California

Extravagance at Patina

Patina is one of the best restaurants in Los Angeles. Chic, sophisticated, and unfortunately, very expensive. Nevertheless, the few times I’ve been there, I’ve always enjoyed my meals. Last night was no exception. After much negotiation at the table, we finally all agreed to order the tasting menu. There were two to choose from: Ocean Menu and Chef’s Menu, both $85 per person. Everything from the Ocean menu is from the ocean (except for dessert), while the Chef’s menu is whatever the chef felt like serving. Although I ordered the Ocean menu, I was able to persuade my sister to swap bites of her Chef’s menu items with me.

No matter what you order for dinner, your meal will start with an amuse bouche. Last night, this was a sardine on top of a slice of toast and some diced tomatoes. Sardines are usually too salty for some people to enjoy, but the ones we had were surprisingly delicate in flavor.

1st Course: Four from the Sea vs. Giant Prawn
The “Four� changes on a daily basis, but last night they were an oyster, yellowtail, tuna, and Maine scallop. I didn’t enjoy the oyster as much as I could have, but that was my fault. I added just a little too much salt to it. I think my only real complaint about the oyster that it was too small of a piece for me to truly savor the taste. The yellowtail with the fruit sauce was quite good. I never imagined a fruit-based sauce could complement yellowtail sashimi so well. The tuna was good as well, but tasted no better and no worse than the tuna I get at Today Sushi. No fault of Patina’s but I really did not care for the scallop too much. It just paled in comparison to the Maine scallops I had a few nights ago at Café Pinot, and I was not alone in this opinion. The person who ordered the scallops entrée at Café Pinot agreed with me completely. The prawn from the Chef’s menu won the first course. The prawn was so flavorful and really huge. It was an impressive dish.

2nd Course: Symphony of Caviar vs. Black Bass

The Ocean menu came back strong in round two with not one, not two, not three, but FOUR different types of caviar. As caviar is extremely expensive, I have yet to perfect my knowledge of the different types and quality. All I can report here is I loved this course. The center of this plate is caviar mixed with some linguine in a very rich cream sauce. For more saltiness, I blended the noodles with the squid ink on the right. The black bass was good, too, but a little plain. I would have liked a stronger flavor to this dish.

3rd Course: Lobster vs. Squab

This one is kind of a toss-up. The lobster served with wasabi oil was excellent. This dish squashed my envy of the giant prawn in the first course. The Asian vegetables under the lobster were well seasoned, too. The surprise was the sweet sesame wafer on the side. It matched the entire plate well. The squab on brioche with cherry reduction sauce was delicious. The meat was so tender and flavorful. In the end, we just couldn’t decide which one of these we liked better.

4th (Main) Course: Copper River Salmon vs. Veal

The salmon was extremely soft and tender. What made this entrée so successful, however, were the chanterelle mushrooms on top, the sweet corn underneath the salmon and the crème fraiche on the side. The veal was wonderful as well, so juicy and flavorful. The plate was less outstanding with only fava beans, dried tomato peels, and a few pieces of greens. We decided that based on the meat itself, the veal beat out the salmon, but as a complete entrée, the salmon wins.

Next came the optional part of dinner that I can never refuse: the cheese cart. Andrew Steiner is the Maitre Fromager, and he had always taken good care of me. Last time I dined at Patina, he was out of my favorite, the truffle cheese. I was so happy last night when he told me he had it on the tray. That was my pick, while others picked the other two cheeses. After everyone at the table had a taste of the truffle cheese, Sotto Cenere, they understood why I was so insistent about ordering it. You really can taste the truffles in the cheese, and the balance of the two is truly decadent. The other picks were the Banon (cheese matured in chestnut leaves) and St. Agur (blue cheese), which were good but could not hold a candle to the truffle cheese. To go along with the cheeses, we were given some thinly sliced bread, guava paste, dried apricot, raspberry sauce, and… Mascarpone di Bufala. This mascarpone cheese was very creamy and fresh. If you dine at Patina, indulge yourself in the cheese cart.

5th Course: Vanilla Creme vs. Chocolate Ganache

I don’t recall exactly what the name of the Ocean Menu’s dessert is, but it was basically a vanilla crème dessert topped with tangerines and cherry. Buried inside is an almond-fennel brittle that gives the dessert its unique texture. The Chef’s Menu offered chocolate ganache topped with coconut sorbet. While both were delicious, I preferred the crème over the ganache.

After dinner, I had a very difficult time getting up out of my seat. It was a night of over-indulgence, to say the least. I have never had a bad experience at Patina, and that has a great deal to do with its excellence in food, quality, and service. Living in LA means dining here at least once, but this is definitely not something to do on a regular basis.

Patina (at Walt Disney Music Hall)
141 S. Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 972-3331

By Pauline (see more of her posts).

© 2005 la.foodblogging.