Vin Bar/Valentino

I have been raving about Valentino for years, but now I absolutely recommend Valentino as a destination restaurant as Valentino is unequivocally the best Italian restaurant in Los Angeles. By choice we eat at the casual Vin Bar but you can have an elegant dinner at Valentino; whether casual or elegant you will have a wonderfully orchestrated meal with superb service and cuisine. At most restaurants we BYO, never at Valentino. Piero’s wine list is extensive and extraordinary and we just let Piero choose the wine. Chef Nico has just introduced a new menu and it is off the charts superb. We just let Chef Nico choose our tasting menu and he always “blows us away.”

New Chef Nico special menu – you can order Valentino classic dishes but do try the inventive and contemporary creations of Chef Nico

Champagne to start

Shrimp and Zucchini Fritter on a bed of peach sauce – a one bite wonder

White wine – one of the best white wines I have had at Valentino

Crustacean “Spezzatino” ( stew of crab, scallops and calamari) with seaweed calamari salad and sea urchin dressing – each element was executed perfectly with both taste and texture a delight

2nd white wine

Tortino Ragusano – A Sicilian Vegetarian Dish – Zucchini, Kale, Abalone Mushrooms with a Pomodoro sauce of red and yellow tomatoes greatly reduced – no cream. This also made me want to become a vegetarian!

“Ragusano is an Italian PDO protected cheese made exclusively in provinces of Ragusa and Siracusa, Sicily. It is one of the oldest cheeses in Sicily with evidence dating as early as 1500.  Originally known by the name of Caciocavallo, it lost its historical name after it acquired the recognition of PDO. A hard cheese from the pasta filata family, Ragusano is made with whole milk from Modicana breed of cows fed on fresh grass or hay.”

Calamari stuffed with whitefish and calamari heads topped with fresh tomato and oregano in a seafood broth – this is serious food from a very talented chef – the seafood broth was wondrous and the calamari cooked perfectly

Red Wine

Crudo of Kobe Beef Tongue Carpaccio with Maui Onions and Black Truffle Emulsion, Arugula – OH MY!!!!!! A+++

Crespelle (crepes) stuffed with wild mushrooms, shaved black truffles with a saucing of truffle fondue – this dish reflects Valentino’s concept — “It is our philosophy and inspiration to use Italian cuisine as our canvas. Our palette consists of only the freshest, most natural and delicious ingredients available.”

2nd Red Wine

Sweetbreads Agnolottti with Pear Puree, Parmigiano Spuma, Candied Roasted Walnuts, Ricotta Cream Sauce – I sound like a broken record but another winner

Elk with Porcini Mushrooms, Roasted Walnuts and a sauce of the porcini mushrooms and parsley – the meat was fork tender and seasoned to perfection. The mushrooms were the perfect foil for the meat.

This was a spectacular meal from beginning to end with A+ everything — wine, service, cuisine – just perfect. I urge everyone to run not walk to Valentino and make it one of their regular haunts. It is more than worth it.

Vin Bar/Valentino

Valentino/Vin Bar just gets better and better. It is our favorite Italian restaurant in Los Angeles – no one does it better in all of Los Angeles. Chef Nico devises a tasting menu for us and Piero chooses the wines. Our only responsibility is to sit back and enjoy. I am not only endorsing Valentino/Vin bar, I am urging everyone to just go.

Lousy picture but wonderful start – Crab Cake with Dijon Sauce

First wine

Santa Barbara spot prawn tartare with caponata, black olives, capers, pine nuts – absolutely delicious

On a crostini cod fish mousse with raddichio salad – another perfect starter dish

2nd wine

Wagyu beef meatballs with truffles, “broken” tagliatelle pasta, castrated chicken broth, parmesan. This was sensational. In looking up a castrated chicken broth I found the following – “The meat from capons (castrated roosters) is rich and flavorful and makes an exceptional broth.  In Italy, cheese rinds are often added to a simmering pot of soup for added depth of flavor.”

Third wine

Cotechino – pork sausage and green lentils, barley, tomato sauce, parmesan – “The cotechino is an Italian charcuterie product, similar to salami but must be cooked; usually it is boiled at low heat for about four hours. Its name comes from cotica (rind), but it may take different names in the different production areas. According to tradition, it is served with lentils on New Year’s Eve, to bring luck for the coming year.”

Busiati pasta, speck, zucchini, pear cubes, butternut squash, candied walnuts, gorgonzola cheese – Flour, eggs and oil are mixed into a dough that is called “busiato” in the Trapani area and then it is quickly rolled around the “busu” (or knitting needle) to obtain a sort of “fusillo.” – This was off the charts perfect.

4th Wine

Lamb Belly on a bed of sunchoke puree – we were getting quite full and didn’t do this dish justice. We will tonight!

A great meal with sensational staff – what more could one ask for?

Vin Bar

As usual we had a terrific meal at Vin Bar – it just doesn’t get better than this – service and cuisine is always A+

Schramsberg to start

Braciola of tuna, olive tapenade over roasted yellow peppers – absolutely delicious

On the left baby octopus with a spicy tomato sauce – Arrabiata style, parsley and on the right warm calamari salad, Romano beans, celery, olive oil – 2 perfect dishes

2nd Wine

Eggplant tortino, tomato sauce topped with ricotta cheese – I just can’t wax poetic enough about this cuisine and Chef Nico’s skill

Third wine

Gnocchi sardi, wild boar ragu, porcini mushrooms, light cream sauce, ricotta salata on top – pasta done to perfection

Rabbit stuffed with rabbit ragu and apple, lamb that had been marinated with herbs and grilled, arugula salad, pork sausage, roasted fennel – quite a plateful of wonderful food

4th wine

Cheese course – 24 month parmesan, buffalo brie, gorgonzola, walnuts, horn of Rome chutney, jalapeno and onion, black truffle honey

Blueberry sorbet, white peach sorbet, pear sorbet, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, diced peaches, almond sugar cookies – a light, refreshing end

All in all – a wonderful meal!

Vin Bar/Valentino

Vin Bar/Valentino is a very special experience for us. I continue to feel that Piero Selvaggio ranks as one of the best restaurateurs in the country. He and his entire team from Sommelier Paul Sherman, Restaurant Mgr. Giuseppe Mollica, Executive Chef Nico Chessa, Pasta Chef Fabio and the entire FOH team are first-rate. From the welcome greeting of buona sera from Piero to the last thank you for coming, each and every diner is treated as a special guest – nothing is too much or “we can’t do that.” The experience is just the opposite; “we will do anything to make this a special evening for you.”

We never bring wine to Vin Bar/Valentino and always just let Piero choose the wines.

Champagne to start

Mozzarella Marinara “revisited” – a classic preparation that was simply delicious

Anchovies served on the side for the Mozzarella dish

Second wine

Soft Shell Crabs on a bed of spinach with Agrumato oil infused with orange. “The making of Agrumato olive oil is a very tedious and labor intensive process, resulting in a truly unique flavored extra virgin olive oil. Small amounts of olives are actually ground simultaneously with citrus fruit to produce an extra virgin olive oil with an unparalleled taste.” I love soft shells and these were cooked to perfection. The saucing with the infused Agrumato oil was light and a perfect balance to the soft shells.

Porcini Mushrooms on a grilled Heirloom tomato with a saucing of 10 year old Balsamic Vinegar Reduction – the porcini mushrooms were the finest I have ever tasted and Piero did mention they were very expensive. The saying “You get what you pay for” certainly holds true.

Gluten free gnocchi del Norcino with a tomato-based sauce that had just enough spice without being overwhelming.

The reference to Norcino refers to the following:

“Between the 12th and the 17th centuries, Italy sees a strong development of the jobs linked to the processing of pork. This is the period when the figure of the norcino (pork butcher from Norcia) appears and thanks to his skills, he creates new charcuterie products.”

The gnocchi del Norcini featured 3 different pork products – pork shoulder, speck and Guanciale.

“While most pork bacon products are taken from the belly of a pig, Guanciale is made by drying the meat from a hog’s jowls. Though the resulting meat is leaner than traditional pork pieces, it has a noticeably richer flavor. It is this richness, combined with a delicate porkiness, that more than merits the meat’s three-week drying period. Making guanciale may require a little more planning than simply buying good-quality bacon or pancetta, but its abundance of flavor distinguishes guanciale from the rest, making every dish that much more succulent.”

Above from:

http://www.babbonyc.com/in-guanciale.html

Third Wine

Beef tenderloin topped with foie gras and goat cheese served with asparagus and sweet onions. The saucing was a raspberry, olive oil sauce with shallots and a touch of basil – rich and unctuous.

Pasta Chef Fabio couldn’t resist and asked if we could handle one more course. Risotto with diced spinach, braised lamb ragu and sprinkled with goat cheese on top – perfect risotto with a full-flavored ragu.

Cheese Course – Raschera (an Italian pressed semi-fat , semi-hard cheese  made with partly skimmed raw or pasteurised cow milk, to which a small amount of sheep’s and/or goat’s milk may be added) and Robiola (an Italian soft-ripened cheese of the Stracchino family, made with varying proportions of cow’s, goat’s milk and sheep milk) served with white truffle honey, sweet peppers, fig salami, toasted hazelnuts and walnuts.

Valentino has been around for a long time, but it feels as fresh and new as any restaurant that gets a ton of twitter buzz and recent press. I urge everyone of all ages to just go and experience exceptional ingredients executed with finesse with incredible service. Vin Bar/Valentino defines the true meaning of hospitality.

Vin Bar/Valentino

I am going to be redundant, but Vin Bar/Valentino is one of the best, if not the best Italian restaurant in Los Angeles. Irene Virbila, LA Times’ critic got it right when she awarded Valentino 3 stars. This really is a must restaurant. The current chef, Nico Chessa from Sardinia is absolutely wonderful; he is just getting better and better and there is no better host than Piero. As I mentioned before we never BYO so Piero chooses the wines and Nico creates the menu. What more could one ask for?

First wine

Nico mentioned that he remembered how much we liked uni.

Uni, bottarga shavings, blood orange segments, blood orange dressing – light, flavorable with sushi quality uni.

2nd Wine

Crabmeat salad, pecorino, celery with tiny bits of uni as the “glue” or holding the crabmeat salad together. On top was a crispy  tomato. Poured around the salad was a red beet soup with green basil oil —  Summer on a plate.

Grilled Octopus and Calamari, Chiodini Mushrooms, Fregola (Sardinian couscous), Squid Ink. The red sprinkles are actually dried and ground lobster eggs. It was essential that the lobster eggs be mixed with the entire dish. This was delicious.

3rd Wine

Seafood Risotto with sepia, scallops, lobster, clams, parsley, parmesan and mascarpone, instead of butter, used for the creamy quality – what a lavish extravaganza of seafood in perfectly cooked risotto. I particularly loved the use of the mascarpone.

4th wine

Quail en Porchetta “stuffed” with Lamb Tenderloin, Kurobuta Pork Tenderloin on a bed of lentils with zucchini and carrots, Haricot verts wrapped in carrots, Heirloom cherry tomatoes, Potatoes steamed in saffron – what an extraordinary meat dish – every bit of incredible meat goodness in each bite with market fresh vegetables.

Malloreddus (little gnocchi) with Venison Ragu – nobody does pasta better than Valentino not to mention perfect saucing.

Explanation from this site:

http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/pages/malloreddus

Malloreddus is a pasta made from semolina flour and water. Each piece will be about 1 inch (2.5 cm) long and 1/4 inch (.5cm) wide. The front of each piece is open like a canoe; the back of each piece has very pronounced grooves on it to catch sauce. Though the grooves used to be made by pressing the pieces of pasta against straw baskets, now of course there are machines that do that. For home production, Sardinians used a piece of specially-designed glass with grooves in it, called a “ciurili.”

Malloreddus pasta is made in Sardinia, Italy.

5th Wine

Truffle Cheese from Tuscany on Fig Bread topped by Fig “Salami” with fruit mustard, dried apricots, walnuts – a lovely cheese course

Davide Giova – pastry chef

We were getting quite full and I just didn’t do justice to Chef Giova’s desserts.

Chocolate Budino, Prickly pear Sorbet, Strawberries marinated with Balsamic

Milk Chocolate Mille-feuille, Sicilian cassata – sponge cake with ricotta topped with candied fruits and “frosted” with pistachio mascarpone

What a fantastic meal with incredible service and innovative, well-executed cuisine. As I mentioned earlier, Valentino is a must restaurant. I urge everyone to just go and enjoy.