David Myers formerly of Jaan's restaurant at the L'Ermitage hotel in Beverly Hills has opened a restaurant on La Cienega Boulevard that is nationally competitive. On walking into the Sona restaurant I felt that I had left L.A. behind and entered an austere yet aesthetic continental establishment. This change of attitude is most welcome considering its location 2 doors north of nude dancing and across the street from Trashy Lingerie. The attentive though un-intrusive service only furthered the feeling that I was on the right track to finding a continental experience in L.A.. The dinner was extraordinary. Two dishes were memorable and would have met my standards for a 3 star restaurant: squash soup with clams and chai froth, and cod cooked with a squid ink and truffle oil infusion [matched to Romanee Conti 76]. The intensity and merging of the soup flavors was unexpected and delicious. The fish was uniquely firm, cooked and moist. The duck course [matched to Petrus 75] was also excellent being prepared from Liberty Farms provisions in a way that was tender yet roast beef like in its color and appearance. It came with an unusual yet matched eggplant and wasabe, hiijiki sauce. The chocolate-brioche-pudding desert was first rate, but what enhanced the good continental feeling of being in a major restaurant was the post desert of 4 more sweet flavors to try. When David Myers was cooking at L'Ermitage a particularly memorable dish was blue fin tuna with truffles and an uni sauce. David Myers' ability to make sense out of a spectrum of ingredients is creative and unique for L.A. and, according to Michael Steinberger, the US. In the Financial Times [Feb 2, 02] he says that "the meal I had at the L'Ermitage topped anything I've eaten at Trotters". Tasting menus can be obtained for about $65. I prefer to have larger sized portions which raises the price to about $85 per person. Corkage [$15] is extremely reasonable at the moment.
