Still thinking about the Foie @ Mezze

Micah Wexler has a way with foie.  My last bite of foie before the ban began was the Foie Gras Terrine at Mezze, the Mediterranean restaurant on La Cienega where Chef Wexler .  Crushed pistachios, grapefruit wedges and flowers all provided for both a visual and flavorful oomph of harmony.  The texture was creamy and perfect.  Rich but not maddeningly so.  This is the first foie dish I will look forward to when foie becomes legal again.

Le Comptoir at Tiara Cafe: Gary Menes Amazing Pop-up

Gary Menes, the talented and peripatetic chef has alighted for a spell at Tiara Cafe, hosting his pop-up restaurant Le Comptoir during dinner service when the restaurant is otherwise closed.  The 12 seats at this restaurant are at the counter, hence the name of the pop-up.  The experience of dining at the counter is intimate as you can watch the chefs prepare your meal while you sit side by side with your fellow diners.

I had first heard of Chef Menes from Jo of My Last Bite who raved about his cooking.  I never made it to Marche or Palihouse when he was there and finally managed to taste his food for the first time on a recent Friday evening at Le Comptoir.    The menu is 5 courses for $46 and is vegetarian.  Diners have the option of swapping out one course for foie ($18 supplement) and another for meat ($5 supplement).

The meal began with an amuse of beet above lime pudding.

The house-made bread was excellent; this is not a restaurant for carb-phobes, as the bread is all but irresistible with a great crust. 

1st course: Corn soup: sierra gold potato, french shallot, corn veloute, farinette, yogurt, celery.  The corn veloute was remarkable.  One of my favorite dishes of the year.  I love corn and the consistency of the soup was wonderful with the sweetness of the corn shining through.  The tableside service of the pouring of the soup was also dramatic and reminiscent of restaurants like Jean Georges.  The best soup I have had in a very long time.

The alternate selection for the first course is the foie gras terrine.  It was rich and spread nicely on the bread but given a choice between having the foie or the soup, I'd choose the soup.  I never thought I'd say that corn soup wins over foie, but Chef Menes has a way with vegetables and soups and it would be a shame to miss whatever soup he makes that evening.

2nd course: A signature dish at the pop-up is the Sunny Side-up Egg with young lettuce, herbs and sorrel jus.  The lettuce and butter arrive first and then a hot pan sizzling with the egg inside.  We were instructed to add the butter then the herbs and lettuce and mix together.  I enjoyed this but I found that by the time I added all of the ingredients, the yolk had solidified due to the heat of the pan.  I am not sure if that was the intent or not, but I recommend mixing up the yolk when this dish arrives so you can experience it still runny.

Lettuces, herbs, butter

Egg in pan

Complete dish

3rd course: Cauliflower, faro picolo, grapes, leeks, apples.  Again this dish is deceptively simple.  A vegetarian dish with grains, sweet apples and grapes and the roasted cauliflower.  There was a lot of flavor on the plate, including the dramatic leeks.

4th Course: Wagyu filet and 72-hr braised short rib, hearts of romaine, carrots, forbidden rice, currant relish.  ($5 supp).  The charred romaine had a great texture and the wagyu, both filet and short rib was dripping with intense flavor and richness.  The carrots added a note of sweetness to the dish and enlivened the plating as if they were monoliths on the plains of my plate.

5th course: Sourdough donut holes, cinnamon sugar, nutella, candied walnuts.  I didn't love the sourness of the donut but did enjoy the nutella.  Again the plating is just so.

There is an optional four course wine pairing for $24 and otherwise your only other decision is whether you want the soup or the foie, and the meat or the vegetable, which on the evening I was there was blue hubbard squash, brussels sprouts, dried cherry marmalade, smoked scallions, santa barbara chanterelles, spanish padron peppers.

Le Comptoir is open Thursday - Saturday and has three seatings nightly, at 6 pm, 8 pm and 10 pm.  Reservations can be made by emailing lecomptoirla@gmail.com
Follow Chef Menes on Twitter @garymenes

It has already made Jonathan Gold's 99 Essential Restaurants.  Le Comptoir may be ephemeral, but it is well worth finding.  Get while the getting is good, else you will have missed out.

Tiara Cafe: 127 E. 9th Street, between Main and Los Angeles Sts., DTLA

Kiyokawa Sushi in Beverly Hills: Precision with Warmth

Imagine entering the sushi bar where all is quiet after leaving the noise of the street behind.  Where a sushi master is waiting to prepare a meal for you from the freshest fish.  A private restaurant that is yours for the night.  The chef sending out dish after dish of pristine fish as you sit in front of him and happily eat, with the whole restaurant dedicated to you.  That is what I experienced on Monday night.  Did I buy this meal at a benefit?  Was I dining at Urusawa?  No, I walked in off the street at Kiyokawa and had the rare luxury of literally having the talented chef and restaurant at my disposal as there were no other customers.  Chef Sato (above) created a wonderful shellfish-free meal that I will be thinking about for some time.

Following some miso soup, which was served in a cup, the meal began with four kinds of sushi.  Each one was lightly sauced by Chef Sato, so no additional soy sauce was needed.  The halibut (top left) was particularly noteworthy.  The journey had begun and I knew I was in capable hands.

Dramatically presented on a plate with a Spanish Mackerel were five pieces of sushi, including one with caviar and gold, onion with cooked onions (middle right) and two with freshly grated wasabi.  Sato spoke about the importance of using all ingredients of high quality - why put commercial wasabi paste on pristine fish?  So the rice was at just the right temperature and he uses a sharkskin grater to make fresh wasabi paste for his sushi.  The Spanish Mackerel was only exceeded by the yellowtail.

The nigiri portion of the meal concluded with toro and salmon belly sushi.  The toro was unctuous and had that melt in your mouth quality that comes from its sheer fattiness.  The wasabi enriched the marbled fish and brought out more of the deep flavor and wonderful mouthfeel.  The salmon did not dissapoint either, although the toro was more exceptional.

I had asked for ikura as part of my meal and so at this point in my meal I was presented with a small bowl of salmon roe on top of a bed of rice.  The salmon roe had been marinated for over six hours in soy sauce and several other ingredients in the chef's secret recipe and each egg had the great pop you get from the best roe. When I was done, there was not a grain of rice or an egg of roe left in the small bowl.  I could have eaten a large bowl of this ikura don.

I added in a foie gras course, having noticed it on the menu when I came in.  The foie was pan cooked and then draped over rice, nigiri style, and wrapped with a small piece of nori.  Thinly sliced black truffle completed the dish.  This was rich and sweet, a luxurious dessert.

The final savory component of the meal was a negitoro handroll, chopped up toro with scallions and rice wrapped up in seaweed.  Much preferable to an ice cream cone.  This course was surprisingly just ok, not as amazing as the previous.

The final course of the evening was dessert: yuzu sorbet.  The sorbet was presented in a champagne flute, and the acidity of the yuzu was a pleasant way to conclude the meal.  It was hard to leave after such a luxurious and delicious meal.  Chef Sato was gracious during the meal, happily speaking about the fish, the restaurant and his philosophy.  This was omakase tailored to the customer, not the assembly line style that so many sushi restaurants in LA, even highly regarded ones have.  Those spots give everyone the same thing, most commonly ending with a blue crab hand roll.  Here not only was ikura built into my meal, and shellfish left out, but my reactions to the individual fish determined the next course's contents.  Also, the chef was personable, and felt no need to play the brusque sushi master "role" so often see in Los Angeles.

Having the restaurant to myself was an unexpected delight not likely to be repeated, although I know I will be back soon for another meal at the sushi bar, even if I have to share the restaurant (and the chef) with other customers.  I reluctantly relinquished my seat at the bar and stepped out into the night, full, happy and relaxed.

Kiyokawa: 265 S. Robertson, just South of Wilshire, Beverly Hills. Phone: (310) 358-1900. Website: www.kiyokawarestaurant.com

Chicago: Hot Doug's Encased Meats Emporium

Hot Doug's is more then a Chicago landmark.  It has become an institution, one of the places that food lovers incorporate into roadtrips or make pilgrimages to.  Doug Sohn's restaurant has received national coverage and has grown so popular that the wait to order is usually more than an hour around peak lunch time.  Opened in 2001 and reopened in 2005 following a devastating fire in 2004, Hot Doug's specializes in a variety of exotic and unusual sausages and hot dogs, some involving game meat.

Cognac-Infused Pheasant Sausage

The selection of sausages available is like no other hot dog stand in the universe.  The Cognac-Infused Pheasant Sausage with Chive-Dijon Goat Butter and Duck Rillettes ($7) was one of the daily specials on a recent visit.  The Pheasant Sausage paired remarkably well with the duck rillettes.  Pheasant and rillettes in a hot dog bun?  This is no ordinary Chicago hot dog joint.

Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Fleur de Sel ($8) was another special.  Incredibly rich and decadent, this was delicious but not something to be eaten every day, unless you are a contestant in an artery-hardening contest.

Not every hot dog at Hot Doug's involves game meats or unusual ingredients; Sohn has also sought to perfect the classic hot dog.  The Dog comes with "all the trimmings" and is a bargain at only $1.75.  It comes with mustard, relish, caramelized onions, tomatoes, pickle and celery salt.  There is no comparison with "regular hot dogs".  Game over.

The Dave Kingman is a classic Italian-style chicken sausage, which was ordered with a whole pickle and celery salt.  The sausage had a pleasant spicy kick to it.

The lines at Hot Doug's are especially long on Friday and Saturdays, the days which Duck Fat Fries are served.  The fries ($3.50) are served in a generous portion large enough for a party of four and are fragrant with the smell of duck fat.  I found them to have more duck smell than taste.  I am in the minority, but I would actually recommend getting regular french fries, which appear light in contrast to the rich sausages.  Plus if you go on a non-Friday/Saturday, the line will be shorter.

Sohn is a pleasant and gracious host.  By the time you reach the register (after an hour and twenty minutes in my case), Sohn will likely be manning the register.  Be ready with your order and bring some green, as Hot Doug's is cash only.  Customers can only sit in tables once they have ordered, which works remarkably well.  The "saving" of tables is not tolerated and the system works efficiently - there appeared to continuously be tables available once customers had ordered.  The food also arrived quite rapidly at our table.  As we were eating in, Sohn advised us to order the small size soda as he offers free refills.  This may the first time I have seen a restaurant owner encourage patrons to order the smaller size and pay less money.  Remarkable.  Behavior like this, in addition to the quality of the cuisine, has engendered a strong and loyal following.

Hot Doug's: 3324 N. California, Chicago.  Neighborhood is Avondale. It is approximately a $20 cab ride from downtown Chicago.  Phone: (773) 279-9550.

Open Monday - Saturday: 10:30 AM - 4:00 PM.  Cash only.

The line

The menu

Specials

Notorious FIG

FIG in the Fairmont Hotel in Santa Monica is a restaurant that isn't shy about proclaiming its focus on local and seasonal ingredients.  The bottom of the menu lists which produce is "just arrived," peak season," and "coming soon."  When I dined here on Friday, Chef Ray Garcia was away at the Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival, so I hoped for the best.  On a previous visit, for my birthday last year, I found the cuisine to be competent but boring.  Nothing got me excited to take another bite.  I am happy to say that on this visit, the food was well seasoned, flavorful and had my party eating with gusto.

We began with a sampling of charcuterie and cheese (above) which was a gift of the house.  A dining companion of mine had hosted an event at the hotel several months ago and the rest of us were all the fortunate recipients of this thank you.  The pork eaters in our group laid waste to the meat, including a spreadable salami, while I enjoyed the various cheeses.  A fun way to begin the meal.

The Foie Gras and Chicken Liver Parfait was a big winner.  Decadent and served with warm toasts and fig marmalade.  Spreading a little marmalade on the toast and then a thick layer of the parfait was rich and delicious.  There were smiles all around the table with this dish.

We had the Queso Fundido without the chorizo and I am not sure what the point was of this dish.  Melted chese and some housemade tortillas.  Uninteresting and one dimensional.  Perhaps the chorizo was required in order for this dish to work.  A rare miss.

The Braised Tongue with tomatillo and breakfast radish was another success.  It was like melt in your mouth brisket.  We ordered this dish based on a recommendation from Vxronica and boy was she right.  This was not a dish I would have likely selected otherwise.  The radishes were a nice crunchy textural contrast to the soft braised tongue.

The Duck Rillette had a similar presentation to the foie and chicken liver.  Stick to the foie and chicken liver as once you have had that, this is a pale imitation.  Although I thought it was just OK, others at my table made quick work of it.  There is something fun about food presented in mason jars; it feels rustic.

Buffalo Mozzarella with Hand Mashed Pesto was tangy and the pesto was top notch.  It has been a while since I have had mozzarella served like this; lately burrata seems to dominate menus.

The pièce de résistance of our dinner may have been the Cote de Boeuf for Two.  This monster of a prime steak was aged for 32 days before being cooked.  It had real beefy flavor and was big enough for several of us to share.  To accompany it we shared the Asparagus with paprika and lemon, the Brussels Sprouts, the French Fries, and Bordeaux Spinach.  It was cooked medium, as asked, although with some redder slices, which I availed myself of.

We were too full for dessert.  This meal won me over and I'd certainly return without reservations.  I am chalking down my prior visit to an anomaly.

Note:  When I went to retrieve my car from the hotel valet, they could not find it.  It took them a frantic forty minutes of searching to find it in their overflow lot, by which time my dinner companions were long gone and I had to cancel the drinks plans I had for afterwards.  I spoke to the manager of the hotel this week and he apologized profusely.  This was not the fault of the restaurant but just be aware when you valet your car at the Fairmont that it may not come back in a timely manner.

FIG: 101 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica. In the Fairmont Hotel.  Phone: (310) 319-3111.  Website: www.figsantamonica.com