Today marks the start of dineLA's winter edition of Restaurant Week, and this time around some pillars of fine dining in the city have joined in to offer their own tier of prix fixe. Perhaps they were inspired by Melisse's inspired move last year - they couldn't find a fit for the highest prescribed tier of dineLA (3-courses for $45), so they had their own "dineMelisse" timed to Restaurant Week, but with a prix fixe more appropriate to their category of $75 (for 5 courses).
I loved Melisse for offering this last year, as afterall, the spirit of dineLA was originally to allow people to break out of their comfort zone, and have new culinary adventures / experiences at places they'd never been to - by bringing menus at a more affordable price. That a fine dining establishment understood this and made it possible for the non-independently-wealthy to experience it for the first time, was fantastic.
This year's select group of fine dining restaurants participating in dineLA will be doing it for $85. I'm excited to see what they will offer, as at their caliber I would expect them NOT to succumb to the more
self-defeating 'cost effective' beef or chicken dinners.
I didn't get a chance to post about dineMelisse last July, and wanted to take the opportunity to do a recap here as I think it really gives a great idea of the high standards Melisse maintained even with a Restaurant Week deal (I put their name now next to Craft as my favs for exemplary food and service, people who really take pride in their work regardless of the occasion).
Amuse bouche - our favorites here are the gorgeous jewel-toned, perfect little cherry tomatoes encrusted with crushed pistachios. Creative, beautiful, and a delicious way to kick off the meal.
Here is the dineMelisse menu.
As we happily drooled over the food menu, our craft cocktails arrived. The blogger part of me had wanted to order different drinks so we could try out more, but my friend and I happened to have the same taste pretty much, and Steve Livigni / Pablo Moix's Les Restes immediately had us at lychee, crushed grapes and egg white with Death's Door vodka - and it tasted as light, delicate and refreshing as it sounds.
A second set of amuse bouche.
I don't normally take photos of bread service, but the bread was amazing here: I especially loved the basil brioche, which I only very reluctantly and forcibly had to stop myself from eating second rounds of - though our servers very generously came around to offer (had to save room for the actual meal!).
Then came
Course 1: Ahi Tuna Tartare with avocado mousseline, cucumber and yuzu. The tuna and avocado (and even cucumber) pairing was not new, but the addition of yuzu to cut through the richness of the other ingredients was perfect.
Course 2: Brentwood Corn Ravioli Chanterelles, brown butter, scallions. This was a course when we could have supplemented $25 for black truffle to be shaved on top...but we were still on a budget, and this dish was so flavorful with the beautiful sweet corn, in perfect-sized bites of freshmade pasta, that it really did very well on its own without the truffle. (Plus, you could get a supplemental course of black truffle risotto for $25...more on this later.)
Course 3: Chatham Bay Cod braised shelling beans, mushrooms, smoked tomato. The list of ingredients sounds simple, but when the best ingredients meet with culinary craftsmanship - you get a dish like this that haunt you for weeks after your first bite. The fish was perfectly cooked, tender, flaky, subtly sweet, elevated to another level of sophistication by the sauce which conveyed somehow simultaneous heft and depth (in smokiness) with levity (airy foam). Easily our favorite dish of the meal, if not for the presence of my kryptonite in the next 'bonus' course: black truffle.
(Not part of dineMelisse prix fixe) Between courses 3 and 4, for an additional $25, we were able to get an extra black truffle course! With real earthy 'black diamonds', brought out for us on a tray for us to indulge in its intoxicating fragrance, whetting our appetites before the risotto arrives.
It was so worth the extra $25. The black truffles were shaved at the table over our bowls of risotto. Though it was summer time, they managed to use black truffle, not its too-mild-mannered (and to me bland flavored) cousin the summer truffle.
Course 4: Aged Sonoma Duck figs, black rice, turnips. This plate is about quality, not quantity, for sure - but every bite was divine. Possibly the best bites of duck I'd had in 2013. The other option in this course was grilled wagyu beef, which we didn't try as we both love and wanted the duck...
Course 5: Passionfruit Souffle Glace coconut sorbet, pistachio and lemongrass. A perfect way to end the meal, light, balanced, notes of tropical sun without going overly sweet to counter the richer dishes before it.
And to finish out the meal, two trays of mignardises including macarons, caneles, pate de fruit, chocolate truffles...
All in all, an amazing first meal at Melisse and I look forward to more, especially with this next iteration of dineLA or client meals!
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Melisse
1104 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Ph: 310
.395.0881
OpenTable: Look for reservations (and points!)
here
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Looking over the $85 fine dining menus for dineLA, it's difficult to get a sense of savings as most of the items do not appear on the regular menu. That said, it's also difficult to imagine walking out of any of these restaurants on a non-dineLA night with a less than $85 per person bill. So looking purely from an 'experience' and points of interest POV, here are my picks from among the creme de la creme this around:
5-courses.
They had me at Naked Cowboy Oyster,
Dungeness Crab, Wagyu Beef Tartare and Devil's Gulch Quail. And, based on
(1) the regular prix fixe menu being $125, it would be rare that I would get a
chance to eat here, if not for dineLA and (2) the great experience last year
with dineLA, I would return again to check out this year's offering..
5-courses
The 'teaser' dish is
listed on their regular dinner menu as an antipasti for $18 - though not sure
what the dineLA portion size will be like. But the dineLA menu has many
options that make my eyes and mouth water. Starters include jumbo shrimp,
grilled octopus with squid ink fregula, and 'orange sized' arancini. First
courses feature magic words: porcini, veal, wild boar. Second courses: duck
breast, cioppino, lamb stew.
6 courses.
Make a day trip of it, reserve one of the weekend dates
(1/25 or 1/26) and enjoy the oceanfront Terranea property in Palos Verdes when
you head down to mar'sel.
The dineLA menu consists of your
choice of 6 small plates. Not sure how much you would save, but if you have been wanting to check out this place and/or take a date here for the location, but wasn't sure because of pricing...now may be the time, when you have a 'safety' on your bill.
My picks from a maximization
perspective would be: Pate de Campagne, Halibut Cheeks, Lamb Sausage, Crispy
Duck Confit, Spaghetti & Meatballs, Spiced Dark Chocolate Tart. For
those who are not into desserts, the mysterious sounding Kale 'Wich looks interesting.
Do share your pics / intel on these if you go!
Bon appetit!
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