Bazaar

Hard to believe that it has been almost five years since we have eaten at Jose Andres’ Bazaar. We tend to order our favorites as we know the kitchen will do them right. Jose Andres doesn’t have to be there to deliver a great meal – he has trained his kitchen staff to be extraordinary. This is not a restaurant that is an outpost restaurant with an absent chef – this is a well-oiled “machine” that delivers excellent well-executed food.

I will do the wines first:

BYO Krug to start

Then Chablis

Final BYO Wine

Cotton Candy Foie Gras – the cold foie gras terrine is rolled in corn nuts then encased in the sweet cotton candy – thank goodness foie gras is back in California – a wonderful beginning.

Tortilla de Patatas “New Way” – warm potato foam, caramelized onion with a slow cooked egg 63 and topped with chives and crispy small dice of croutons – I did miss the hollowed out “egg presentation” but the taste was perfect

American Caviar Blini – Crème fraîche, steamed buns, caviar and topped with lemon air – a one bite wonder

Japanese taco – BBQ eel, shiso leaf, cucumber, wasabi, chicharron – The cucumber functioned as the wrapper and the eel was sushi bar spectacular. The chicharron (the skin of the pork)  were deep fried and served as the crunchy topping for the eel.

Sautéed shrimp, garlic, guindilla pepper, parsley puree – perfectly cooked shrimp with perfect saucing – we inhaled this dish and then immediately asked for bread to sop up the sauce

Croquetas de pollo – Chicken and béchamel fritters – an old favorite

“Philly Cheesesteak”- air bread filled with oozing cheddar cheese and topped with Wagyu Beef – I just love this dish and make it a point to order it every single time.

Acorn-fed, free-range Ibérico ham —- Jamon Iberica de Bellota Fermin – – this ham is extraordinary and worth the extravagance. It is served with Catalan style toasted La Brea baguette with tomato –

Bazaar is fun – not fine dining but good food. We like going early before the “crush.”

Bazaar

Bazaar has become one of our favorite restaurants. The food and service is exceptional. A word of advice, though, do go early for there is little or no scene and people are there to dine. You can order one dish at a time and create an incredible tasting menu. One other advantage of going early, you can actually carry on a conversation with your dining companions.

Aaron Sherman handled the wine with class.  I should have expected that as he is Paul Sherman’s son. We have known Paul Sherman for over 25 years and I might add son takes after his father. Paul was the manager at Michael’s starting in 1985 and is now sommelier at Valentino.

Alex – tonight’s wonderful server and Josua – our last terrific server

BYO Magnum of Chandon Champagne

All notes were lost somewhere on the table or  getting to the car or who knows where. As a result, my descriptions rely heavily on what is on the menu. Also, one member of our party of four couldn’t have gluten, but I must say Alex handled this not as a problem, but as a way to introduce us to dishes we might not have ordered.

Tortilla de Patatas “New Way” – warm potato foam, caramelized onion with a slow cooked egg 63 and topped with chives and crispy small dice of croutons – this was done with a quail egg which is far superior to a regular egg as the yolk remains runny and the white congeals nicely. I do love the slate presentation and I am stealing this idea!

purchased slate for presentation at home

Cotton Candy Foie Gras – absolutely spectacular – eat this in one bite and the cold foie gras terrine rolled in corn nuts with the sweet cotton candy is a marriage made in heaven.

American Caviar Blini – Crème fraîche, steamed buns and lemon air topped with caviar – another one bite wonder

BYO White Wine

Acorn-fed, free-range Ibérico ham —- Jamon Iberica de Bellota Fermin – – this ham is extraordinary and worth the extravagance – much better when shared by 4. It is served with Catalan style toasted La Brea baguette with tomato – you are suppose to eat the ham separately from the bread; a custom my husband ignores.

Brussel Sprouts – Lemon purée, apricots, grapes, lemon air – never in a million years would I have ordered this dish, but this was an add-on for our gluten-free friend. Perfect.

Japanese taco – BBQ eel, shiso leaf, cucumber, wasabi, chicharron – The cucumber functioned as the wrapper and the eel was sushi bar spectacular. The chicharron (the skin of the pork)  were deep fried and served as the crunchy topping for the eel.

Sautéed shrimp, garlic, guindilla pepper, parsley puree – perfectly cooked shrimp with perfect saucing – we inhaled this dish and then immediately asked for bread to sop up the sauce

BYO White Wine

Croquetas de pollo – Chicken and béchamel fritters – an old favorite

Sauteed Cauliflower “Couscous” – Cauliflower purée, harissa, lemon, fried quinoa – this was another add-on for our gluten-free friend. I honestly don’t remember the saucing, but the cauliflower itself resembled couscous with a crunch from the quinoa

Tuna ceviche avocado roll – Jicama, micro cilantro, coconut dressing – another nod to Asian cuisine

Not your everday Caprese  – cherry tomatoes, liquid mozzarella, air-bread cubes, pesto, Jimenez reduction, olive oil, tomato impregnated baby basil – this is a must order dish

Stuffed piquillo peppers, goat cheese – another add-on and what a surprise – we ordered another round – enough said

2 Bottles of BYO Red Burgundy – no pictures

Foie Gras – Quince, toasted brioche sandwiches – another old favorite

“Philly Cheesesteak”- air bread filled with oozing cheddar cheese and topped with Wagyu Beef – I just love this dish and make it a point to order it every single time.

Butifarra Senator Moynihan, Catalan pork sausage, white beans, mushrooms – and a third old favorite

Beef hanger steak piquillo pepper confit and natural jus – I didn’t taste this, but the plate was licked clean

Traditional Spanish Flan – Vanilla and fruit

Dark Chocolate Cake– caramel and vanilla

I don’t have a clue

The Bottom line – go for the food, not the scene. Go early. Don’t treat this as a Chinese restaurant and order 5 dishes at a time. The servers are knowledgeable and more than willing to help you compose a leisurely “tasting” menu. Just go.

Bazaar

I know the restaurant is trendy, somewhat loud, but the bottom line for us is the food and for us, Bazaar delivers. We were also lucky to have a wonderful server – Josua took our orders promptly (other than the first two dishes, we ordered one dish at a time so that was no easy feat) and anticipated our every single need. What more can one ask for – good service and good food?

Josua

BYO Champagne – one of my old-time favorites

Cotton Candy Foie Gras – foie gras terrine was rolled in corn nuts and then wrapped” in vanilla cotton candy – I love this dish and it is not just for show. It is a wondrous taste of contrasts – crunchy corn nuts, smooth silk luxurious foie wrapped in a veil of sweetness.

American Caviar, Creme Fraiche, Blinis – The blinis were more like a Chinese steamed Bun – another favorite

Jamon Iberico de bellota Fermin – acorn-fed, free-range Iberico ham – Absolutely had to have this again and just as delicious as the first time. The jamon is served with Catalan style toasted La Brea baguette with tomato; eat the jamon and bread with tomato separately. The bread with tomato was perfect as well as the jamon. In retrospect, I would not order this for two people as it is a lot of food and you fill up too much.

BYO White Wine

Croquetas de pollo- chicken and bechamel fritters – another old favorite

Not your everyday Caprese – cherry tomatoes, liquid mozzarella” it was essential that you ate every element together – air-bread, pesto, liquid mozzarella, Jimenez reduction, olive oil, tomato impregnated baby basil – another winner

Tortilla de Patatas “New Way” – warm potato foam, caramelized onion with a slow cooked egg 63 and topped with chives and crispy small dice of croutons – this was the only miss of the evening – the white just doesn’t coagulate enough so you end up eating runny white.

BYO Red Wine

Philly Cheesesteak”- air bread filled with oozing cheese and topped with Wagyu Beef – a great dish

Cheese:

Manchego Passamontis

Murcia al Vino

La Serena

Picos, Quince Jam, Almonds

Jose Andres is not an absentee owner/chef. He checks in with Bazaar often and was in the house last night. I “know” Jose from DC and he attended Michel Richard’s birthday party as we did. I briefly talked with Chef Andres and put in my plea to have the eggs Andy Garcia from the brunch menu put on the dinner menu. He thought it might be a good idea. Yippee!

Bazaar Brunch – West Hollywood

It is with great sadness that I have to report that Bazaar will no longer be serving brunch on Saturday and Sunday after Feb 13. I love Bazaar’s brunch – it is not a scene and the food is delicious.

The menu – very extensive, even at brunch. Unfortunately the egg dishes are not on the dinner menu.

The bar area – also prep is done in this area as well.

Nicole – our cute server who also has a French Bull dog, Camilla, who seems to be as spoiled as our 3 dogs.

We tend to order the same things again and again so many of the descriptions are repeats as the dishes themselves.

Bloody Mary – “Freshly-made tomato juice, celery-wasabi foam” – The base is a mix of tomato juice, vodka, Worcestershire, lime juice, salt and pepper. It is topped with celery-wasabi foam that is created by loading wasabi-infused lime juice and celery puree into a CO2 canister. Nicole suggested that we choose Ketel One Vodka as it is the purest. We did as we were told.

Bagel and Lox Cone” –  a cone made out of brik filled with salmon eggs, crème fraîche and topped with a sprig of dill – a one bite of deliciousness.

Fresh Kumamoto oysters, lemon, black pepper – presented in a tin. The tin is just for show as the oysters were freshly shucked.

BYO Chamapgne

Jamon Iberico de bellota Fermin – acorn-fed, free-range Iberico ham – Absolutely had to have this again and just as delicious as the first time. The jamon is served with Catalan style toasted bread with tomato; eat the jamon and bread with tomato separately. The bread with tomato was perfect as well as the jamon.

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. I love this dish, I love this dish, I love this dish.

Croquetas de pollo- chicken and bechamel fritters – perfect

Inside of the croquetas.

BYO White Wine

Chef Yancy Windsperger – this goes into the record books as the world of wine and food is a very small one. Yancy worked at Cotes Basque in New York, then Bayona in New Orleans, a restaurant in Miami and finally found his way to Los Angeles. Well, Ron and Regina Keever co-owners of Bayona witth Susan Spicer are two of our closest friends!

Foie Gras, Quince, Brioche Buns – perfect as always

“Not your everyday Caprese – cherry tomatoes, liquid mozzarella” – this was a gift from Yancy – it was essential that you ate every element together – air-bread, pesto, liquid mozzarella, Jimenez reduction, olive oil, tomato impregnated baby basil – another winner

Butifarra Senator Moynihan – Catalan pork sausage, white beans, mushrooms – this time my husband remembered to take the picture.

I will greatly miss the brunch at Bazaar, but there is always dinner and just maybe they will put Huevos a la Cubana “Andy Garcia” on the dinner menu.

Bazaar – Brunch Again

I have said this before and I will say it again that I love Bazaar for Sunday brunch. Joey told us that the night before they had done over 500 covers for dinner, Saturday night. Brunch, on the other hand is calm, civilized with good food and if you have great company, a perfect place. With Sybil and Simon, we had great company and with Ryan and Joey, we had great service. Since this was Sybil’s and Simon’s first time at Bazaar, we had many repeat dishes.

 

Sweet Potato Chips

 

Yogurt, Tamarind, Star Anise Dip that accompanies the Sweet Potato Chips

 

Very dry Martini

 

Casa Mimosa – seasonal citrus selection, Sparkling wine with freshly squeezed fruit juice

 

Bloody Mary – “Freshly-made tomato juice, celery-wasabi foam” – The base is a mix of tomato juice, vodka, Worcestershire, lime juice, salt and pepper. It is topped with celery-wasabi foam that is created by loading wasabi-infused lime juice and celery puree into a CO2 canister.

 

White Asparagus, Greek Yogurt, Creme Fraiche topped with Black Olive Powder served in a tin as a nod to the Spanish tradition of canning, although the ingredients were fresh and not canned.

 

BYO Krug Champagne

 

“Bagel and Lox Cone” –  a cone made out of brik filled with salmon eggs, crème fraîche and topped with a sprig of dill

 

Close-up of the “Bagel and Lox”

 

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. This is just a must order dish. I could go to Bazaar and just order this, but obviously I never do just that!

 

BYO White Wine

 

Jamon Iberico de bellota Fermin – acorn-fed, free-range Iberico ham – one of the advantages of dining with Simon is his extensive knowledge of Spanish ingredients and tapas. Never in a million years did I expect this to be as good as it was. The fat is an experience in itself and has a definite acorn taste. 

 

Another gorgeous picture of the Jamon Iberico.

 

The jamon is served with Catalan style toasted bread with tomato; eat the jamon and bread with tomato separately.

 

Tortilla de Patatas “New Way” – warm potato foam, caramelized onion with a slow cooked egg 63 and topped with chives, crispy small dice of croutons and white truffles – a must mix-up dish so that the runny yolk melds with the potato

 

“Torrijas” Spanish Toast served with vanilla ice cream – almost like a French toast

 

Tableside “Nitro” Blood Orange Screwdriver: Frozen liquid nitrogen blood orange and vodka – Ryan doing his magic.

 

Finished Screwdriver – this basically functioned as a palate cleanser.

 

Croquetas de pollo- chicken and bechamel fritters – Simon said that the mark of a good Spanish tapas restaurant is how well they do the croquetas – he declared these excellent.

 

Inside the croquetas 

 

Eggs Benedict “New Way”, Serrano Ham, Tarragon, Toasted Brioche – The eggs are poached in a cryovac machine at 63 degrees for about 40 minutes. Some of the ham slices were crispy and some were thin slices of room temperature ham. This time the eggs were definitely warm enough, but the whites are just not firm enough done this way. This is the only dish that misses the mark for me.

 

Close-up of the Eggs Benedict

 

BYO Red Wine

 

Foie Gras, Quince, Brioche Buns – delicious

 

“Philly Cheesesteak”- air bread filled with oozing cheddar cheese and topped with Wagyu Beef – this is one of my favorite dishes

 

Butifarra Senator Moynihan – Catalan pork sausage, white beans, mushrooms – Thanks to kevinEats, this is his photo of the dish as my husband forgot to take a picture – Unfortunately I was getting very full and only had a small bite of this, but there is always a next time!

 

 

 

Mojito with mint, rum and lime with the cotton candy functioning as the sweetening agent.

 

BYO Dessert Wine

 

Traditional Spanish Flan – Vanilla and fruit – at this point my note-taking took a serious dive so I will have to let the photos tell the story

 

Chocolate??????

 

Chocolate bons bons and chocolate covered raspberries

 

Chocolate pop rocks

 

This was a 4 1/2 hour brunch and the time flew by –  spectacular in all respects.