Jose Andres trained under Ferran Adria at El Bulli. That in itself was reason enough to eat at his tapas bar in Beverly Hills. The previous year The Bazaar had been named one of the top 10 new restaurants in USA. Another reason to eat there. There was also good reputation from his restaurants in Las Vegas and Washington.
Even though I never managed to be lucky enough for a spot at El Bulli, I'm glad to have tried a sample of what I expect the food would be like, as well as some great classical cooking also.
Within The Bazaar, there are a few different rooms to select from. Rojo y Blanca seemed the best option offering a combination of modern and traditional tapas to select something experimental and new and wash it down with something classic. If that doesn't tickle your fancy, the Saam section is an expensive degustation with a menu I haven't seen before. Otherwise for a more limited tapas menu in a more informal setting, there are a few "bar" areas to relax in.
Modern Tapas
- Olives (modern & traditional) - an El Bulli classic with normal olives and my first taste of spherical globules filled with intense olive-flavoured liquid;
- Sweet Potato Chips (yogurt, tamarind, star anise) - delicious sweet potato crisps either on their own or with a slightly tangy dipping sauce;
- American sturgeon caviar cone - small cone, nice caviar, enough said;
- Not your everyday caprese (cherry tomatoes, liquid mozzarella) - brilliant salad creation using pesto, basil, liquid balls of tomato and an even more wonderful small ball filled with warm mozarella liquid similar to the olives;
- Foie Gras Cotton Candy - thick slab of foie gras covered with sugar floss. Not a good combination in my opinion with the cold foie gras not great;
- Sea urchin, avocado, steamed buns - a play on the new-age pork buns crossed with sliders. Salty uni as it is meant to be (compared to the version nearby at The Hungry Cat);
- Your life will change Dashi linguini (parmesan, quail egg, basil) - dashi-stock turned into pasta with cheese, eggs and basil turning a play on Italian;
- Tuna ceviche & avocado roll (jicama, micro cilantro, coconut) - average combination of avocado wrapping small tuna pieces. Couldn't taste coconut nor cilantro;
- Just shrimp cocktail "yeah right" - nicely boiled prawns served with a pipette filled with cocktail sauce;
- Philly cheesesteak (air bread, cheddar, Wagyu beef) - an unexpected brilliant dish of crispy thin air bread filled with liquid cheddar and topped with wonderful Wagyu slices;
- Smoked yellowtail w/ yoghurt, grapes, capers, radish and fried rice crackers - nice ingredients, a lot of strong flavours.
Traditional Tapas
- Braised Wagyu beef cheeks (California citrus) - outstandingly soft tender beef cheeks with citrus to cut through the meaty taste. But I was happy with the meat by itself;
- Seared scallops (romesco sauce) - the biggest, juiciest, tastiest scallops I've eaten. Phenomenonal. So good I don't remember the sauce.
One of my most favourite meals. Highly recommended.
Next time I would order any of the dishes I tried except the Foie Gras Cotton Candy (as I didn't like it) or the caviar cone (as it was simply caviar on a cone). Everything else was fantastic and there are plenty more options I didn't get to try.
