How I got banned from Chowhound
I was a perfectly happy chowhounder. Mostly a lurker, occasionally posting a review or two. THen came CNET and their ruination of what was a perfectly good place to talk restaurants. I started reading things about people getting banned, but I didn't really believe it. Until it happened to me. I actually thought this was a solid post - very fair. It generated lots of good responses for a couple days. THen it was mysteriously gone. ALong with every other post I ever made. And my account was deleted. I really don't think I deserved that, but you be the judge.
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well, i will just say that I
applaud what they are doing, and I am glad a place like this exists in LA. (yes,
we got the tasting menu) Loved the quiet tables and the big leather
chairs.
But during the entire dinner, I just could not stop thinkning about a piece I read on Spago in LA Magazine - "the
busboy is instructed to show the chef any plate that comes back uneaten."
They obviously do not have that rule here. We had so many
different servers, etc that I doubt anyone noticed we left more than we ate.
I would recommend it to someone who is looking for a food adventure,
but not to a foodie. And no, not because they did not use expensive, trendy
ingredients, but because the quality of what they did use was lacking, and he
just over did it. Sauces to heavy, over spiced, etc. He even screwed up
Scallop Sashimi with way too much cilantro and other seasonings. There was a
skate over a carnitas base. Skate smelled and tasted fishy, carnitas, which was
spiked with some kind of andouille, was just overpowering as it had a strong red
wine reduction.
My husband's favorite dish was the amuse bouche which involved some kind
of panacotta made from japanese yams and fish ingredients that actually tasted
like chocolate. I liked the Squab which was rare with a perfectly crisped
skin. Most of the dishes went back uneaten, including one odd one - a small
piece of (too salty) foie gras in a hazelnut "soup." It was kind of a foam. I
was wondering if Marcel was back in the kitchen... Ok, we ate the foie gras out
of it.
We got the wine pairings - which they graciously split (mostly
whites, light reds) so we could also uncork a bottle of Gaja we brought. They
did all italian for us in keeping with the theme. Very thoughful - but none of
the pairings really worked.
Other misc service problems, bread that was slightly stale, etc.
But for $60/pp for what was said to be a 6 course and more like a
9-10 course, it was a good value considering the thought, the labor, the time.
Dinnner was a good 2 1/2 hours. It just didn't taste that good.
UPDATE: It has been about a year since I my Opus comments on Chowhound were purged. Somehow, they are back on the site. Also, I can login again with my original info, and most of my other posts are back as well. I have no explanation, and speculation makes me nervous..
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