It was very difficult to just limit myself to a couple of dishes so I ended up with much more than I intended. There is an over-representation of dishes from the French Laundry, Manresa and Urasawa. These are my favorite restaurants in the States. As we didn’t go to France this year, there are no favorite dishes listed from there. We also cut back on our travels so all restaurant dishes are from Northern and Southern California.
FRENCH LAUNDRY – YOUNTVILLE
Hang-town fry – Jidori Hen Egg Omelet filled with Hobbs Smoked Bacon, Deep-Fried Island Creek Oysters, Oyster Foam, White Sturgeon Caviar
Hen Egg Omelet, Santa Barbara Uni, Red Ribbon Sorrel, White Sturgeon Caviar, Creme Fraiche
Russet Potato Gnocchi, Uni, Uni Emulsion, Australian Winter Black Truffles were added tableside
Heirloom Tomato Tart – Puff Pastry
Fresh Water Eel with Akita Komachi Rice, Marinated Trout Roe and Perilla Leaves
Santa Barbara uni, candy cap mushrooms, cippolini onions, foam of Blis maple syrup.
Black truffle encrusted turbot, stinging nettles, crispy bone marrow, French laundry baby carrots, bordelaise reduction
Thomas Farm Squab “en cocotte”, stuffed with Moulard Duck foie gras wrapped in Savoy cabbage, pear-roasted chestnuts, black truffle, watercress and sauce Perigourdine
ETOILE – YOUNTVILLE
Beef Tartar – Prime New York steak, young ginger, allspice, Dijon, shallots, gribiche and the yolk was cooked sous vide
UBUNTU – NAPA
Eggs in all its guises
REDD – YOUNTVILLE
Shrimp Caesar Salad with avocado and bacon
MANRESA – LOS GATOS
Fork Crushed Fingerling Potatoes with Purple Cabbage from the Garden, Dill Ice Cream
Assorted Shellfish in tuna broth gelee, toasted seeds – the shellfish included crab, octopus, littlenecks, mirugai
Crispy Chicken Confit, Slow Egg (one hour), Crispy Garden greens – fennel, purple mustard, celery and chicken broth to finish
Seabream with Shellfish (octopus, giant clam, crab) in a green tomato broth with Joe Schirmer’s Strawberries from Dirty Girl Farm
Black Cod, Chervil Cream, Cippolini Onions, Onion Consomme with Bone Marrow
Young Potatoes, Unopened Squash Blossom, Romano Beans, Fiorelli, Bonito Butter
Duck Roasted in Chestnut leaves and salt with Black Trumpet Mushroom Tapenade
REDD – YOUNTVILLE
Fried Tomales Bay oysters, fingerling potato salad, frissee, hard boiled egg dressing
BAZAAR – WEST HOLLYWOOD
12 Tiny Eggs Sunny side up – Huevos a la Cubana “Andy Garcia” – a crispy rice cake was topped with 12 fried quail eggs, crispy shavings of Jamon Serrano, dabs of an intense, spicy tomato puree, crispy bacon and topped with some diced chives
Jamon Iberico de bellota Fermin – acorn-fed, free-range Iberico ham
Philly Cheesesteak- air bread filled with oozing cheddar cheese and topped with Wagyu Beef
Cotton Candy Foie Gras
CHURCH AND STATE – DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES
Sardines, cherry tomatoes, white beans, arugula
Pate de campagna with green peppercorns, Duck liver with hazelnuts, Jambon persillade, rabbit pate, saucisson sec
Beignets de Brandade de Morue, salt cod, saffron aioli
CRAFT BAR – CENTURY CITY
Crispy Farm Egg, Salmon eggs, Cucumber, Frisee
LUDO BITES – LOS ANGELES
Chorizo, Cantaloupe, Cornichon – chunks of cantaloupe, onion ice, an intense flavor of chorizo
Crispy Veal Sweetbread, Foie Gras, Asian Pear, Imaginary Charcroute (actually sauerkraut gelee- upper right corner), Mustard
Chocolate Cup Cake, Foie Gras Chantilly, Candied bacon, Almonds, Maple
RIVA – SANTA MONICA
Tonno di Tonnato, big eye tuna, tonnato sauce
SPAGO – BEVERLY HILLS
House-Smoked Salmon served on a Lemon Herb Blini with Dill Crème Fraiche, Chives and Salmon Eggs
White Corn Agnolotti, Shaved White Truffle
Risotto with Maine Sweet Shrimp, Santa Barbara Uni and Baby Japanese Zucchini
TOTORAKU – WEST LOS ANGELES
Beef Tongue
URASAWA – BEVERLY HILLS
Toro, monkfish liver. Shiso, mirugai, turnip from Kyoto, scallion, Japanese red leaf, shiso flower
Salmon eggs from Hokkaido, small ebi (shrimp), shitake mushroom, mizuna, edame tofu, topped with gold leaf
Beef from southern Japan served as tartare topped with caviar and pickled radish
blue fin tuna, red snapper, a pickle from Kyoto, nori, uni, caviar and gold leaf.
On a small brazier, hairy crab from Hokkaido sits in its shell. It is topped with shrimp, uni, mizuna, crab brain
Urasawa Shabu Shabu
BOUCHON – BEVERLY HILLS
Boudin Noir – blood sausage with potato puree and caramelized apples
TAKAO – BRENTWOOD
Scallop and Crab Tartare with caviar and chives
VIN BAR – SANTA MONICA
Priest’s Chokers with mozzarella and oxtail ragu
Even though we didn’t travel, it was still a wonderful year of food.
Refined Palate 