LA has a lot of faces. Personalities. Bi-polar disorders. Facets. Douchebags, Ya know, perspectives. With a friend in town for the weekend, I figured the best side of LA to show him would be seated at some of the best restaurants around…ya know, so he wouldn’t get the impression that this place was full of pretentiousness or something. The truth hurts.
So I took him Craft Restaurant owned by head Top Chef judge, Tom Colicchio. Heh.
The décor was a twist of modern versus lounge. I think the lounge won. The low lighting and solid thick polished oak tables made for something of a quiet but involved dining experience. As a fan of conversational, loud and casual kickback eating, the eerily quiet and intimate atmosphere put a little too much pressure on having a life-changing conversation fitting to the environment, but it left nothing for me to focus on but the food.
I go for savory and fat which is seemingly easy to find in this thoughtful and unapologetic menu. Roasted Foi Gras is my first weapon of choice. Seared with a soft crust and drizzled with a raspberry glaze, the fatty liver melts in my mouth only second to the homemade croutons that barely hit the tongue before dissolving deliciously inside my mouth. The balance of salt and slight tartness from the glaze blended was indeed sinful, but the croutons left me dreaming of frolicking in fields of salad greens where I could toss to my heart’s content.
Roasted Foi Gras
If fat was the hot word for the evening then I continued to head down the road to obesity accompanied with the Wagyu Beef dish I ordered. Marbled with white layers of salty fat and cooked to a soft rose-colored medium rare perfection, I found myself obsessed with the tenderness of the meat and the light brown reduction running the bottom of the pan. There are no surprises with this dish-a simple blend of beautifully cut meat and absolutely perfect sauce that requires no argument in quality of taste.
Wagyu Beef
The Loup de Mer alias “Wolf of the Sea” was my single introduction to new territory for the evening. Forewarned by the informative and loquacious server as a fish for the experienced pescetarian, I jumped headfirst into a plate of fish that for lack of a better description, tasted thoroughly like fish. That is not to say it was a fishy mess reminiscent of day-old sushi, but rather an animal that tasted as if it could never have lived anywhere but the ocean. A salty and flaky piece of white fish with a soft lingering after-taste, I found myself wondering if all ugly fish taste this way.
Loup de Mer "Wolf of the Sea"
At this point, my palette was screaming for something sweet other pillow talk and compliments so luckily desert was next. Pistachio ice cream and fresh passion fruit eased the savory linger of meat and fish and ended the evening on a wonderfully simple note.
Lemon Sorbet amuse-bouche
Passion Fruit and Pistachio Ice Cream
Craft is not a place that promises surprising creativity or a flashy presentation much like the supporting actors in Hollywood born to stay supporting actors. The restaurant’s courses are designed to be great on the palette, full in the stomach and easy on the analytics and course description. The service reminds you why they call it service and the attention to detail and to the guest is apparent in the entire dining experience from the amuse bouches in between courses to the complimentary morning-after muffin courtesy of the head chef. So while Tom Colicchio is what some may call loud, assertive and forward, his restaurant is most certainly his opposing alter ego. Luckily, these two co-stars seem to work well together.
http://www.craftrestaurant.com/craft_losangeles_style.html
