The Bazaar (Los Angeles, CA) [2]

The Bazaar
465 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048
310.246.5555
www.thebazaar.com
Tue 12/02/2008, 08:30p-12:10a



In my post on The Bazaar's opening night (which you may want to read for context), I gave the place a somewhat mixed review, pointing out the good, and the bad. Now, not unexpectedly, everyone focused in on the negative aspects of the review (human nature I suppose), and I received quite a bit of flak for it. In fact, the posting made its way to none other than Chef José Andrés himself. So imagine my surprise when I get an email a week later from Andrés stating that he wanted to meet for a "conversation ... about creativity and cooking."

I was surprised (and flattered) that a chef of his caliber would actually take the time to read my blog. Andrés later went on to say that although I could've been easily ignored, I may represent the thoughts of hundreds of other dinners who feel the same way, but who would never write or otherwise express their opinions in a public forum.

I eagerly set a meeting date for the following Tuesday, and asked to bring along a few other people, including some who were with me on opening night: Ryan from Tangmeister, Brian and Will from FoodDigger, and Brian's wife Jan. Throughout much of the night, Andrés expounded heavily about his views on gastronomy, but first, we'll get started with a review of the food and drinks, which were all taken care of by the restaurant.

Andrés didn't want pictures taken, not for "copyright" issues, but because he thought they'd draw attention away from the conversation. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a clarification on the controversial photo policy, though it appeared that the rules are becoming less stringent thankfully.

We began the night at Bar Centro, so I'll start with a recounting of the cocktails we had, which were superb overall.

• Given my penchant for mojitos, I started with the Magic Mojito, which I had actually intended to order on my first visit. The drink is fairly similar to a classic mojito, except that it's poured from a shaker into a martini glass covered with cotton candy; the candy then dissolves as it contacts the liquid. The drink had a bit of heat initially, followed by the sweetness imparted by the cotton candy. Quite good, though I still preferred The Bazaar's rendition of the classic mojito, which I was able to sample again this particular night.
• Next, we had a Nitro Caipirinha, which uses liquid nitrogen to reduce a standard caipirinha (Cachaça, sugar, lime) into a slush-like state. This had a great sweet/sour interplay, a bracing coldness, and an amazing texture; we were all expecting something akin to granité, but instead, what we got was something with a surprisingly smooth, creamy texture, more like sorbet. Andrés later explained that the method used to create the cocktail was the only way to freeze alcohol (pure alcohol has a freezing point of -173°F versus -321°F for liquid nitrogen). Excellent.
• I then sampled the Americano, a cocktail created in the 1860s consisting of Campari, sweet vermouth, and soda. The Bazaar version stays true to the original for the most part, but floats a layer of orange foam on top of the drink. The foam added sweetness to the sour/bitter taste of the rest of the cocktail, and I also loved the contrast between the frothiness of the foam and the bottom layer of liquid. I think I'm going to have to order Americanos more often now!
• I believe Andrés ordered the Ultimate Gin & Tonic for himself, which unfortunately, I didn't get to try. It did look tasty though.

While at Bar Centro, we also had a bit to eat. Unfortunately, I didn't take home menus, so I may not have the "official" names of some of the dishes. Note that all the dishes were ordered by Andrés himself. Items that I hadn't tried before are marked with asterisks.

• * Potato chip "patatas bravas" with salsa brava (spicy tomato sauce) and alioli (garlic and olive oil). These were pretty much potato chips served in a patatas bravas style, similar to a recipe from Andrés' mother. A bit simplistic for me, but good for snacking with drink in hand.
• Jamón Ibérico. We started with this on our first visit, and once again, it did not disappoint. Very tender, very rich, very good. Interestingly, Andrés mentioned that the top jamón slicer in the world was in the restaurant, instructing the staff.
• 'Pa amb' tomaquet / toasted sliced rustic bread brushed with fresh tomatoes. This was meant as an accoutrement to the jamón, with the flavors of tomato and olive oil coming to the fore. Straightforward, but effective.
• Croquetas de pollo / chicken and béchamel fritters. This was one of my favorite items efore, and they were just as good this time, with their warm, oozing, creamy centers of chicken. In regard to this dish, Andrés mentioned that Californians seem to like fried items, and that they tend to be the top sellers on the menu. I can't say that I'm too surprised.
• * Steamed brioche buns with trout roe and crème fraîche. I loved the interplay between the soft, mild bun (which were not unlike Chinese bao), the salty tang of the caviar, and the subtle sourness of the crème. Very good.

After a while, we transferred to a table at Rojo y Blanca, in fact, the very same table we sat at last time. How appropriate.

We also moved on to wine from cocktails, and started with a bottle of Txakoli from Getaria (didn't get the specifics unfortunately), a region in Basque Country. I've never had Txakoli before, but really enjoyed its subtle sparkling nature, light weight, and high acidity. I'm going to have to look for this more often from now on.

Next, we opened up a bottle of the Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único that Brian was kind enough to bring. Compared to the 1996 we had at Totoraku, it was tighter, showing a more floral and less fruit-driven nose, higher acidity on the palate, more smoke and spice, and a longer, more lingering finish.

Getting back to the food now, we sampled many of the same dishes as on our first visit, as well as a few new ones thrown in for good measure.

• Aceitunas con anchoas y piquillos / world's best stuffed green olives with piquillo and anchovies. Andrés mentioned that this was his favorite item on the menu, and went into great detail in how they're the "best" in the world, describing how each is hand-made with only top-quality anchovies. I don't doubt the care and skill that went into them, but I still wasn't a huge fan. The anchovy was a lot more apparent this time around though.
• Sea urchin / with pipirrana and Andalusian vegetables. This was one of my favorites before, and remained so. An excellent specimen of uni, heightened by the use of pipirrana (a fine mixture of onion, tomato, and cucumber), which added a refreshing tang and awesome crunch to the dish.
• Watermelon tomato skewers / with Pedro Ximénez reduction and sexy tomato seeds. One of the stars last time, and still sweet, succulent, and yes, sexy.
• Tortilla de patatas 'al momento' / classic potato omelet prepared at the moment. Again, I like the flavor profile here, but would prefer it if the potatoes were a bit firmer and more apparent. I'm a big fan of potatoes in general, so I think this dish does have a lot of potential. I wish I could've tried the "new style" preparation for comparison.
• Papas Islas Canarias / salty wrinkled potatoes with "mojo verde." A different type of potato was used this time: smaller, sweeter, softer, and purple. I'd say that they didn't stand on their own as well, but integrated better with the tangy mojo sauce. Quite nice.
• * Tempura avocado / with airy mayonnaise. I rather liked this. I was expecting something firm, as with most tempuras. Instead, the hard exterior shell gave way to a creamy, soft interior, almost as if the avocado wasn't cooked at all. Good on its own, but even better with the sauce. As an aside, Andrés talked about how tempura is actually not a Japanese creation, but was introduced to the country in the mid-sixteenth century by Spanish missionaries. Even the word comes from the Spanish "tempora," referring to Lent, when eating meat was verboten.
• Buñuelos de bacalao / codfish fritters with honey aioli. I complained about the fishiness and mushiness of this dish previously. Fortunately, the taste this time was much milder, but I'm still not a fan of the fritters' texture. Andrés did explain that the softness is part of the traditional preparation, preferred by most Spaniards.
• Alitas de pollo / boneless chicken wings with green olive purée. I liked the chicken on its own, but the addition of the heady olive purée and minty greens took the dish to another level. Very nice.
• Olives Ferran Adrià / liquid 'olives.' These were exactly the same as last time. I give credit to Adrià for inventing the spherification process, but I feel that more needs to be done with the "olives" here. The novelty has sort of worn off, and many chefs are using the technique today, which is actually a relatively simple reaction between sodium alginate and calcium chloride.
• Japanese eggplant / with soy sauce-miso glaze and yogurt. This was one of my most disliked dishes last time, and although I still don't love it, I'm glad to report that it's been markedly improved. The amount of glaze has been lessened significantly, and the yogurt allowed to come more to the fore. Andrés stated that the dish's flavor "density" had been reduced as to not be so overwhelming, using a colorful analogy of sticking your hand in a 500-degree oven versus a 500-degree deep-fryer (the "density," not the temperature, is what burns you). Texture-wise, the eggplant was much softer and easier to eat. Andrés explained that it takes a long time to get this type of consistency from eggplant.
• * Unknown eggplant dish. Unfortunately I don't know the name of the dish, consisting of extremely soft, tender, thin strips of eggplant, imbued with an interesting, smoky, vegetal flavor.
• Stewed baby carrots / with coconut sorbet and ginger: This was one dish that didn't change much from last time. I still thought that the amalgam of carrot, ginger, and coconut clashed too strongly for my tastes. I think a base other than carrots would be appropriate here.
• * Dashi 'linguini' / with tomato, lemon and caviar. A very interesting dish. The noodles themselves had a very Japanese-like essence, which was then combined with the brininess of caviar, and the sourness of lemon. This was a favorite dish of Andrés, and he claimed he could eat a whole plate of it, as with a normal pasta. Brian disagreed.
• Pisto Manchego con flor de calabaza / sautéed peppers, zucchini, onions, eggplant and tomatoes with squash blossoms and egg. Andrés proceeded to mix up everything in the dish to a roughly homogeneous consistency, something we didn't do last time. A pleasant dish, much the same as before.
• Carrilleras de ternera con naranja / braised veal cheeks with California oranges. Last time, we had the same dish, but with pork instead of veal. I found the veal more tender and milder in flavor, so the offsetting balance provided by the oranges was not quite as crucial here. I preferred it to the pork, though Ryan thought the opposite.
• Avocado wrapped tuna. Tuna and avocado is a popular pairing and faired pretty well here. The mild flavor and creaminess of the two ingredients complemented each other, and the combination was set off by the use of a salt topping.
• Japanese baby peaches / with persimmon, yogurt and olive oil. This was similar to what we had before, but the addition of persimmon added more sweetness to the dish, and also a tougher, chewier texture to contrast the softness of the peaches.

Now it was time for dessert, which unfortunately we didn't have room for last time. I was really looking forward to these.

• * Flan with berries and cream. This was a just about perfect preparation of flan, made even better by the addition of rich cream and tart berries. Traditional, but that's all that's needed here.
• * Berry soup with goat cheese sorbet. The sorbet added a pleasing temperature contrast to the dessert, and also provided a foil to the marked sweetness and sourness of the raspberries and blackberries. Very refreshing.
• * Chocolate cake with gold foil. The cake had a fascinating flavor, not too sweet, but almost salty with some vegetal notes. It also came topped with the biggest piece of gold foil I'd ever encountered!
• * Nitro "meringue". I don't recall exactly what this was, but I liked it. Its appearance was not unlike a block of ice, which we subsequently broke apart. When eaten, it had an initial hardness that quickly dissolved in the mouth. The overall effect reminded me of a meringue. Very cool. Andrés didn't seem pleased with the texture though, saying that it was overcooked by "five seconds."

Now, the night was as much about eating as it was about Andrés' philosophy on food and cooking. His main point was how perspective and background influence the dining experience. Andrés described different lenses through which to examine a particular dish: the chef's intent, tradition, technique, and the diner's personal view. He likened this to the four sides of a square. How did my experiences growing up, eating meals from my Chinese mother and grandmother's kitchens, influence my perceptions today? As an "experienced" eater, how are my notions different than those of the casual diner? The main raison d'être for this meeting, thus, was an attempt to bridge the gap, the disconnect between a diner such as myself, and the creator--the chef.

In this vein, he lamented on how technology, the Internet, can connect people, but can also drive the wedge even deeper. Andrés started on the 'Net in 1995 (I got on a year later), with the screen name "apicius," after Marcus Gavius Apicius, an ancient gourmet from Roman times. Despite this, he's still not quite sure how to handle bloggers such as myself. Andrés went on a brief tangent here, talking about his "best friend" (he has a lot of them) Vint Cerf, one of the "founding fathers of the Internet," and how Cerf is now working, along with NASA's JPL, on the Interplanetary Internet, a new standard for interplanetary communication using radio and lasers.

In the end though, Andrés does concede that, despite everything else, a diner either likes a dish or not. Context is important, but the end result is much simpler than that. By garnering a better understanding of the food at hand, one may be able to derive more pleasure from it, or one may not. But certainly, we can't expect a diner to posses a knowledgebase comparable to the chef; accessibility still must come into play. On the other hand, as a blogger, am I to be held to a higher standard than the common patron? Andrés believes so. How do I improve this understanding? By eating, by cooking, by reading--Andrés suggested that I read Brillat-Savarin's (the epicure, not the eponymous cheese) La Physiologie du Goût and Escoffier's Le Guide Culinaire.

One point Andrés stressed was that he cooks dishes that he himself likes. He is well-known for his innovative nitros, airs, and spherifications, but Andrés also believes in traveling the world, gathering the best traditional recipes, unchanged, and combining them with top-notch ingredients and technique, in order to create the "best" versions of a tortilla, a stuffed olive, or anything for that matter. Half of the items at The Bazaar have a story, a history behind them. For example, the "croquetas de pollo" were a staple of Andrés' childhood, and are now a staple for Andrés' three children (who have become budding gourmets themselves).

Andrés abhors being labeled a flag bearer of so-called "molecular gastronomy," as does his old mentor Ferran Adrià, who prefers the term "deconstructivist." People think a foam is so amazing, when in reality it's quite simple (a gelled liquid extruded through a gas canister). What Andrés considers a wonder is the common microwave oven, which has been around for decades, but which no one really knows how to make good food with. Apparently, he's working on a microwave cake at the Patisserie that is supposed to be phenomenal.

Another interesting point Andrés brought up concerned the use of seasonal and local ingredients, which is all the rage these days. The issue came up when we were discussing the "watermelon tomato skewers." We all professed our admiration for the dish, prompting Andrés to proclaim that the watermelons used were neither seasonal (watermelon's a summer fruit here) nor local (they were from Mexico). He believes that local/seasonal is definitely a step in the right direction, but that such a philosophy shouldn't limit a chef. Andrés went on to describe restaurants that stuck too rigidly to the mantra, at the expense of the end result: the dishes. Sure, use local/seasonal ingredients if you can, but more importantly, use the best ingredients you can. Don't sacrifice quality just to claim adherence to a particularly point of view. I could tell that Andrés is a stickler on quality (especially in how he was espousing his "best" olives), and really emphasizes the use of top ingredients paired with unflinching technique. Even if a dish isn't particularly popular among diners, it can be considered a success if there were no compromises in its construction: he knows he did it right, despite naysayers.

Andrés also told us of a humorous anecdote from his younger years, where he and his friends would drive from Spain to France, in order to dine at some of the finest restaurants there. Money was an issue, so he would make a reservation for four, despite having a party of six. They would rotate seats, but would invariably get caught. Andrés doesn't want The Bazaar to be a place where people are required to spend triple-digit sums for food. Instead, Andrés wants someone to be able to spend $30 on a meal as easily as the diner could spend $150 (and that $30 meal would rival anyone else's).

But the value proposition is not really my concern. What I'm concerned with is the food, and I'm happy to report that it was indeed better. Restaurants are dynamic entities, constantly changing and evolving in response to customer behavior. What I've seen is that Andrés and company have demonstrated a commitment to improvement. I wish I would've taken a copy of the menu, to really show the changes that have taken place in a relatively short span of time. Dishes have been added; dishes have been removed; dishes have been revamped--the Taylor Bay scallops with beet nitro we scoffed at previously has been replaced with a version using peach and ginger. Such responsiveness is refreshing, and encouraging. If such a trajectory continues, taking the long-term view, I think The Bazaar will do just fine.