Archive
NYC: Dovetail (Mar. 2013)
Authors: Victor, Monte, and Tad
Restaurant: Dovetail
Exec Chef: John Fraser
Website: http://dovetailnyc.com/
Date: March 25, 2013
Dinner
Notes:
Tad’s notes: Ah Dovetail. I’ve gushed about this place before, and you’ve probably gotten the sense that the reason I love this place is not just because of the food. Don’t get me wrong, the food is great. But what makes me LOVE Dovetail is the sense of comfort I get when I come here. It is close, it is casual enough that I don’t have to dress up, and it is consistent. It’s like Applebee’s, only for people in my tax bracket. AND they offer cheaper prix fixe options for those not so lucky.
We chose to order three different tasting menus, but shared them all.
Food:
Amuse-bouche 1:
White truffle arancini, rosemary wheat cracker, and cornbread.
Tad: The bread course here remains one of my favorites in New York. There is something special about the amount of love, and buttery goodness, that goes into the cornbread. Arancini is delicious, and the rosemary cracker is fun both in flavor and in texture.
LA Kaiseki/Sushi: Yamakase (Apr. 2013)
Author: Victor
Restaurant: Yamakase
Chef: Kiyoshiro Yamamoto
Website: http://www.yamakase.com/
Date: April 19, 2013
Dinner #2
Notes:
(Whew, Dinner #2. I just had 38 pieces of sushi at Sushi Zo at 5:30 p.m., and here I am at Yamakase to eat a lot more food at 7:30 p.m. I’m going to gain a looooooooooooot of weight today.)
Yamakase recently opened, and they call it an “invite-only” restaurant. It’s not hard to get “invited”, though. You just fill out a form online on their website, and they’ll reply back with an “invitation” soon enough.
The restaurant’s pretty hard to find, and parking was annoying. It’s street parking–only, but, if you’re like me, you’ll just park in a nearby lot and hope that your car doesn’t get towed away. Once we arrived at the restaurant, we had to knock. There’s no sign, and it even says “closed”. They even lock the door hahaha—it was pretty shady.
The meal was wonderful. Chef Yamamoto seemed a bit strict at first, but you realize a few minutes in that he’s a really, really nice guy. He’ll also like you more if you’re really enthusiastic about the food. (He seemed a little offended when one of the customers near us wouldn’t eat the rice when he was serving nigiri.) It was one of those meals that reminded me of Urasawa—you could chat with the chef a lot and even drink with him!
Sushi notes:
The rice was even warmer than Sushi Zo’s, which was kind of a con for me. The rice was similar to Sasabune’s rice in NYC when I went; I have to admit that the rice was really soft and fluffy, though it did break apart easily once or twice (a problem that Sasabune also had). It did feel a little inconsistent at times, though—for a few pieces, the rice would at times feel slightly grainy, but this particular issue wasn’t too big of a deal.
The fish was VERY fresh, and it seemed like nearly all of his ingredients came from Japan.
LA Sushi: Sushi Zo (Apr. 2013)
Author: Victor
Restaurant: Sushi Zo
Chef: Keizo Seki
Date: April 19, 2013
Dinner #1
Notes:
(I really should not have eaten here hahaha. I made a reservation for 5:30 p.m., two hours before my Yamakase reservation at 7:30 p.m., and I ended up eating 38 pieces of sushi here… somehow. I’m faaaaaaaat.)
Sushi Zo is often a contender for second-best sushi in LA; other contenders include Mori Sushi, Kiriko, and so on. (Urasawa is pretty much first in my book and many others’ books.)
Sushi Notes:
Chef Seki is known for his warm rice, and it reminded me a lot of Sasabune’s rice. It was REALLY soft and fluffy—I think Chef Seki’s philosophy is that warm rice helps you focus on the taste and texture of the fish more. (However, there’s that whole controversy where people are against warm rice and so on. Oh well.) Anyway, the rice wasn’t quite as warm as Sasabune’s, and it broke apart less (as a result of that, I think). Also, the nigiri pieces were smaller, so the warmth of the rice wasn’t as big of a deal to me.
The fish was very fresh, and there was a decent selection of the normal fish you see as well as fish from Japan. I kind of wish they used less condiments, but that’s entirely up to the restaurant and chef, and I enjoyed the sushi regardless. Still… it would have been nice to be able to taste and focus on the fish by itself, free from condiments such as sea salt or yuzu.
Monte
Victor
tadv3
Happy Noms 