Defeated by Melisse...
As some of you have noticed, about once a year, I write about some extravagant dining experience. Well, it's that time again. Once upon a time, I went to Melisse and did the carte blanche, which basically means the chef chooses what will be served. I recalled that there were about 9 wonderful courses. Things have changed. Last night, I found out the carte blanche ($210 per person) is a 13-course meal (not counting extras). Now usually, I do a detailed recap of what I had during a given meal, but seeing how there was so much food last night, I will just list each course here:
1) red grapes covered with goat cheese and crushed pistachio; 2) amuse bouche - sturgeon with black truffles and celery root; 3) orange gelee topped with fennel flan and vanilla essence; 4) butternut squash soup with almond butter, brioche croutons, chives puree, and crispy sage; 5) egg with cauliflower creme and caviar; 6) truffled egg; 7) duck liver served 3 ways; 8) lobster thermidor and lobster bolognese pasta; 9) truffle covered sole with gnocchi and mushrooms; 10) duck; 11) pork served 3 ways; 12) cheese plate; 13) vanilla bean yogurt with strawberry sorbet; 14) passionfruit parfait with coconut ice cream and coconut wafer, served with lemongrass broth and tapioca; 15) chocolate dessert sampler.
I can't say I was in love with every single thing I had last night, but everything was overall beyond good. Perhaps my favorite last night was the truffled egg ($115), which was actually an additional order, not part of the carte blanche. This was a plate of melting organic egg with truffle sauce and truffle foam. After arriving on the table, the servers shave white truffle over the whole thing. We were also given a half slice of toast that is used to break the yolk and sop up all the egg, truffles, and truffle sauce. Every bite was absolutely delectable. Part of the enjoyment though was also realizing that I was at one of the top restaurants in Los Angeles, using my fingers to break off pieces of bread and shamelessly swirling it in a plate so soak up as much yolk and truffles as I could, behavior that Ms. Etiquette would surely frown upon.
I'm a little torn about which of the actual carte blanche was my favorite. If I am really pressed to pick, it is a toss up between the foie gras and the lobster thermidor. The foie gras was part of the duck liver trio. It was cooked just so perfectly and placed on top of a piece of gingerbread. The two together was an interesting pairing that worked surprisingly well, though the gingerbread proved to be a bit too overpowering. After the first bite, I realized this and ate the foie gras with just a bit of the gingerbread crumbs instead, which worked much better. Also on the plate were pate over toast with persimmon, seared duck liver served with toast and apple, and lemon ginger sorbet in shot glass.
The lobster thermidor actually was served simultaneously with the lobster bolognese pasta. The latter was good, but the lobster thermidor was just so much more flavorful. It is served with some creamed spinach (that can be found on the bottom of the dish) and a Dijon glaze, that really had more of a custard texture. I enjoyed a couple big bites of the lobster before blending it with everything else in the dish. Once I did so, I felt that the lobster flavor became more present throughout the dish. After I finished picking out every bite with my fork, I took a page from my earlier lesson with the truffled egg, and I ripped off a piece of brioche on my bread plate and sopped up the left over Dijon-spinach-lobster blend.
The entire dinner took over 4 hours. While I enjoyed this experience, I really probably could have stopped eating after the truffled egg. I love food and eating, but this was probably the first time in my life I wished the food would come to an end. Everyone at my table was beyond stuffed by the end of the night. I don't think my stomach has recovered yet. It had taken about 21 hours since that dinner ended before I could even eat anything today. Still, last night was a fun excursion for my taste buds.
Now for all the non-food related comments. The service was quite good, which is expected from a restaurant like Melisse. The ambiance was pleasant. On a very silly note, one of the things I always tell people who had never dined at Melisse is how the restaurant has purse stools, so that we ladies do not have to set our purses on the floor and let it hang awkwardly on a chair. I always thought this would take off in other restaurants, but I have yet to see that happen. Fortunately, Melisse did keep this old tradition going. Needless to say, but I'll say it anyway, I would not recommend dining at Melisse on a regular basis unless you can afford it. The cost of last night's dinner is yet another reason (and quite honestly the primary reason) why this will probably be my last fine dining experience for years to come. (This also means that this is the end of my annual fine dining posts.) Nevertheless, I would recommend dining at Melisse and going carte blanche at least once if you can swing it.
Melisse
1104 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 395-0881
Tuesday-Thursday: 6:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Friday: 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Saturday: 5:45 PM - 10:00 PM
1) red grapes covered with goat cheese and crushed pistachio; 2) amuse bouche - sturgeon with black truffles and celery root; 3) orange gelee topped with fennel flan and vanilla essence; 4) butternut squash soup with almond butter, brioche croutons, chives puree, and crispy sage; 5) egg with cauliflower creme and caviar; 6) truffled egg; 7) duck liver served 3 ways; 8) lobster thermidor and lobster bolognese pasta; 9) truffle covered sole with gnocchi and mushrooms; 10) duck; 11) pork served 3 ways; 12) cheese plate; 13) vanilla bean yogurt with strawberry sorbet; 14) passionfruit parfait with coconut ice cream and coconut wafer, served with lemongrass broth and tapioca; 15) chocolate dessert sampler.
I can't say I was in love with every single thing I had last night, but everything was overall beyond good. Perhaps my favorite last night was the truffled egg ($115), which was actually an additional order, not part of the carte blanche. This was a plate of melting organic egg with truffle sauce and truffle foam. After arriving on the table, the servers shave white truffle over the whole thing. We were also given a half slice of toast that is used to break the yolk and sop up all the egg, truffles, and truffle sauce. Every bite was absolutely delectable. Part of the enjoyment though was also realizing that I was at one of the top restaurants in Los Angeles, using my fingers to break off pieces of bread and shamelessly swirling it in a plate so soak up as much yolk and truffles as I could, behavior that Ms. Etiquette would surely frown upon.
I'm a little torn about which of the actual carte blanche was my favorite. If I am really pressed to pick, it is a toss up between the foie gras and the lobster thermidor. The foie gras was part of the duck liver trio. It was cooked just so perfectly and placed on top of a piece of gingerbread. The two together was an interesting pairing that worked surprisingly well, though the gingerbread proved to be a bit too overpowering. After the first bite, I realized this and ate the foie gras with just a bit of the gingerbread crumbs instead, which worked much better. Also on the plate were pate over toast with persimmon, seared duck liver served with toast and apple, and lemon ginger sorbet in shot glass.
The lobster thermidor actually was served simultaneously with the lobster bolognese pasta. The latter was good, but the lobster thermidor was just so much more flavorful. It is served with some creamed spinach (that can be found on the bottom of the dish) and a Dijon glaze, that really had more of a custard texture. I enjoyed a couple big bites of the lobster before blending it with everything else in the dish. Once I did so, I felt that the lobster flavor became more present throughout the dish. After I finished picking out every bite with my fork, I took a page from my earlier lesson with the truffled egg, and I ripped off a piece of brioche on my bread plate and sopped up the left over Dijon-spinach-lobster blend.
The entire dinner took over 4 hours. While I enjoyed this experience, I really probably could have stopped eating after the truffled egg. I love food and eating, but this was probably the first time in my life I wished the food would come to an end. Everyone at my table was beyond stuffed by the end of the night. I don't think my stomach has recovered yet. It had taken about 21 hours since that dinner ended before I could even eat anything today. Still, last night was a fun excursion for my taste buds.
Now for all the non-food related comments. The service was quite good, which is expected from a restaurant like Melisse. The ambiance was pleasant. On a very silly note, one of the things I always tell people who had never dined at Melisse is how the restaurant has purse stools, so that we ladies do not have to set our purses on the floor and let it hang awkwardly on a chair. I always thought this would take off in other restaurants, but I have yet to see that happen. Fortunately, Melisse did keep this old tradition going. Needless to say, but I'll say it anyway, I would not recommend dining at Melisse on a regular basis unless you can afford it. The cost of last night's dinner is yet another reason (and quite honestly the primary reason) why this will probably be my last fine dining experience for years to come. (This also means that this is the end of my annual fine dining posts.) Nevertheless, I would recommend dining at Melisse and going carte blanche at least once if you can swing it.
Melisse
1104 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 395-0881
Tuesday-Thursday: 6:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Friday: 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Saturday: 5:45 PM - 10:00 PM