Spago, Beverly Hills

[sub_cool]

Not sure I'd go tasting menu unless Lee was cooking for you "off the menu".  My favorites

Fois gras three ways (with a glass of d'Yquem)

Beet salad

angliotti with truffles and marscapone

pan roasted turbot with leek spagetti (haven't had it but I doubt you could go wrong)

How do I ask them to cook for me off menu?

I have a good friend in town and we are going this weekend.

←

You would probably have to know chef Lee, but I don't think you'd be disappointed with the Spago regular tasting menu. The off-menu bit is an L.A. thing - you know, only the "regular joe's" order off the menu.

[oneidaone]

We had lunch in May, we were seated in the courtyard which was so lovely. We got there at

11:30 when they opened and left at 3:00. We had so many things to eat it was ridiculous. We

just kept ordering. EVERYTHING* was fabulous. Our waiter was exactly the type of personality

we hoped for, lots of humor, explained everything well beyond the menu, had the pace perfectly.

When he went through the bottled water offering he ended by saying "and of course we have

Beverly Hills Finest" which made us laugh. There were two guys sitting next to us with enough

electronic devices to launch the shuttle and the one ordered a salad and he was straight out

of "When Harry Met Sally" with all his demands and wanting it chopped into a certain size

piece, etc. I thought we'd never get to order our next course. The waiter told us "it's very L.A."

to carry on like that. We started with pomegranate martinis, then had a blood orange martini

during lunch we had a wine from La Spinetta, we love Giorgio Rivetti's wines. It was just

an amazing afternoon. We got back into the limo and went back to Disneyland where we

were staying and immediately went into the park. Perfect day!

I can recommend that if you got to Spago Maui at the Four Seasons they encourage guests

to have a meal created just for themselves you will be amazed! Just say "Let Cameron cook for me!" a hui hou

*lunch:

Sweet English Pea Soup, Marinated "Japanese Hamachi & Tuna Sashimi, Risotto w/ Maine

Sweet Shrimp and Santa Barbara Uni, Hand-Made Agnolotti w/Sweet peas and Mascarpone,

Steamed Black Bass "Hong Kong" Style, Grilled Marinated Szechuan Steak, Dessert: that

lemon creation RJ Wong pictured and a plate of cookies and candies.

[savvysearch]

We had lunch in May, we were seated in the courtyard which was so lovely. We got there at

11:30 when they opened and left at 3:00. We had so many things to eat it was ridiculous. We

just kept ordering. EVERYTHING* was fabulous. Our waiter was exactly the type of personality

we hoped for, lots of humor, explained everything well beyond the menu, had the pace perfectly.

When he went through the bottled water offering he ended by saying "and of course we have

Beverly Hills Finest" which made us laugh. There were two guys sitting next to us with enough

electronic devices to launch the shuttle and the one ordered a salad and he was straight out

of "When Harry Met Sally" with all his demands and wanting it chopped into a certain size

piece, etc. I thought we'd never get to order our next course. The waiter told us "it's very L.A."

to carry on like that. We started with pomegranate martinis, then had a blood orange martini

during lunch we had a wine from La Spinetta, we love Giorgio Rivetti's wines. It was just

an amazing afternoon. We got back into the limo and went back to Disneyland where we

were staying and immediately went into the park. Perfect day!

I can recommend that if you got to Spago Maui at the Four Seasons they encourage guests

to have a meal created just for themselves you will be amazed! Just say "Let Cameron cook for me!" a hui hou

*lunch:

Sweet English Pea Soup, Marinated "Japanese Hamachi & Tuna Sashimi, Risotto w/ Maine

Sweet Shrimp and Santa Barbara Uni, Hand-Made Agnolotti w/Sweet peas and Mascarpone,

Steamed Black Bass "Hong Kong" Style, Grilled Marinated Szechuan Steak, Dessert: that

lemon creation RJ Wong pictured and a plate of cookies and candies.

←

How is the dress code at Spago? was it formal, casual..?

[oneidaone]

I didn't find the attire formal as such. Most everyone looked very nice in a variety

of outfits, suits/ties, skirts, women in pants. I myself wore a nice pair of jeans

with a fabulous (if I may say so) longer length silk shirt with a mandarin touch

in a pretty print. My husband just wore slacks and a nice silk shirt that has a

subtle print involving the Grateful Dead motif. Not having been for dinner I can't

say what people would wear at night. I would definitely go again when we get

back to CA maybe next time for dinner. A hui hou.

[jsmeeker]

So many good reviews! It's really nice to see that it really does live up to it's storied name, even after all these years. One of these days, I'll have to actuall go there. Big trick is talking some of my local friends into doing it (especially doing the tasting menu)

[JFLinLA]

Seems not all is well at Spago. Check this out from the Bon Apetit Editor's blog.

Click here.

[Carlsbad]

Oh, brother......

[Kouign Aman]

nevermind.

Edited August 3, 2006 by Kouign Aman (log)

[rjwong]

NB rjwong’s 1000th post was made possible in part by an employee discount from one of rjwong’s anonymous friends, who works at one of Wolfgang Puck’s restaurants. Thank you, friend ...

Ever since the 1980’s, there was one restaurant I’ve always dreamed of dining at: Spago. Even though I recently went to Spago, I only had some Sherry Yard desserts in the bar and not the full dinner experience. Well, now I had the full Spago dining experience and would like to post this report, mit Fotos natürlich ...

When we arrived at the bar entrance, we were escorted to our table in the patio area.

a view of the patio from my chair

facing the other direction, the patio area connects to the main dining area and way to the back, the enclosed open kitchen.

Two complimentary glasses of rosé were served, along with a series of appetizers:

sesame tuile cornet with spicy tuna, orange tobbiko and bonito flakes

duck foie gras pastrami with plum sauce, between crispy rye bread

avocado cream tartlet topped with caviar

bacon confit en croute

This little piggy loved that appetizer.

heirloom tomato sorbet with tomato water, basil oil and sundried tomato

Then, the server gave us the menu:

We looked over the menu anyways, even though we already decided on the chef’s tasting menu. I made one request: sautéed foie gras as one of the courses. Not the paté, not the terrine. Foie gras, hot & seared. sounds illegal, ehh?

rye lavosh & country white bread

The other selections were: walnut, olive & sourdough.

oyster topped with avocado cream & caviar

Was that déjà vu or what?

heirloom tomatoes in four preparations

layered panna cotta with fior di sarde (a cheese from Sardinia)

mini-cherry tomatoes topped with cheese & a Spanish-cured anchovy

heirloom tomato chunks topped with onion and goat milk ricotta

This particular preparation, along with the previous heirloom tomato sorbet, is evidence that tomatoes do not have to taste bland. The intense flavor was refreshingly delightful.

tomato tarte tatin filled with Point Reyes

Hudson Valley foie gras prepared two ways

grilled with nectarines, vanilla and moscato

sautéed with roasted black Mission figs

The foie gras course was paired with a German white wine, a Kabinett (Dr. Loosen). This wine was perfect with the foie gras. Both were fine, but I preferred the one with the figs.

toasted pasta with sweet shrimp and mussels

Weird! This is pasta, not risotto. Mind you, this dish does have risotto-like qualities to me.

pan roasted sea bass on sweet corn puree with uni emulsion

I suppose licking the uni emulsion off the plate would have been a bit tacky, ehh?

young Sonoma lamb roasted & sliced, with black Mission figs and natural lamb jus

Piemonte cheese covered in nebbiolo grape must with stewed fruit, served with walnut bread

At first, I thought it was going to be a black truffle cheese. But truffles aren’t in season yet, right?

summer berry crisp with fifty-bean vanilla ice cream

cookies

This was one of the best meals I had this year. The service was excellent. The dining experience was great. Admittedly, I think that my friend, as a Wolfgang Puck employee, might have had something to do with it. By the way, I got to shake hands with the man himself. He was greeting guests at the various tables in the patio, including ours. When Wolfgang Puck came to shake my hand, I said the Austrian greeting, “Gruß Gott!” I hope I didn’t make a fool of myself.

After almost twenty-five years, Spago is still on top of its game.