The Mystique

There’s a secret place in LA that only serves beef – every dish for 9-10 dishes. Sounds excellent but there’s a catch – you can not go unless you are already a customer. Obviously, at best, this paradox doesn’t seem like good business sense – how does a restaurant expect to stay open if they don’t serve new customers? At worst, one wonders if this place is real or some carefully crafted urban myth based on America’s love affair for Japanese exoticism. And in the middle somewhere, one wonders how one might ever gain entrance to this mythical mecca for beef.

Bottom line – you’ve got to have connections – Read the rest of this entry »

(Note: Bastide has closed since this review was written. Ludo will hopefully open a new restaurant sometime in 2007. Meanwhile, you can catch his wife on The Apprentice.)

The Anticipation
After reading various posts about the wonders of Bastide from eaters I trust, it became the highlight of my trip to LA. After racing down the 101 at highly illegal speeds, traffic foiled us and we were still late for the 8pm reservation. We arrived 1 hour late but they were more than understanding.

The Service
This was the most enjoyable meal i’ve ever had – Read the rest of this entry »

I visited Manresa a month or so before it blew up on the blog circuit and i was thoroughly impressed; in fact, it convinced me that San Francisco proper had nothing on its southern & northern neighbors.
Fast forward to last Sunday – a friend’s birthday – what better excuse to ask for the “grand tour” I’ve read about. A little back & forth via email with the chef and we were off.

Read the rest of this entry »