Petrossian – West Hollywood

During DineLA week my friend Katt and I were instant messaging during work one day and we talked about what restaurants stand out and what places we we wanted to try. She mentioned to me that she had dinner plans the with her friends at the Tar Pit. But her friends couldn’t make it.  So she asked me to join her and try a new restaurant.  But as I looked into Tar Pit’s menu, I was not happy with the what they had.  So I spoke to her online and asked her what other restaurants she recommended on the DineLA list.  I myself was not planning on going to any DineLA restaurants. I just didn’t think these restaurants would put out good quality food.  So out of all the restaurants, I chose Petrossian!

Here is the menu for DineLA Week:

We ordered Frisee aux Lardons, Steak Tartare, Crab Risotto, Caviar Pizza, Caramel Pot de Creme, and Vanilla Panna Cotta.

My friend Katt had a long day and so she wanted order some wine. She tired a couple of white wines and then she tried a Prosecco.  She really enjoyed the Prosecco and I thought this was better than the other two wines.  So we ordered a bottle!

The first appetizer was the Steak Tartare – Quail Egg / Caviar / Herb Salad.  I have had steak tartare everywhere but never prepared this way.  The caviar on top of the steak tartare plus the egg on top looked so amazing.  And it was amazing!

So amazing I had to take another picture.  This picture shows the steak tartare contrast in colors.  I wish it can show you the taste but I assure you it was tasty.  The steak didn’t need to much seasoning because of the saltiness of the caviar. So much caviar! The two complimented and balanced each other.  Great dish, very promising for the next dishes to come.

The next appetizer was the Frisee aux Lardon – Crispy Poached Egg / Bacon / Fourme D’Ambert. This dish was simple with the Frisee Salad with bacon, crispy poached egg and the fourme d’ambert.  Fourme d’Ambert is one of France’s oldest cheeses, it is a pasteurized cow’s milk blue cheese from the Auvergne region of France. I was so caught up in the Steak Tartare, I didn’t take any other pictures of the Frisee Salad.  But the crispy poached was cooked perfectly and the bacon and blue cheese went well and tasted really good.

Here is a picture of the two appetizers plus the bottle of Prosecco. After we finished we both were eagerly waiting for our entrees.

Crab Risotto – Sweet Corn / Mascarpone / Trout Roe.  The risotto was cooked perfectly, it was creamy and the corn was sweet.  My cousins loves Risotto and I know she would love this.

Here is a close up picture of the Crab Risotto. I am so happy that Petrossian didn’t skimp out on the amount of Caviar on top of these dishes.

Next was the Caviar Pizza – Fraiche / Egg / Red Onion / Capers / Chives.  I originally was not planning on ordering this.  But my friend wanted to order it so I trusted her.  The simple flavor composition was just heavenly.  The thin flat bread with all the toppings went so well with each other.  I thought the red onion was going to over power the taste but this was well balanced.

I was telling Katt that they should use the toppings to make a dip and serve with chips or crisp flatbread.  I can’t wait to make this at home and eat it all by myself. It will be an expensive dip.  Next up, Dessert time woohoo!  I love deserts so much.  The first to come was the Vanilla Panna Cotta.

Vanilla Panna Cotta – Mango / Passion Fruit / Pop Rocks.  Wow, party in my mouth!  The pop rocks was a fun treat to eat with Panna Cotta.  My friend Katt was not a big fan of desserts but she really loved this one.  She liked it so much she bought an extra one for her sister.  This was so yummy.  I want to make it at home!

Caramel de Pot of Creme w/Maldon Salt – This dessert was creamy and yummy too.  This reminded me of the Butterscotch Budino at Pizzeria Mozza. This was good but I felt that they gave a very small portion.  But the flavors were good.

Wow what a great meal.  It all started with the great appetizers, then the amazing main entrees, and then the party with desserts. I am so happy we came here tonight, I would definitely come here again and order the same items.  I heard from the waitress that on Monday’s they have a Caviar tasting with a couple entrees and champagne for like $100.  I want to come back and try that.  If you want to try this place with me, let me know.  I would love to dine with you!

Ludobites 5.0 @ Gram & Papas

I got a reservation at Ludobites 5.0 @ Gram & Papas, finally!  I have been hearing great reviews from Yelp and KevinEats.  I got lucky on Opentable and reserved a party of 5,  on 9/3/2010 at 6:30pm.   I invited one my of my favorite clients and the owner’s wife =) and another good friends of mine. I was also excited because I got an email that Ludo’s Fried Chicken truck will be in front of Gram & Papas @ 8pm. We all were happy that we can try all his food at one sitting.  Are you ready, this is what we ordered:

Hot Miso Soup, Cherry Tomato, Uni Black Panini – our whole party loved this dish. The uni black panini was simple and dipped into the miso soup made the panini taste like a grilled cheese but with uni. I love uni. i hope ludo makes a uni ice cream or dessert one day.

Salmon “a l’ huile” Juniper Berries, Rainbow Carrot, Orange Ice, Pistachio – this was an okay dish, the taste was simple with citrus flavors with soft textures from the raw salmon and the crisp carrots. this was not one of our favorite dishes.

Heirloom Tomato Salad, Mozzarella Ice Cream, Basil Crumble – I really love heirloom tomatoes!  all of us liked this one too, I could ate a whole bowl of this by myself.  This is like a play on Caprese, which I love, but this was very different with so many flavors.

Raw Waygu Beef, Somen Noodle, Peanut Vinaigrette, Watermelon – this was a good dish too, we all liked it.  this was simple with lots of good flavors and no component was over over powering the waygu beef.  waygu any style is yummy.

Poached Egg, Potato Mousseline, Chorizo Condiment – this was another delicious dish.  the poached was cooked perfectly and complimented the potato and chorizo.  it was creamy and a great side dish.

Grilled Octopus, Oregano, Burnt Red Bell Pepper Polenta, Pineapple Aioli, Piment D’s Espellette Gelee – I love grilled octopus, this was good if not better than the one at Osteria Mozza.  Great dish!

Santa Barbara Prawn, Cinnamon Beurre Blanc, Beignet, Shrimp Powdered Sugar – Beignets were good the prawns were really small but really sweet.  this was an okay dish too.

Hot Foie Gras Dynamite, Raw Tuna, Lychee, Crackers – this was an amazing dish, I wish i had this plate to myself.  Oh my goodness the foie gras was cooked perfectly.  the spicy mayo went so well with the foie other components to this dish. we all loved this one! this is one of my favorites! Yummy!

John Dory, Saffron Risotto, Chanterelles Mousse Emulsion – this was also another one amazing dish.  The John Dory was also cooked perfectly, with the savory saffron risotto, mousse emulsion, was simply flavorful and the most tastiest risotto I’ve ever ate.  This was one my favorites!

Roasted Sonoma Saddle of Lamb, Goat Cheese, Candied Black Olive, Artichoke Salad, Mint Pesto –  we all didn’t really like this dish.

Marinated Steak “Korean Style”, Pickled Vegetables, Grilled Baby Corn, Crispy Bacon – This was a good dish, but for me it was a little more rare than i liked.  But good flavors and great korean marinade.

2 Caramel Souffle,  Grapefruit Gelee, Fleur Del Sel Ice Cream – I would have to say this Souffle was the best I’ve ever ate.  I want to learn how to make this at home!  This was amazing, the caramel flavors with the fleur del sel ice cream and the salt flavors was so delicious.  This was the last dish of the night and ended on a great note.

But before the souffles came out, my client knew one of the workers for Ludo’s Fried Chicken truck, and she brought us some samples to try.  the fried chicken wings and the fried chicken chunks were good. anything fried is good.  i liked the wings over the chunks, but both were good.  the honey mustard sauce and bbq sauce were good.

i am so lucky to have reservations for the last night of Ludobites 5.0, also to have good friends to enjoy the meal with, got to try all of Ludo’s concoctions, and met Kevin of http://Kevineats.com.  If I could go again, I would order the John Dory, Foie Gras Dynamite, Uni Panini, Grilled Octopus, Poached Egg, Heirloom Tomato, and Caramel Souffle.  I can’t wait for Ludobites 6.0.  I know where and when he’ll cook again, i just hope i can get reservations!

Thank you to Chef Ludo Lefebvre & Krissy Lefebvre for an amazing meal and for taking care of me and my party.  I will love to come back again and look forward to 6.0. Merci Beaucoup!!!