carpet bagger

Eat2much, how many bottles of 1998 E&E Black Pepper do you have? If you have at least 3 then try one and judge for yourself when to open the others. Please let me know once you open one though.

Beach fan how was the Fox Creek Reserve? What did you eat with it? Where did you eat? Did you have any other wines at the same dinner?

For those that are interested, Bistro 21 has Razor clam this week. I spoke to Ko today. I didn't get the other specials but I can't wait to get Razor clam. :biggrin:

Thank you to each of you so far. I usually buy French butter, (at the cheese shop Beverly Hills) in a large chunk. Half a wheel, I love to cook with it as it is much richer and can be used at much higher temperature while cooking.The flavour difference is incredible. The butter from Normandy can be eaten straight like cheese it is so good. For me it makes store stuff taste weak and washed out.

Lizziee. Irene's words would have suggested a higher score but maybe her clothes don't have pockets. At least ones that great people like David doesn't put anything in. I honestly do not understand the logic of these food critics. They really upset me to the point that I give them no crediblity. One problem that I see in LA is there seems to be no accountability for chefs to produce great food. They are louded for average food as though it was magnificent. Personally that is why I encourage great chefs like David and Ko to the best of ability when they perform so well. We as a town deserve better and I hope that David and Ko are examples of the immediate future. Lets help encourage people to go and enjoy really great experiences.

Maybe they should evaluate what is in the bottle reguardless of the name by which it goes. The Australian shiraz that has been selected may have been because of the taste, and price not the name. For the most part if a bottle has Montrachet on the label, chances are it will be better than almost any wine with chardonnay on it. I don't see how changing the Montrachet to chardonnay is going to change anything.

Lizziee, I spoke to Ko about chef's menu and he said he does it with 4-5 days notice gladly for those who ask for it. He said it was confusing for people who thought they could just ordere it. He also mentioned that right now he has a special appertiser "sea urchin in a potato crust in tumeric oil." Sounds great! If you have any special requests he will always try to oblige. He really cares and has the ability to produce. ENJOY!

Please help me, I don't like to freeze anything except icecream. I have been told I can freeze butter for up to a year. Are there any down sides?

If you had to select just three of the following which would they be? 1998 Greenock Creek Seven Acres Shiraz. 1998 Killibinbin Shiraz. 1998 J J Hahn Block 1914 Shiraz. 1998 Jasper Hill Georges Paddock Shiraz. 1998 Jim Barry The Armagh Shiraz. 1998 Old Bastard Shiraz. And for good measure two California Syrahs. 1998 Araujo Syrah. 1996 Orion (probably mostly Syrah) . Please fill me in?

Lizziee, I want to thank you for your candor and perfect judgement of places that should be ashamed of their performance. I just realized that it sounds that I am not giving you credit for your accurate judgement of great restaurants too. I cannot understand that people in this town seem to encourage poor performance. Some of the worst meals I have had were in packed places. I don't think that my dishes were bad abnd everyone elses were perfect. I can't wait not to go back to those places.

Stone I forgot to respond to your post which sounds great. Yank Sing sounds great. So does Jasmine Tea House. Iwill try them both and report back. I have been to Shen Hua and enjoyed it . Thanks!

Jaymes thank you, sounds like the kind of info I am looking for. Please tell me what is R&G. Koi Palace sounds terrific. I will report back after we go. Thank you.

Southern girlthough I not been to Border Grill I definitely agree with you about Lucques. I have been twice and never again. I cannot understand what all the hype is about. They have left out really deserving and wonderful restaurants. I don't know what the decision is based on. The places they left that I believe should have been included are: Sona not only for the pastry, Shiro,Take sushi, Bistro 21. I cannot believe that they include Lucques, Whist and Michaels. I went to whist and had one of the worst meals ever. The soup was cold, ( they took it back and reheated it in a microwave) the veal was inedible and the service was inattentive and disinterested. Michaels has been a mixed bag at best. I have had a couple of dishes that were ok. Some have been really bad. One night 8 of us were having a prefixed dinner, one of the courses was a fish dish that only one of us ate. The waiter took back 7 plates with only one bight from each. No one came and asked us if something was wrong with the fish. Also if you go there and eat upstairs in one of the private rooms you have to go past the terrible smell of the bathroom as you go up the stairs. I refuse to subject myself to that anymore. I have been accused of being too tough on restaurants but I think they get what they deserve.

Lizziee I would recommend ordering and splitting and sharing at the table. He used to do a tasting menu but I noticed it was not offered last time. If it is available you would have to order in advance. You could not order it the same night. I have not been to Cafe Blanc in quite a while but though I have always enjoyed it ,it has not offered the depth and complexity in the same way Ko at Bistro 21. I don't want to be unkind to Cafe Blanc, but the difference for me is like a great wine with a long finish compared to a great wine with great tastes but short finish. As I mentioned, Ko has an uncanny way with the preparation,knowing how long to cook, and food and herb integrations. The marriages of these are incredible. Some of my friends who have been there have complained about the timing. It is slow but how much can you complain when it is so perfect anyway. Some places that have bad timing also send out inedible food because of the timing. Another difficulty I have had is the menu doesn't change often enough. The only problem with this is that I can't go back as I otherwise would. The food that he turns out is wonderful. Believe it or not I have not tried the foie gras. The duck and the lobster are must tries. Also you must check his specials. One time I had a shell fish that I had never had anywhere before. It was some kind of long East coast shellfish elongated that had a shell on the top and bottom. He told me the name but I have forgotten it. I can assure you I have not forgotten the taste. The sauce he prepared was unforgetable, and the texture was like a perfect giant clam cooked so that it was not crunchy, deliciously chewy. I can still taste it and it has been at least 6 months since I ate it. Please let me know how you like everything when you go. I hope that I am not coming across too passionate but this is the way I feel.

Lizziee, it is not like Sona in style, presentation and is more bistro like. However the dishes are mouthfeelingly delicious like Sona. Really tasty, beautiful balance in the flavours. He compares very favourably with David at Sona. Just not as varied, and more limited in selection. What Ko does is really perfectly balanced in flavours and combination of ingredients. I know nothing about Mimosa. They did charge the full corkage for the open bottles. I don't mind because they are small and make me feel like family. Besides the food is delicious and with tax and tip and corkage it is approximately $60.00 per person. I have been a number of times and never felt short changed. If you go plan the evening and order lots to get the real flavour of the food. Don't be in a hurry because the tempo is slow but acceptably so. Enjoy! They are very caring and friendly people, and understand wine service. It is not in the league of Sona for service but you will enjoy their way too.

Last night we revisited Bistro 21. Ko has changed the menu since the last time we went. He always has a limited but exciting menu. There is only room for about 24 people. ( lucky) My wife started with caesar salad which was mild, tasty, tough to make exciting but it was inviting. That was followed by blue crab cake with a beet sauce that was incredible. It was very fresh tasting, unlike some that I have had that were fish tasting. This was prepared in such a way as to allow the natural sweetness to come forth and marry with the beet sauce. The outside was cooked just right, slightly crispy and properly moist inside. Also not heavy or manipulated tasting. I loved it. We ordered the grilled scallops from the specials of the day as an appetiser. The menu listed it as lemon-butter sauce. It actually was in a lemon rosemary combination that was perfectly balanced flavours leaving you wanting more and more. The 3 scallops were absolutely cooked to perfection wit the small bits unevenly cut on the outside slightly crispy then the outside cooked medium (slightly) to rare in the middle. I am not doing justice to my description because I have never had scallops done more perfectly. My mouth is watering as I type this report. I chose the roasted squab listed in white wine reduction gravy sauce. The sauce was delicious, but the squab was cooked in such a way that it was medium rare to rare all the way through. I could not believe the texture and consistancy as I am used to squab being unevenly cooked making it almost inedible. This was the greatest squab I have had. For desert I had the cold cream souffle. At first I couldn't make up my mind because nothing sounded great. Boy was I wrong. The cheese souffle had a marvelous texture, crumbly but moist and I was surprised how much I liked it cold. It was cold but not frozen which also made it wonderful with the heavy cream poured over it. My wife had the flourless chocolte cake, which at other restaurants is frequently dry and tastless as well as flourless. This was moist, sweet without being sickly and absolutely scrumptious. It had a cream topping on it that complemented it perfectly. There are no pretences in this restaurant, but Ko is a wizard with the proper amount to cook whatever the item is. He makes his sauces to go with the dishes and knows what he is doing. If you want an incredible experience at reasonable prices with attentive,( don't let the slow tempo bother you) and proper wine service and glasses then this is a must go to place. I forgot to mention the wines we drank with dinner. I brought half drunk bottles opened the night before, recorked and reopened last night. 2000 Bannockburn by Farr from Geelong Australia. It was very young tasting the night before but was drinking beautifully last night. It had anutty nose and balanced acidity in the med long finish. It went perfectly with the crab cake and the scallops. We also finished from the night before a 2001 Shirvington also from Australia. It is a shiraz and what a mouthful. It had a long finish with a blend of soft and powdery tannins that just enveloped the whole inside of my mouth. It too was better the second night than the first. We also had a 1998 Deutschke St Jacobi shiraz again from Australia. It was really full bodied explosive fruit that did not want to quit. Soft smooth and velvety tannins that coated the mouth and felt great going down the throat. Their corkage is a reasonable $15.00. especially considering they provide proper glasses and knowlegable wine service.

Elyse, thank you please tell me where it is and something about the food to expect.

What a wonderful description. Thank you keep up the good work.

Let me ramble here a bit. Why do I love wine and not give beer much credance? First, I grew up in Australia where the beer I tasted at the ripe old age of 11 years was very bitter and I had a lot of trouble even swallowing it. Sure at 16 plus years I drank it to get drunk, still hated it for taste. On arriving here in the U.S. I drank Bud and Coors most of the time getting sick and throwing up. That was my introduction. Since then I have been fortunate to drink some Thai beers and some Japanese beers at their respective restaurants and with their foods have enjoyed them a lot. For me, beers have more limits than wines and honestly I have never experimented with different beers as I have with wines. Maybe its time to try.

There is a great wine resource Joshua Tree Imports in Los Angeles area. Michael Opdahl is the person to contact. He is knowledgeable and has access to very hard to find Australian Boutique wines at very reasonable prices. I'm not sure which is more important, availability or price, he has both.If you want something he doesn't have he will try to find it for you. His e-mail is mdo@joshuatreeimports.com .

Lizziee I may have done wrong but my post is under heading of wine because I raised the question of which Burgundy to drink. The report is separated because I began with the report on the wines first, then the post on dinner.

The 1992 was actually very much alive. It was perfect and will go on for afew more good drinking years yet. It had depth, intensity, complexity and long finishing fruit.

I'm sorry I don't have pictures but here goes with the verbal picture of my meal with the wines mentioned above. We started with spoons of salmon with creme fresh. Good not exciting. Spoons of Burrata cheese with wild arugala. Good, clean and unispiring. Spoons of Prociutto with cheese. We had N. V. Billicart Salmon Brut served at a perfect temperature and it went well with the appetizers. The amuze was exquisite veal toungue melt in your mouth, rich but not too. With tomato dill pickle, Nastrium and watermellon radish. The combinations were perfect. The radish cut the richness beautifully and the whole feel seemed to just fill my mouth wanting the dish to go on and on. The soup. Wow! Potato with boudin (sausage) emulsion, sausage pieces and veal sweetbreads. There was also a foam on top but not blended. The sausage was so tasty, adding extended flavor mellowed by the soup itself and complemented by the sweetbreads being crispy on the outside. It was incredible. The combination really worked together. Next was the Salmon confit on top was a couple of sprigs of mustard blossoms, with potato gnocchi. Served on the same plate with oxtail and jus. The salmon was absolutely melt in your mouth, perfectly moist and the combination of the mustard blossom ( fresh isn't the word) with the potato gnocchi worked to inspire your mind as well as your palate. The oxtail is often done too rich by many chefs, not David, and it was a great balance with the salmon on the same plate. The last main dish was Roasted duck breast, beautifully cooked , texture was right, not over or under cooked. There was a piece of fennel that was cooked just right bringing out sweetness that I am not used to from fennel. Yet it came from it. There was chestnut confit, scrumptious, and the beluga lentils were prepared perfectly, not dry and tastless like I have had other places. The flavor came out of the lentils. The flavors of all the parts of this dish worked incredibly well together. They also showed of the freshness of all the ingredients. I have to say David selected his dishes perfecly for the wines. He has an uncanny knowledge of the way food and wine is supposed to go together. Unfortunately we only had one desert. Actually I don't think we had room for more anyway. I would have made room though. It was chocolate beignets with caramalized bananas and banana nutmeg sorbet. The chocolate was dark but not bitter. It was very pleasant, rich but very easy on the tongue. Made a great ending which harmonized and not overtaking the whole experience of the evening. It went with the other colder ingredients. My only disappointment was that I didn't bring port to go with the chocolate. Well, I hope my descriptions have been inviting enough. I'm sorry you weren't all there to taste for yourselves. :

Lizziee, it is so wonderful having someone of your knowledge and experiences to share with fellow egullets. Especially this one. I will try to put something like that together, probably with Michelle at Sona.

A partial report about the wines last night. Firstly the 1988 Georges Roumier Clos de la Bousiere was for the first time of all the bottles from this case, fruity, with the soft underpinning of tannins. We also had the 1989 Philippe Les Clerc Gevrey Chambertin Les Cazetier. I have to say that it also was showing more fruit than at any other time that I drank it. It was side by side with the 1988 Philippe Les Clerc Les Cazetier, which also showed really well. Lots of fruit and soft velvety tannins. The 1988 was as expected bigger and more stuctured and showed that it still has a lot more time ahead of it. The other wines last night were as follows: 1988 Clos Vouget Gros Frere soeur. 1992 William Selym Russian River Valley. William Selym Allen 1992. Calera Selleck 1992. Mondavi Reserve Pinot Noir 1997. It turned out to be a wonderful collection of fruity pinot noir grape perfect time to drink. It was a real pleasant surprise. Often more than one wine dissapoints and does not show well. I will report in more detail with a report of the foods that were served with these wines. Thank you to all that shared their ideas for my selection.