yogurt with chopped cucumber, mint and garlic.

Below then are detail pictures of most of the mezze:


Tabouleh. Chopped parsley, onion, and tomato mixed with lemon and special seasonings.


hummus: ground garbanzo beans with garlic, lemon juice and special seasonings.

lebnah, Middle eastern style yogurt mixed with mint, red pepper & topped with olive oil. I love this stuff, particularly with the meat.


babagannouj: eggplant dip with tahina sauce and special seasonings.

foul: pureed fava beans with garlic, tomatoes, onions and special seasonings.

Gibna bel tamatim: feta cheese and chopped tomato mixed with olive oil and special seasonings.


Parker 97, “The 2006 Broken Stones (63% Syrah, 24% Grenache, and 13% Mourvedre) blew me away. An inky/purple color and a dazzling, explosive bouquet of black raspberries, camphor, cassis, forest floor, and spring flowers are followed by a rich, elegant wine offering laser-like precision as well as a striking minerality. It is a powerful yet graceful effort.”

The other side of the bottle.


Parker 89, “The 2008 Ventillo 71 is named after the address of the old winery and is 100% Tempranillo. It has a soft, leather-infused nose with strawberry, mint and a touch of orange blossom. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and ample freshness. There is a core of wild strawberry and red cherry fruit, finely integrated oak and a composed, elegant finish. This is a commendable Rioja.”


Fattoush salad. Romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, onions, and suemock topped with pita chips.


Another salad, more classic middle eastern.


Cole slaw like salad.

Falafels. Chickpea paste fried with tahini sauce.


Meat pies. Falaffel filled with a meat patty. Delicious.

Kobehbah. Beef and pine-nuts covered in burgur wheat and fried. Hot and delicious.


Parker 90-92+, “Aged completely in demi-muids, the 2008 Syrah Halcon is a tannic, young, promising effort that may merit an even higher score next year if it puts on the weight and flesh that the 2007s did in barrel. At present, it reveals abundant blue and black fruits intertwined with hints of forest flora and spice. While not as powerful as the 2007s, it exhibits lots of minerality and structure.”


Shrimp kabob: 10 pieces of shrimp grilled to perfection served with rice and green salad.


Parker 87, “Soft, ripe, and fruity, with big, smoky, charred berry-like scents intermixed with tobacco and plum aromas.”


A line of trouble makers.


Parker 94, “A spectacular offering, the 1998 Command Shiraz (which spent 3 years in French and American oak) is the type of wine that is impossible to duplicate outside of selected Barossa and McLaren Vale vineyard sites. An opaque purple color is followed by spectacular aromas of toasty oak, camphor, blackberry liqueur, and asphalt. It is humongous in the mouth, decadently rich, and luxuriously fruited, with a viscous texture as well as a 40-second finish. Low acidity and ripe tannin add to the succulent impression.”


Grilled squab. Yum.

Liver. Quiet good, tender and with a lot of flavor.


Peppers, tahini, and garlic paste (for chicken, yum!).


On the left the 2004 Kosta Browne Russian River Pinot.

On the right, Parker 95, “Chapoutier makes no bones about the fact that he prefers his 1996 Cote Roties to his 1995s. Wealthy readers with access to Chapoutier’s wines will have fun determining whether the 1995 or 1996 Cote Rotie La Mordoree is the superior wine. Both are terrific examples of Cote Rotie with 20-25 years of evolution. Chapoutier prefers the 1996. The 1995 is a superb wine, but I am not sure the 1996 isn’t a point or two better. Both wines possess intensely-saturated black/purple colors, and smoky, black raspberry, coffee, and chocolate-scented noses with black olives thrown in for complexity. The 1996 may have greater length, but that is splitting hairs at this level of quality. Both are medium to full-bodied, rich, extraordinary examples of Cote Rotie that possess power as well as finesse. Both will require cellaring to reveal their personalities. I suspect the 1995 needs 4-5 years of cellaring.”

Getting the buzz on.


Bamia: okra.


Robin brought this 1994 Heitz (regular) and it was drinking very well, youthful even, full of tasty tannins.


A big meat plate! We have shrimp, chicken, shish kabob (felit mignon), and kofta (ground beef and lamb mixed with onions and parsley).


An Amarone (I can’t read the details unfortunately).


Another view of the meat.


Rice pilaf.


French fries.


Parker 91-93, “The extraordinary 2007 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Rasteau offers up aromas of chocolate, black cherries, dusty, loamy soil, scorched earth, garrigue, and spice. This full-bodied, powerfully concentrated, meaty, expansive, substantial wine should age well for a decade.”


Koshari: traditional vegetarian dish (lentils, brown rice and pasta served with a spicy tomato sauce & topped with fried onions).


Parker 89, “The 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon (545 cases) reveals evolved fruitcake, cedary, tobacco, roasted herb, and cassis aromas, as well as rich, concentrated flavors. It is impressively rich, with an herb-tinged, black currant personality, medium to full body, sweet but noticeable tannin, and excellent purity, all framed by toasty new oak. The wine gives every indication of being ready to drink with another 2-3 years of cellaring.”


Yarom playing the hookah!


Parker 88, “The evolved, medium gold color of the 1990 is prematurely advanced, raising questions about future longevity. It possesses plenty of intensity, and an unctuous, thick, juicy style, but high alcohol and coarseness kept my rating down. There is bitterness as well as fiery alcohol in the finish. The wine does not offer much delineation, so cellaring should prove beneficial as it does have admirable levels of extract. Suduiraut can make powerful, rich wines that are often rustic and excessively alcoholic and hot when young. I am told they become more civilized with age, and certainly older, classic Suduiraut vintages have proven that to be true. I feel this estate’s propensity to produce a luxury cuvee (Cuvee Madame) in vintages such as 1989 tends to have a negative impact on the regular cuvee.”


Various traditional desserts. The gooey white toped one at 1-2 o’clock was particularly awesome.


Another plate of traditional sweets, including rice pudding in the middle.


In case the Hookah isn’t enough.


Little baked donut ball like pastries.


Rice pudding.


It was actually a birthday pudding!


The donut balls coated in Nutella. Certainly two good things are even better.

A coconut dessert.

This was another fun evening. Super casual and more than a little crazy. Dahab is a tasty little restaurant  serving delicious Egyptian food, but they aren’t really set up for either 20+ parties or wine nuts like us. They did manage with the food, and we managed the wine. It was cozy, but made extra fun by the warm evening and outside setting.

For more crazy Foodie Club dining, click here.



On September 21, 2015, we went again. I integrated the food pictures above, but the wines from that second visit are here:














Related posts:

  1. Hedonists at La Paella
  2. Totoraku – Hedonists Beef Up
  3. Hedonists at STK
  4. Hedonism at Esso
  5. Peace in the Middle East? – Mezze
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Billecart-Salmon, Cafe Dahab, Cafe Dehab, Dahab, Dehab, Dessert, Egypt, Egyptian Food, Foodie Club, hedonists, Hookah, kabob, Los Angeles, Middle Eastern, Mosel, Restaurants and Bars, Riesling, Wine

Peace in the Middle East? – Mezze

Jun10

Restaurant: Mezze

Location: 401 N La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048. 310.657.4103

Date: May 31, 2011

Cuisine: Modern Middle Eastern

Rating: Really tasty!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

For a long time in the 2000s Sona was my favorite restaurant in LA, and I was sad when they closed last year. Mezze is a totally new restaurant that opened in the same space. It’s much more casual, a modern middle eastern with a mostly tapas style menu and an emphasis on farmer’s market ingredients. I love middle eastern flavors, so I was excited to see what they’ve done with the concept.

The chef,  Micah Wexler, has a star studded pedigree too, having worked variously in LA at Vincenti, Melisse, Patina and Craft.


All the wines are from my cellar as usual. I had gotten a case of this Cal Pinot in 1997 at the vineyard and I noticed it in the corner of the cellar while picking wines. This was the last bottle — most of the rest probably having been drunk over a decade ago — and it turned out that the extra years really served it well. Having been well cellared its entire life the wine came out of the bottle like a middle aged burgundy, slightly brick in color and deliciously pinot fruity.


The menu. Even the “large” plates aren’t that large. We ordered around three things per person and it was about right.


The old Sona space has been opened up and repainted, lending a lighter more casual style.


“Spring Tabouli, Green Garlic, Fava bean, Pancetta, Almond.” A very nice tabouli, made richer by the addition of big ham chunks. This is from the grain school of taboili, some are a bit stronger on the parsley/mint thing.


“Beet Salad, Chickpea, Sheep’s Milk Yogurt, Haloumi.” Beet salads are a menu staple in recent years, but this one was as good as any with the yogurt serving well as the “fat.”


“Wild Salmon, Purple Onion, Rye Bread.” This dish was made entirely by the fish, which was sashimi grade and top notch.


“Fluke Crudo, Cherry, Green Almond, Tahini.” This dish was just a little bland. The cherries were yummy, but the fish, while impeccably fresh, didn’t have a lot of flavor.


Parker gives this Chateauneuf du Pape a 95. “Bottled at what I suspect is the whim of Paul Feraud, the 1989 and 1990 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Laurence were tasted side by side with the Cuvee Reservee. Although the Cuvee Laurence is no better than the Cuvee Reservee, they are more evolved, with more complexity from the extended cask aging. Ultimately, I think the Cuvee Reservee will surpass them, since the development of that wine will take place in the bottle, not in wood, but it is more backward and less evolved. The 1989 Cuvee Laurence is slightly sweeter, richer, and more opulent than its younger sibling. However, both wines are enormously constituted, thick, rich, classic, old style Chateauneuf du Papes the likes of which are rarely seen today. Both wines carry 15+% alcohol. They will be worth a special effort to find and purchase.”


We also ordered a series of flatbreads (aka pizza). This one is “Green Cauliflower, Moroccan Olive, Feta, Golden Raison.” The feta/raison thing worked: sweet and salty.


“Flowering squash, syrian cheese, zatar.” This was good too, but more mild.


“Merguez Sausage, Fontina, Tomato Jam, Aleppo Pepper.” I had high hopes for this one, but it just didn’t have enough punch. There was nothing wrong with the flavor, but the sausage was too mild, and the tomato muted.


“Grandma’s Chopped Chicken Livers, Sour Plum Mostarda, Challah.” This tasted exactly as advertised, like homemade chicken livers!


The challah is a perfect bread for it too.


“Soft Shell Crab, Heirloom Cucumber, Gem Avocado, Smoked Egg.” Nice and interesting combo, although it was a small dish and split by 6 people resulted in merely a bite.


“Shawarma, Amba, House Pickles.” Nice little meat, pickle and flatbread sandwich. Although I would have liked the meat to punch out a bit more in the flavor department.


“Poached Egg Shakshouka, Yogurt Emulsion, Sweetbread, Pita.” I liked this dish a lot. It tasted mostly of tomato and yogurt, a bit like “ricotta and gravy.”


“Lamb Shoulder, Green Wheat, Dukkah Spice.” A very nice lamb dish. The meat had that full on lamb flavor. This was not a sweet lamb prep like some middle eastern ones, but more on the salty/meaty side.


“Sea Urchin, Israeli Cous Cous, Lemon, Mint.” Very soft tapioca type texture, with a some sea urchin flavor — very pleasant.


“Veal Manti, Almond Milk, Black Lime.” Manti are a type of dumpling, like Afghan Mantoo (see here). While we each only got a bite this was a very good dish.


“Hashweh Risotto, Lamb, Burnt Onion, Fried Lemon.” Nice. Rich too and gooey.


The desserts.

Parker 94. “The 2007 Laurel, a blend of 65% Garnacha and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, is deep purple-colored with a bouquet of wet stone, Asian spices, black cherry compote, and incense. Dense and sweet on the palate with tons of spice, it is super-concentrated, rich, and smooth-textured. Give this lengthy effort 2-3 years of additional cellaring and drink it from 2013 to 2027.”

This is an amazing wine, deep grape.


“Semolina Pound Cake, black lime, Indian lime, mulberries, hibiscus.” This was my least favorite of the desserts, although there was certainly nothing wrong with it — just a mild sweet cake with fruit.


“Roasted Aprium, honey, basil, pistachio.” Aprium made me think of a Latin noun, but they’re just apricots crossed with plums. In this particular incarnation however, they were wonderful — and the ice cream went perfectly!


“Lebne Cheesecake, rainer and brook cherries, rose.” A wonderful light cheesy fluffy, which went classically with the cherries.


“Strawberry Parfait, sasame, sumac, halvah cream.” This was probably my favorite. The strawberries were really intense and the cream — well exceedingly creamy.


“Rose Malabi, rhubarb, market berries.” Also fantastic, this was basically rosewater (which I love) flavored pannacotta with berries.


We recieved a little parting gift of spicy saseme bright. I totally dug this stuff, and it had a bit of a burn.

Part of the surgery done on the old Sona space is opening up the kitchen.

Overall, I was very impressed by Mezze. Not every dish was spot on, but they varied from good to great and they get serious points for having a big menu full of interesting flavors and a tapas style format that really favors sampling a lot of stuff. The prices are pretty reasonable too considering the quality of the food and how much we pigged out.

For other LA restaurants, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Bistro LQ – 27 Courses of Trufflumpagus
  2. Dinner and Drinks at Tavern
  3. Son of Saam – Actually more Bazaar
  4. Food as Art: Ortolan
  5. Bastide – Chef Number Six
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Chateauneuf du Pape, Dessert, Food, Los Angeles, Melisse, Mezze, Middle Eastern, Modern Middle Eastern, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Rye Bread, side dishes, Sona, vegetarian, Wine, Wine tasting descriptors
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