I told Chef Jose Andres that he’s lucky he’s married, because otherwise I’d propose to him. I had just finished devouring his delicious brunch at the The Bazaar by Jose Andres at SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills yesterday and was caught up in the delectable culinary experience that I imagined him serving me the exact same brunch in bed every weekend.
Okay, so it won’t happen. That means I’ll just have to become a regular at brunch, offered on Saturdays and Sundays. I first met Chef Jose (and his lovely wife and three adorable daughters) in Aspen at the Food & Wine Classic, where I interviewed him for a story in USA Today. At the time I hadn’t been so lucky to eat at his restaurant, which opened about a year ago. (He has several in D.C. as well.) But since June I’ve had the pleasure of dining at The Bazaar not one, not two but three times! It is my new favorite restaurant in Los Angeles and the one I send everyone to when asked to recommend a restaurant.
Because pictures tell 1,000 words and I want to keep this post short, here’s what we sampled at yesterday’s media brunch. We started with a snack:
Cotton candy foie gras and bagel and lox cone with salmon roe and herb cream cheese
Air bread with smoked salmon tzatziki yogurt
Cava mimosa; with modern traditional olives in the background. The olives burst in your mouth and are beyond description.
Then it was on to tapas:
Watermelon and tomato skewers Pedro Ximenez reduction, lemon dressing
We also enjoyed free range Iberico ham, Catalan style toasted bread, tomato and Escalivada Catalan style roasted red pepper, onion and eggplant but I didn’t take photos. I was too busy watching this being made:
Made table side, it’s a blood orange screwdriver frozen with liquid nitrogen
Here’s how the blood orange screwdriver looks when served. Yes, it’s frozen!
Next it was time for the “brunch” portion. Since we already had mimosas, then we moved to another morning favorite:
Bloody Mary made with freshly made tomato juice and celery-wasabi foam. Spicy and good!
12 tiny eggs sunny side up; huevos a la Cubana “Andy Garcia”
Eggs Benedict “New Way” with Fermin Iberico ham (above)
Olive oil pancakes with bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup and season mixed berries. Best pancakes I’ve ever had!
Tortillas de Patatas potato foam, egg 63 and caramelized onion puree
Gin and tonic with a spherical ice cube was served at some point.
We dined on the beautifully-decorated terrace overlooking La Cienega Blvd. I don’t have the details on the design.
And then we adjourned inside for high tea. There were so many goodies on this table that I finally had to step away — but not before I gobbled down caviar buns, foie gras sliders and other delicacies.
Anyone who wants to treat me for brunch at The Bazaar let me know.
