Another Night at The Bazaar

The Bazaar
465 S. La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 247-0400
http://www.thebazaar.com/

Last Saturday we visited The Bazaar one more time, at the special request of our friends Y & D. I really enjoyed visiting again because this time I was less overwhelmed by the onslaught of images, media and people watching. I settled in a little more and enjoyed the surroundings.


We arrived a little early to enjoy the bar and sip at a martini. I have been reading some of the reviews and buzz on Chowhound this week in preparation, and several posters have been warning users to beware of the douche factor. Previously, I had seen no evidence of douchiness. However, hanging at the bar I had the pleasure of watching some hotel guests stroll in from the pool, draped in towels and start talking to customers in the bar area. The seemed like they might have been hitting the sauce at the pool. They were escorted from the restaurant.


When our friends arrived, they reminded me that Marcel of Top Chef infamy was now working in the kitchen, and our server kindly escorted them back to say hello and have their photo taken. Additionally, Chef Andres was later walking the room in his chef's jacket and we all got pics with Jose. There was a private Bravo party happening in the well curtained off and body guarded Rojo dining room. You couldn't even walk up to the hole in the curtain and catch a glimpse of Tim, Tom or Padma. How do I know? Don't ask. Is this all maybe a little douchey? Don't care.

One of the first items we had fun trying was a nitro caipirinha. A caipirinha is the national cocktail of Brasil, made from cachaca, sugar and lime. At The Bazaar, they serve them frozen. By using nitrogen to freeze them instead of ice cubes, the drinks don't get watered down. They are an intensely flavorful and boozey frozen beverage. I want to try this at home, but I probably won't. If you see above, the nitrogen evaporates as it freezes the liquid. Wiki tells me that caipirinha is the diminutive of the word caipira, which in Brasil is synonymous with the United States term, "hill-billy". So this drink in Brasil means, literally, "little hill-billy".

We shared the first one between the four of us. Later on the meal, I admit I egged everyone on into another one. This time each couple had their own. Next time, I am not sharing with anyone. These were the kind of cold that makes your tongue stick to the spoon for just an instant. Licking the nitrogen flag pole is not advised.

Like on New Year's, the first item on the agenda were the caviar creme cones. Just as lovely as the first time. I gobbled mine right down, barely tasting it. Next time I need to eat this in slower bites, savoring the creme and the caviar, the crunch of the cone.

We all knew we wanted the Philly Cheese Steak. An even more intriguing pic of this can be found here.

The above rare Wagyu beef sits atop a pillow of "air" bread that hollows out when it bakes and is filled with melted lite creamy cheese. It is delicious. The bread is crisp and almost cracker like, just a little moist. The beef is sliced thin, but not too thin and is still warm. The cheese is beautiful.

We were all intrigued to try the caprese with spherified mozzarella cheese. Now, why it is necessary to spherify a cheese that is sold already in a sphere I do not know. I assume it is simply for the joy of play. The tomatoes were thoughtfully skinned and easy to eat in one gulp. I think it was at this moment that Mr. Andres came out and chided me for not eating the cherry tomato and cheese sphere in one bite.

I may talk too often and too loudly, but my mouth is not big enough to fit both of those balls in at once. *chuckle*

I hadn't even noticed this charming item on the menu, and I would definitely have passed it by had Y & D not jumped at it. They had been here previously, nomming at the bar. This might have been one of the things they tasted that time. They seemed familiar with it. This is called Tortilla de Patates "new way", on the menu.

It is potato foam, with egg, caramelized onion, chives and bacon bits on top served warm and liquid in an egg shell. This was crazy delicious.

The presentation didn't hurt either. I had to really explore the presentation. I ate my tortilla patates then turned the slate base upside down so I could look at how the egg shell was affixed to the slate. It looked like someone had spray painted the egg shells metallic silver, then hot glued them to the slate. I picked at my egg shell a little.

The shell was quite breakable, as real egg shells are. I am glad this was a disposable container, because I purposefully broke it. I am assuming the metallic paint is lead-free.

At neither of our previous visits to The Bazaar have we ordered the scallops for D, which is bizarre. Lovely sea scallops seared and sitting on a thick bed of Romesco sauce and olive oil. Very nice.

Last time they were here, Y & D definitely ordered the foie gras cotton candy, and this time they wanted to try the foie gras sliders on brioche with quince. I thought they were good, but I didn't flip for them. The foie was cool, and I think the flavor of the foie would have been better presented (it is the key ingredient) had it been served warm. It just fell flat for me, which is a shame when treating yourself to foie gras.

I have to admit that by this point I was full. It would have been the perfect place to stop eating. Did we stop eating? Hay-yell no! Y ordered the pisto, a warm vegetable stew with tomatoes and an egg. I tasted and saw eggplant (my fave) tomatoes, red bell peppers, most likely pasilla peppers, zucchini, mushrooms and flower petals.


The stew was served warm with a raw egg on top and the server stirred the stew at the table to cook the egg. It was delicious. This is brunch fodder I could get on board with. (The fact that I am not a breakfast fan being common knowledge, to me anyway.)

Out marches the salmon. This must be a new dish because it is not on the menu. It came out under a dish, still smoking. As our server lifted the dish the beautiful smoke wafted around the table.


It was a generous piece of translucent smoked salmon with deconstructed tatziki...small puddles of yogurt and cubes of cucumber. The taste was nowhere near as dramatic as the presentation, but it was good.

Because we had eaten here a couple times, we let Y & D take lead in the ordering, but at the end D and I decided to add a few items we always want when we dine at The Bazaar. I wanted the miso fettuccine with salmon roe. I am not sure this was to everyone's taste. No one else exclaimed over its amazingness. Nevertheless, my mouth was happy. I love the miso-eyness of this, the light coolness of the fettuccine and the salty roe popping in the corner of my mouth.

Naturally D wanted the tomato and watermelon skewers. Last time we were here he ate two plates of these on his own. The little brown spots are a Pedro Ximinez (a sherry) reduction. Y exclaimed at the tomato on top of the watermelon. She was watching another table eat these earlier in the evening and couldn't believe the tomatoes weren't some kind of caviar. Andres really takes just the juicy soft slippery heart of the tomato and skewers it to those seedless watermelon squares. So refreshing.

The above really disappointed me. It is called Rossejat, or paella style pasta. It is a little like a fideo in the sense that the pasta is cooked til it is crunchy. There were a few shrimp across the top, as you can see. Neither the flavor not the texture thrilled me. Meh.

Because we were with guests, I allowed myself to be swayed by dessert and coffee. The coffee was fantastic and brewed in your individual cup. Y and I were a little miffed that we only got one small cup of coffee for $4. And although pinching pennies over coffee at the end of such an amazing meal might seem strange, let me explain. First off: the meal was not as expensive as you think it might have been, and second: well, so what? I love the little containers the cream and sugar came in. I should have brought a bigger handbag.



Y ordered the bread pudding for D. It is his favorite. I had a nibble and liked the nutty and rich flavor of this, but it was too heavy for me to taste it properly. I would have burst.

My D wanted the Hot Chocolate Mousse, natch. It was served with some delicious sweet pear sorbet. Strangely, this is not served hot. So clearly they are referencing hot chocolate the drink rather than selling chocolate mousse served hot. It was good enough.

This.was.delicious. Greek yogurt panna cotta with apricots and muscat gelatin. All these layers! All these textures. In a little insulated glass. With pistachio dust on top. A beautiful dessert, with some clinging sweetness but light textures...each layer a little different but also kind of the same. Mmm.

If you haven't been yet, at least stop in to The Bazaar, sit at one of the bars and nibble at a couple items on the menu. It won't set you back too much and this is an experience not to be missed right in your own front yard (if you live in LA). You can even come in wearing a swimsuit and a towel, get your pic taken with a celebrity and spy on the private Bravo party eating in the back room.

Little Bitches at the Little Joy

The Little Joy
1477 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 250-3417

There is new management at The Little Joy, and she has made a big difference. The bar is just better. I can tell it's a better fit for me because someone else had angrily graffiti'd in the ladies' room that it now sucks at The Little Joy. If it sucks for some 21 year old graffiti'ing hipster, chances are I might like it a little better. I so would have hung out at The Little Joy in any incarnation when I was 21. Tastes in dive bars change. The new manager has made some subtle tweaks to the bar, and I am liking it.

There is better booze, actual brand names, although nothing flashy. The bartender was super friendly and the drinks were strong.

Someone somewhere was spinning a well conceived list of 80's tunes and we were dancing fools. FOOLS, I tell you. Old fools.

I spy with my little eye something that begins with a TS. As in tequila shot. That must have been D's drink.

I enjoyed immensely the graffiti in the girls' room. Apparently some aliens were having sex with my eyeballs. I hope they used a condom.

Definitely not barefoot and pregnant in front of the oven door. Liberation. We haz.

Turns out, bombing for peace is much like fucking for virginity. I can think of an old white guy I'd like to bomb.

If the above graffiti refers to the new manager, she is busy managing. Leave her alone. It's nice to have a bar down the street that doesn't suck.

The biggest and most palatable change is that The Little Joy no longer smells like pee. This is big in my book. The odor of pee, or lack thereof, is important in any establishment where I am going to put things in my mouth.

Friday Night at Rivera: A Full Meal

Rivera
1050 S Flower St #102
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 749-1460
www.riverarestaurant.com

Our entire experience Friday night at Rivera was wonderful. We had just finished viewing a good photography show in Abbot Kinney and wanted grub & grog close to home. Since our first stop in at Rivera we keep talking about going back, so back we went.

We sat at the smallish bar and got great service from the two bartenders working. We got to watch them construct all those beautiful fresh and fruity cocktails that you won't see at any other bar. It was like being at Ye Olde Towne Apothecary, where they made all things medicinal from powders and ointments and an array of mysterious ingredients, including the above beakers hopefully not pinched from the local high school science lab.

The bar has a good TV. Good because it is big enough to watch the game, but against the wall on the side so rather than being glued to the game you can glance at it now and again. Perfect placement for a TV in a nice restaurant in Lakers territory.

D started with the mussels. These are made with chorizo in a garlic pisco broth, not really served in a broth per se, and the chorizo came in thin strips king of laid across the top. These were good, not great. The broth was a little creamy and the chiles were extremely hot for D. The mussels were a little on the small side, and I prefer mine a touch more tender.

From the snacks part of the menu, I wanted to sample the patates xips, or potato chips with chipotle-lime crema and caviar. These were a hit. The crema was more like a mousse, with a beautiful flavor. Not too spicy and not too citrusy, a really nice balance. And I could eat caviar on anything. However, they could put more potato chips in the plate. Seriously, I should not have been able to count 10 chips.

Through the glass of the cooler behind the bar you can see several non-standard soda type bottles. One row was Bubble-Up, a soda that D remembers from the 1970's. I don't really remember it but both D and the bar back agree that Bubble Up is lighter in carbonation than 7-Up, and tastes less sweet. It is nice. And it comes in its own glass!

Based on listening to our conversation about margaritas, the mixmaster behind the bar made something special for D to sip at. It had tequila, cucumber, lime and something sweet but not sugary, agave nectar or maybe honey. It was seriously delicious, although a little too sweet for D. We added another shot of tequila and I ended up drinking it for him anyway. Rivera serves their cocktails with these huge, beautiful, glacieresque ice cubes. With less surface area than you would get from a glass full of ice chips or cubes, this cube melts a lot more slowly and your drink retains its structural integrity longer. Not that I ever leave a drink sitting full for long. I need cube trays like this for my own freezer. Anyone seen any of these about?

For dinner, D had cow on the brain. Not mad cow, just a little prime beef steak. Carne churrasco with onion foam, core of a purple potato, sweet potato and radishes. For some reason, the bartender told us the foam was cheese, but it does not say cheese on the menu nor did it taste cheesy. It was super light.

The beef was on the small side, compared to a steak house, which is not a bad thing. Maybe 8 oz. Beautiful little piece of flesh.

The purple potato.

Sweet potato, green onion and grilled radish.

I ordered the Tasmanian sea trout, served with saffron quinoa and a corn husk of corn and zucchini. I did not taste saffron in the quinoa mixture, however the quinoa was also mixed with spinach and it was fantastic. The Tasmanian sea trout tastes and looks suspiciously like salmon, so I did some research. Quel surprise.


An article on The World Wide Gourmet discusses the fish,

"Tasmanian Ocean Trout has a distinctive rosy pink/orange flesh and high omega 6 content which makes them an ideal eating fish. The flavour is more subtle and less salty than Atlantic or farmed salmon, and according to many chefs, much better tasting.

But why fish from Tasmanian waters?
The environment is key. The ocean trout are raised in a wild area, a pen in a protected spot in Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania's west coast, renowned for the purity of its water, which is brackish (half saltwater, half fresh water). When the fish come to feed, the fresh water cleans their gills naturally. What's more, the current is very powerful so as the trout "exercise," they get stronger. And since this is not a mass production operation, the pen isn't overpopulated. These are just of few of the reasons why I favour this delicious and versatile fish"!

The veggies in the corn husk, the veggies on D's plate and the spinach and quinoa mixture were fantastically delicious. John Sedlar really has a way with veggies, which is something I highly prize in a chef. Almost anyone can throw a good piece of quality protein on a grill, but attention to making the vegetables an equally quality part of the meal is meaningful and will bring me in for return visits.

I was disappointed with the frijoles negroes. They were wonderful, slightly spicy and sitting in a red sauce that seemed made from chipotle and eggplant, actually, this assessment somewhat based on texture. However, there were hardly any frijoles negroes in the sauce. I mean, there were more than ten, but not many more. In my opinion, the frijoles were accenting the sauce not the other way around. The flavor was great but there should have been more beans in that dish. And that dish was small.

Not a thing crossed my palate Friday that wasn't delicious. Every single morsel was just so worthy of re-eating. This is going to become high on my list of suggested spots in Los Angeles when people ask me where to dine. I think many people are skeptical of high end Mexican, being that there are so many amazing and amazingly cheap Mexican and Central American options in Los Angeles. However, Rivera could turn the skeptics.

200th Blogiversary: Ode to a Yelper

This is Food, She Thought's 200th post. I considered going somewhere fancy for dinner and blogging about that. Or blogging about some street food, an opening, or even cooking something myself to wax poetic about. However, there is a yelper who makes me laugh endlessly which really brightens a bad day, and I thought it would be nice to give him a shout-out.

John C., consider yourself memorialized.

I first came across John's reviews about this time a year ago, close to NBA play offs, lounging on the couch with D and JAF. While reading John's reviews, I literally laughed til I cried. While the tears have subsided completely I still read those new reviews when I need a good laugh. They are rude & overly sexual, he is obsessed with his penis, his bowel movements and his mom, he is sometimes racist (my anthropology professors might rescind my degree, but I find it humorous), and almost always kinda sexist. But he always gives everything 5 stars, and finds something nice to say about every place he goes.

There are other equally fair and intelligent bloggers I read religiously. Kristine, Claudia G, Tatertots, DJM, Tony C, Cara, Michael U and Brandon F. However, John, you are the most fun.

John, later today I will be raising a drink to you and my 200th post! Cheers!