Petrossian – West Hollywood

We really like having a late lunch/early dinner at Petrossian. They have livened up the room with bright oil paintings and a lovely flower arrangement.

The room

Chef Benjamin Bailly was there and came out to greet us. He said he had devised a tasting menu for us and was that OK? What’s not to like? Of course, the answer was absolutely yes.

BYO Champagne

Chilled Cauliflower Panna Cotta topped by Classic Alverta White Sturgeon Caviar from Northern California – this was similar to the famous FL panna cotta – perfect.

Cold Capellini with crushed and pureed tomato (almost gazpacho-like) and chives topped with Classic Alverta caviar – the combination of the gazpacho-like tomatoes and caviar was an unexpected taste sensation. The capellini was cooked al dente without one hint of that mushy quality.

Napoleon tartare – Hand sliced hangar steak tartare topped with President Alverta caviar and a  fried quail egg surrounded with micro-greens. This is one my favorite Petrossian dishes.

Crostini for the tartare

Crispy egg, shaved cold asparagus, dill creme fraiche, ossetra caviar – another Petrossian favorite dish with the asparagus replacing the cipollini onion soubise.

The luscious crispy egg revealed – trust me, this tasted as it good as it looks.

BYO White Wine (When we were in Los Olivos, we stopped by Longoria – one of our purchases)

Crab risotto with pressed caviar – this was very, very rich but well-executed and delicious.

Caviar pizza, creme fraiche, chives, capers, red onion, ossetra caviar – we have had this before, but never with ossetra –  an extra special treat

Of course, Petrossian’s cuisine features caviar and if you are not a caviar lover, this is not the restaurant for you. We happen to love caviar and even bought a small jar to take home. You can never have enough caviar.

Petrossian

Petrossian is the perfect place for a late lunch/early dinner.  Given that we had a 30% off coupon on our entire bill from Blackboard Eats, it was a no brainer that we would go to Petrossian. Basically, I will let the photos tell the story.

As an aside Blackboard Eats is a great deal. It doesn’t cost a thing to join, the restaurants represented are good and they actually do honor the coupon.

Website here:

http://blackboardeats.com/

BYO Champagne

Blinis, caviar, trout roe, salmon roe – lovely beginning

Smoked salmon pizzette, creme fraiche, red onion, Transmontanus caviar – the pizzette was similar to a crunchy cracker-like flatbread. This was a huge portion and made for an excellent lunch the next day.

Foie Gras salad, haricots verts, toasted walnut, black truffle vinaigrette – John forgot to take a picture. This unfortunately was a miss. The walnuts were missing in action, the foie gras was relatively small given the large portion of haricot verts and the lovely smears of black truffle vinaigrette were forgotten.

The foie gras salad from another Petrossian meal – just perfect.

BYO Champagne

Shrimp papillotte, passion fruit, chili ginger sauce – excellent

Napoleon tartare, hand sliced steak tartare with a layer of caviar – another winner

A lovely late lunch/early dinner.

Petrossian

The more I get to talk to Chef Benjamin Bailly, the more I admire him. His knowledge equals his resume – L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Monaco, Paris and Vegas before becoming executive chef at Petrossian.  We had a chance to chat as we were there around 3:45 before dinner service. We discussed restaurants and chefs and no wonder I respect his cuisine; we admire the same chefs from Thierry Marx at Cordellian Bages to Jean Georges Klein at L’Arnsbourg to Constant’s bistro, Fables de la Fontaine. He has the same passion that we do and I urge everyone to run not walk to Petrossian. I had a list of what I wanted to have and Chef Bailly had some ideas of some things he wanted us to try – namely skate. Unfortunately, I filled up faster than I wanted to and will just have to return to Petrossian for another wonderful experience.

The best thing to drink with Petrossian’s food is champagne.

Petrossian’s beautiful wine bucket

BYO Champagne #1

BYO Champagne #2

Petrossian Sampler – absolutely decadent

Caviar, Trout Roe and Salmon Roe

Blinis, Chopped Egg and Creme Fraiche for the Caviar and Roe

Toast points for the Roe and Caviar

Roasted potato side – Yukon Gold, Purple and Red Potatoes tossed with olive oil and chives – perfect

Caviar Pizza – On flatbread dough that is cracker-like in texture – creme fraiche, chopped eggs, capers, diced red onions, chives and caviar – what made this dish was the contrast in texture.

Napoleon tartar – hand-sliced steak tartar with capers with a layer of caviar in between and topped with a quenelle of caviar – as good as the first time we had it.

Panko-encrusted crispy egg, onion soubise, smoked salmon topped with caviar – another repeat that we requested and also just as luxurious as the first time.

Unfortunately, I just got very full. I wanted to try the shrimp papillote again and then there was that skate. Next time, I will just let Chef Benjamin Bailly cook and I will eat and there will definitely be a next time.

Petrossian – West Hollywood

You don’t go to Petrossian if you don’t like caviar or salmon or foie gras, Stating the obvious, Petrossian highlights the ingredients it sells. You are going to get a lot of dishes with caviar and a lot of dishes with salmon.

Benjamin Bailly is the chef and I did meet him at the Rising Star Chef event at the Fairmont in Santa Monica. We were having a late lunch/early dinner and met at Petrossian en famille (3 of us) at 4 pm. We requested a tasting menu and not only did Chef Bailly oblige, but he added courses that only appear on the dinner menu that doesn’t start until 6:00 on Saturday. My son (who is in the restaurant business) informed me that was above and beyond the call of duty as prepping for each service is demanding and overlapping dishes can de daunting. For the record, –service for brunch starts at 10am until 4 pm, service for lunch starts at 10 am and ends at 6 pm and service for dinner starts at 6 pm until 10 pm – all with different types of menus.

Boutique offerings and Menus here:

http://www.petrossian.com/restaurant-west-hollywood-restaurant-and-boutique-7.html

In advance, thank you Chef Bailly for your consideration.

BYO Champagne

Blinis smothered with crème fraiche and topped with trout roe, salmon roe and caviar – the product is extraordinary.

Caviar Surprise – In a Petrossian caviar tin was a multilayered dish of crab, crème fraiche, apple cider gelee, chives topped with a generous helping of caviar.

It was served with toast points and warm blinis.

Caviar surprise as plated

BYO White wine

Salmon Tartar with passion fruit dressing, more caviar and topped with a gently fried quail egg – I did say Petrossian was known for its caviar and salmon.

Napolean tartar – hand-sliced steak tartar with capers with a layer of caviar in between and topped with a quenelle of caviar

Foie Gras salad, haricot verts cut into tiny pieces, toasted walnuts, black truffle vinaigrette – I think if I had been ordering a la carte, I would not have thought to order this dish. Boy, would I have missed a great dish – just perfect and evidence that Chef Bailly is a gifted yound chef.

Foie Gras Crème Brulee with Green Apple Espuma – this had a decidedly sweet component –  huge contrast to the foie gras salad.

BYO Red Wine

Panko-encrusted crispy egg, onion soubise, smoked salmon topped with caviar – a fabulous dish witth a lovely runny yolk encased in a crusty shell

Crispy Shrimp “Papillotte” – Passion Fruit, Spicy Ginger dressing – this reminded me of two dishes –one that Michel does with katafi and one that we had at Atelier de Robuchon in Paris. This was more like a shrimp tempura, however.

As a special treat and not one on the menu – Veal Sweetbreads with morels (I think) and baby spinach – I just didn’t do justice to this dish – I was very, very full and only managed a few bites.

We thought about cheese and dessert and then thought maybe we should just call it an early evening.

Bottom line – there is no doubt that Chef Bailly is a rising star and very talented.  His skill and expertise is completely in evidence. Next time I go to Petrossian, though, I will organize an a la carte menu of splits and eat what entices me at the moment. I am against the current food blog trend of eating the “gamut” or the entire menu. At FL we cut them off at one meat dish, even though their regular tasting menu always has 2 meat courses. (They front load the menu for us with a lot of fish canapés.) At Urasawa while others are gorging on one piece of sushi after another, we quit when Hiro feels that’s enough. At Manresa, David Kinch knows us so well, I don’t have to say a thing. At Arpege in Paris, I will let Helen arrange a meal of splits. But, I thank Chef Bailly for going that extra mile; it was greatly appreciated.