Thread: the Bazaar by Jose Andres @ the SLS

Last night, I took a few of my buyers out to the Bazaar by Jose Andres. It is the new dinner/hot spot in LA, right down the street from the Beverly Center. Service was second to none and the food was just amazing! If any of you ever have the chance to dine there, highly recommend it.

The food is served tapas style, so you have to order lots of dishes to get a good meal (so while reading this entry keep in mind, this dinner was for a party of 3. Then again I always like to order a bit of everything from the menu, so of course I had to sample evertrhing). Each plate probably had 3-5 pieces each (minus the Jamon Iberico). We were introduced to their whole crew there, minus the head chef, guess he only comes out on special occasions.

Dinner was served in one dining area, and the cool part, they have a seperate section just for the desserts! If you like your sweets, you'll definitely feel like a kid in a candy store. Very nice selection.

I taking my girl there this Sunday, and they promised to give us a whole tour of the kitchen! One bad thing though, a fire alarm was triggered and kept ringing for about 20 minutes. Everyone was politely escorted out, and in the end they gave us our dessert and drinks on the house. Anyway here's what we had (keep in mind, in no way am I food critic nor am I the best writer):

Drinks:
1. Mojito - I started off with your basic Mojito. Could have used more rum, but the garnishes and the presentation was really good. They even finish it off with a sugan cane stick in the drink to stir.
2. Bellini - a peach flavored cocktail. Didn't taste it, but the girls certainly enjoyed this one. They ordered this all night.
3. Goose and Tonic - Since I didn't feel that the Mojito was strong enough, I resorted to my usual Goose and Tonic. Surprisingly, this was a whole lot stronger. 2 thumbs up.

Yummy food:
1. Sweet Potato Chips (served with yogurt, tamarind, and star anise) - Love me some sweet potato ANYTHING, so I enjoyed this.
2. Olives (modern and traditional) - Pretty cool concept that I've seen at some of the French restaurants these days. They serve you two styles of olives, regular olives that you can find at most places, and liquified olives. Not 100% sure of how the process is done, but they et the puree'd olive (or maybe it was the olive's oils or juices) and then then they emulcify it in a tub of liquid (forgot what the liquid was right now, just forgot) to create a membrane around the olive. You put it in my your mouth and it explodes. Very cool, I'm getting this just as a conversation starter.
3. Kamamoto Oysters - Not a big oyster guy myself, but I'm trying to become acquainted with it. I actually enjoyed these (the Kumamoto oyster are the small kinds, so it's more "eater-friendly" for the less adventurous types. Highly recommend if you do oysters.
4. King Crab (w/ fresh raspberries and raspeberry oil) - This was probably the least thought out dish (or at least to me). Just your simple King Crab torn in small bits garnished with the oil and raspberries. I'll pass on this dish next time I come.
5. Jamon Iberico de Ballota - This was by far one of my favorite dishes of the night. So good, we ordered another plate. It's prosciutto, but only super buttery in consistency. Our waiter had explained that until Jose Andres brought these in, they were illegal. The animals were acorn fed for months and that's how the meat is so delicious. It comes accompanied with a plate of Catalan style toasted bread with this delicious tomato generously spread on top of it. Loved it!
6. Lamb Loin - Came highly recommended. Was served on top of mashed potatos with bits of mushroom in it. Didn't think too much of this dish, since I like my meat hearty (Smith and Wollensky style). Apparently the girls loved it.
7. Not Your Everyday Caprese (Cherry tomatoes, liquid mozzarella) - F'n good! I love this dish and just like with the olives, they liquified the mozarella. Very tasty.
8. Organized Arugla (Raspberries, corn, Cabrales blue cheese) - Came wrapped in this shell (forgot what it was wrapped in, but I think it was jicama), it is bite sized and really good/flavorful. The particular blue cheese just set it off! Ordered another plate of these.
9. Japanese Taco (Grilled eel, shiso, cucumber, wasabi, chicharrón) - My buyer recommended this, but I was a lil disappointed seeing the bite sized pieces. Interesting taste, but I'm not the biggest fan of shiso (has an odd bitter taste). I'll pass on this.
10. Tuna Toro "Nigri" (Wasabi, watermelon, red wine, soy, jalapeno) - I love my sashimi, so it was a given to order the toro. Wherever you go, the toro is the best. Not much to be said here, except, order the dish and smile.
11. Philly Cheesesteak (Air bread, cheddar, Wagyu beef) - An interesting take on the Philly Cheesesteak. It's not hearty like its bretheren, but is just as good as its counterpart. It's a couple strips of Wagyu beef, on top of air bread filled with a light chedder inside. Order 3 of these, so good!

Dessert:
1. Nitro Coconut Floating Island (With passion fruit and vanilla) - Interesting dessert. Really light in texture but has alot of flavor from the combo of coconut, passion fruit and vanilla.
2. Creamy Chocolate Heart (With coffee and cardamom) - Very rich chocalate center, served on something (at this point the alcohol started to kick in, so everything started to blur). I remember this being good, so we ordered 2.
3. Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta (with apricots and muscat gelatin) - Didn't try this one, but looked average. My buyer didn't seem to enjoy it, so I ordered her the Cream Chocolate Heart.

el Fin.

Am gonna have to try it. Didnt notice you were in my neck of the woods.

where you from? i live near melrose.

thanks for the review misterkye - it's on my to-try list the next time i find myself in LA. i haven't really heard a bad thing about it; which is promising.

- chuck

i went again tonight. the food was just as good! my girl loved it! jamon iberico de ballota is the best!

carendt242 - been to any new restaurants lately? any new reviews?

^^^^ yes, just got back from Copenhagen and UK - 2 excellent places (Noma & Sportsman), 1 that had tons of potential (Geranium.) will get pics up later this week.

- chuck

Originally Posted by carendt242

^^^^ yes, just got back from Copenhagen and UK - 2 excellent places (Noma & Sportsman), 1 that had tons of potential (Geranium.) will get pics up later this week.

- chuck

can you link me to your blog again?

Originally Posted by misterkye

can you link me to your blog again?

ChuckEats blog - the restaurants above won't make it to the blog for at least a month; but i'll probably get the posts on L4P in a week or two.

- chuck

well if you want a partner in crime to join you at the bazaar or other restaurants in LA, do let me know. i'm not the pro critic but i am a foodie.

Thanks! We need to post up reveiws more often. I like trying new places. Don't get me wrong I love my favoite LA spots but it's always good to try locations.