Sunday, August 14, 2011
Restaurant Recommendation-Red O
So as you all know my one bday request was to go to Red O, Rick Bayless's restaurant on Melrose in Hollywood. And last night my bday dreams came true. This restaurant even exceeded my expectations and I truly feel that I can't even do it justice with this blog. Let me start by apologizing profusely for the horrific photos. I tried to take pics of the food, but failed miserably...the mood lighting in this restaurant is great for ambience however not so great for food photography. However, I thought you would all be proud to know that the waiter compared me to a Japanese tourist as he said they always take pictures of the food too...I took that to mean that my photography has definitely gone to the next level...just not sure what that level is or means.
So for those of you who don't know Rick Bayless he won Top Chef Masters and he is known for his authentic Mexican cuisine. However, I feel that we have cheapened "Mexican cuisine" by our current understanding of the flavors and genre. So this restaurant is yes Mexican but the depth of the flavors, the complexity of the ingredients and the quality of the food far exceeds the local taco cart. Here is the web page if you are interested in going or reading the menu: http://www.redorestaurant.com/#/home
I definitely recommend reservations if you plan on going on a Friday or Saturday night.
This restaurant is well worth the trip to Hollywood as the food is fresh, intense and so amazing! We decided to primarily stick to appetizers and small bites so that we could try a wider variety of menu items. As you all know I am not a hard alcohol fan however I did have to try a strawberry jalapeno mojito that was refreshing with a kick before I switched to pinot noir for the rest of the night.
The environment was amazing as it was extremely modern with a very open ambience. It almost felt like you were eating outside yet you weren't as the entire front of the restaurant is open and really light. However, as the night wore on the lights became more mellow, more subtle and more romantic...yes I even recognized it as romantic. The waiter we had was a great personality and I know that I always make fun of L.A. waiters because they all want to be actors but this guy was great. And although I didn't ask I think he would be a great actor. All of the staff had these bright red shoes on which I loved by the way. However, our waiter knew the food and the menu exquisitely and actually selected everything we tried. His recommendations were spot on and I would let him pick my food any day. He had these quirky black framed glasses and his enthusiasm for everything was contagious.
So this is what we tried:
1. Classic guacamole with chips and salsa....you know me and avocados...love them! This guacamole came with a salsa verde and a great roasted pepper red salsa with a lot of smoky flavors. Yum!
2. Slow Cooked Sonoma Duck Taquitos-my picture of these were horrible. However, I have very little experience with duck and I expected it to be more "gamey." They were very smooth and the tomato chile sauce that was on them was terrific. It wasn't too acid based and it was smooth with a hint of spice.
3. Shredded beef short rib sopes. They were kind of the size of mini-sliders and the beef truly melted in your mouth. The sopes were definitely homemade and they were crispy on the outside but the masa was soft on the inside. Some of the best short ribs I have ever had!
4. Fresh corn and goat cheese tamales-The tangy flavors of the goat cheese were heaven with the pinot noir. They were covered in a salsa verde and these tamales are one of the items that the restaurant is known for. I was hesitant to get them as tamales are kind of common and you can get them anywhere but the flavors in these were definitely out of the ordinary.
5. Finally, we had to try the mole as that is the signature dish that won Top Chef Masters for Rick Bayless. So we ended the meal with chicken enchilada mole...and the mole was so smooth and such an outrageous mix of flavors. It was not overbearing like some moles can be and it was the perfect finish to an amazing meal. I did not include my picture of the enchiladas because it was bordering on profane it was so bad.
I do apologize as I just couldn't find room for dessert but I did talk to the woman sitting next to me who was eating the mango upside down cake with carmel ice cream and she said it was amazing and not too sweet or syrupy. They also had a goat cheese cheesecake that sounded wonderful especially with a good glass of wine but I was already afraid of being in a food coma so I just had to pass. So I have to say this restaurant was truly amazing and the prices were not too outrageous. I loved everything about it and I am so thankful that Rick opened a restaurant here in L.A. as it saved me a trip to Chicago to try his food.
We decided to make this an over night getaway just so we didn't have to worry about driving after a few cocktails and if anyone is looking for a hotel recommendation in Hollywood you should definitely try Petit Ermitage http://www.petitermitage.com/ It is a really cute and eclectic boutique hotel between Sunset and Santa Monica. It has a great rooftop bar/restaurant and pool. The rooms were huge with a sitting area, fireplace, wet bar and balcony. It was in a great location that is primarily residential but close enough to everything that you can get anywhere. I was starving when we arrived and the restaurant had a great Mediteranean plate with hummus, roasted peppers, olives and feta. And this is definitely the best food picture of the trip so that is saying something.
Needless to say I had an amazing bday weekend and now I think I am addicted and ready to pick another random L.A. restaurant to try it. Just feeling like we live so close to so much amazing food and culture yet I just don't take advantage of it enough. So if anyone has any recommendations please send them my way. Talking to the table next to us last night they recommended a place called Fig and Olive, a Chinese restaurant called Mr. Chow and an Italian place called Angelina Osteria...so those could be my next food/wine adventures but I will definitely keep you all posted. Hope everyone had an equally amazing weekend with great food, wine and company. Cheers and back to work so I can continue to pay for my food/wine addiction.
So for those of you who don't know Rick Bayless he won Top Chef Masters and he is known for his authentic Mexican cuisine. However, I feel that we have cheapened "Mexican cuisine" by our current understanding of the flavors and genre. So this restaurant is yes Mexican but the depth of the flavors, the complexity of the ingredients and the quality of the food far exceeds the local taco cart. Here is the web page if you are interested in going or reading the menu: http://www.redorestaurant.com/#/home
I definitely recommend reservations if you plan on going on a Friday or Saturday night.
This restaurant is well worth the trip to Hollywood as the food is fresh, intense and so amazing! We decided to primarily stick to appetizers and small bites so that we could try a wider variety of menu items. As you all know I am not a hard alcohol fan however I did have to try a strawberry jalapeno mojito that was refreshing with a kick before I switched to pinot noir for the rest of the night.
The environment was amazing as it was extremely modern with a very open ambience. It almost felt like you were eating outside yet you weren't as the entire front of the restaurant is open and really light. However, as the night wore on the lights became more mellow, more subtle and more romantic...yes I even recognized it as romantic. The waiter we had was a great personality and I know that I always make fun of L.A. waiters because they all want to be actors but this guy was great. And although I didn't ask I think he would be a great actor. All of the staff had these bright red shoes on which I loved by the way. However, our waiter knew the food and the menu exquisitely and actually selected everything we tried. His recommendations were spot on and I would let him pick my food any day. He had these quirky black framed glasses and his enthusiasm for everything was contagious.
So this is what we tried:
2. Slow Cooked Sonoma Duck Taquitos-my picture of these were horrible. However, I have very little experience with duck and I expected it to be more "gamey." They were very smooth and the tomato chile sauce that was on them was terrific. It wasn't too acid based and it was smooth with a hint of spice.
3. Shredded beef short rib sopes. They were kind of the size of mini-sliders and the beef truly melted in your mouth. The sopes were definitely homemade and they were crispy on the outside but the masa was soft on the inside. Some of the best short ribs I have ever had!
5. Finally, we had to try the mole as that is the signature dish that won Top Chef Masters for Rick Bayless. So we ended the meal with chicken enchilada mole...and the mole was so smooth and such an outrageous mix of flavors. It was not overbearing like some moles can be and it was the perfect finish to an amazing meal. I did not include my picture of the enchiladas because it was bordering on profane it was so bad.
I do apologize as I just couldn't find room for dessert but I did talk to the woman sitting next to me who was eating the mango upside down cake with carmel ice cream and she said it was amazing and not too sweet or syrupy. They also had a goat cheese cheesecake that sounded wonderful especially with a good glass of wine but I was already afraid of being in a food coma so I just had to pass. So I have to say this restaurant was truly amazing and the prices were not too outrageous. I loved everything about it and I am so thankful that Rick opened a restaurant here in L.A. as it saved me a trip to Chicago to try his food.
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Great blog post. Glad to hear it wasn't so expensive even though it looked expensive. Also glad to hear there is Chinese food in your future blog posts.
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