By now, those of you who do not live in Los Angeles must be bored by these recent blog posts. The last four have been about local food. For that, I apologize. But have faith! I’m currently working on drafts of my favorite 10 albums of 2019 (so far) and favorite 10 beers of 2019 (so far). My social life is on hiatus for a few days due to a familial obligation, so there’s a chance both will be completed by the end of the week! Yay! New music and beer recommendations. That sounds fun, right? Unfortunately for you, you have to suffer through another post about food before we can get to the good stuff. Alas, this was one of the better meals I’ve had in 2019, so maybe that will make it more interesting?
Top Chef: Season 12 was the one that took place in Boston. I was kind of in-and-out of that season because I didn’t have cable at the time and only sometimes remembered I had access to the Bravo Roku App via my family’s cable provider. I had a feeling about Katsuji Tanabe, because I’d been to Mexikosher and wasn’t a huge fan, but I’d never heard of Mei Lin (the other LA chef on that season) even though she was likely involved at ink. one of the few times I ate there. You’d better believe once she won that season, Chef Lin was on my radar. Since opening in January of this year, Nightshade has heaped boatloads of praise and accolades. Hell, it took us a month or two to get a reservation for Dinner Club — which is not something we ordinarily run into when scheduling our meals. The full club minus Amanda were able to visit last week, and here’s a little recap of our night:
Baja Kanpachi, Radish Kimchi, Shiso, Kohlrabi. One of the most popular starters on the menu, the Nightshade Bloomin’ Onion (yes, it’s a Bloomin’ Onion) was not on the menu so we had to adjust our first few courses accordingly. I really liked the Kanpachi, it was a fresh and lively bite to start the meal. Nightshade also earns extra points for having my favorite wine EVER on their menu by the glass — Sean Thackrey’s Pleiades — and I think the table put away a few bottles worth by the end of the meal. I started with a cocktail (don’t sleep on No. 914 or No. 923) but once I saw the Pleiades I had tunnel vision for the rest of the meal.
Oysters, Passionfruit Leche de Tigre, Charred Garlic Oil. The first few courses came quickly, I think as a result of us being late to our table (there was a slight delay before seating that was no one’s fault but whoever had the table before us…) but things calmed down considerably after the first two or three plates. So I don’t’ really remember many specifics about the oysters. I know I liked mine a lot. I think around this time I was either complaining that I was out of position for taking pictures of arriving plates (thanks Kelie!) or I was complaining to Mark and Maryn about…something or other. You know, typical Dinner Club stuff.
Beef Tartare, Sesame, Egg Yolk Jam, Kochukaru. I love, love, love beef tartare. I don’t know if Chef Lin had much to do with the beef tartare that was on the menu at ink. seven years ago but it was one of the better preparations I’ve had in Los Angeles. The best ever was at Red Medicine (RIP). Nightshade definitely made an impression. I wish I could have had more, but split six ways this dish turned into a very small portion. I loved the bit of heat this one had to it. When I return, I’ll be sure to order it again.
Hokkaido Scallops, Coconut Vinaigrette, Crispy Ginger, Coriander. The scallops on this night were described by our server as being bathed in a cilantro cream, so I’m going to go with that even though the menu states “coconut vinaigrette.” There was a good amount of salty/brine-y flavor here that I quite enjoyed, and the cream/vinaigrette made for a rather luscious bite. I would say this is another MUST if you find yourself at Nightshade any time soon. Honestly, I don’t remember much of the conversation at this time, probably because I was busy swirling and sipping glass after glass of wine pretending I was a sophisticate.Â
Truffled Dungeness Crab Congee. One of the stars of the meal, for certain, was the congee. It had that heady, truffle essence to it without dominating the dish, while the crab imparted some sweetness that really rounded out this dish. I could have licked the bowl clean if I didn’t feel like I was under a microscope, surrounded by my fellow distinguished gourmands and the veritable Who’s Who of Los Angeles/Hollywood at our surrounding tables.Â
Tamarind Glazed Carrots, Toasted Coconut, Carrot Top Emulsion. The least substantive (is that the right word? Substantial?) dish of the night were the carrots. Don’t’ get me wrong, the taste was on point, but split six ways this was pretty much a useless dish for us to have ordered. I feel like whenever Dinner Club gets together someone mentions that we need a vegetable or “something green” with our meal, so we pick something in passing that ends up being viewed posthumously as non-essential to the progression of dishes. Tonight it just happened to be the carrots. If it was just me and the GF I probably would have enjoyed them much more. Split six ways they were useless.
Prawn Toast, Cantonese Curry. In my notes, these are labeled as Shrimp Toast. I don’t know if that was just our server trying to dumb things down for us, or someone at the table announcing the dish improperly, but whatever the case may be I LOVED THESE TOASTS. Food And Wine called this the dish of the year (in addition to calling Nightshade the best new restaurant of the year!), which is kind of shocking considering the greatness of the rest of the food we had on this night. If you’d told me that the congee or the lasagna or the quail were lauded as copiously, I would not be in the least bit surprised. Alas, this one DEMANDS your attention. The depth of flavor is remarkable. It sounds simple. It’s described in just two ingredients. And yet, it’s perfect.
Lasagna, Pork Ragu, Tofu Cream, Prickly Ash. Kelie apologizes for the blurry photo on this one. Especially because the lasagna-mapo doufu mashup is considered one of the most important/standout dishes at Nightshade. It had heat to it that I found very welcoming in contrast to the lightness of the pasta and savoriness of the ragu. The glutton in me could have put two or three of these away just by myself. The gourmand knows better, though. There was more to come…
Szechuan Hot Quail, Japanese Milk Bread, House Pickles. Nashville Hot Chicken is having a moment in Los Angeles right now. For this reason, I love the play on the dish that Nightshade provides. It was crisp on the outside, juicy on the inside, and had more than enough heat for most of those at the table. My regular lunches from Dave’s Hot Chicken have made me immune to “heat” in this realm, so I could have done with even more…but I would still say this is pretty much a flawless dish. Is it also a subtle FUCK YOU to all the restaurants with Nashville Hot Chicken on the menu in LA right now? One can only hope…
Guava, Cream Cheese, White Chocolate. This dish was so much fun. Eater LA called both the dishes we ordered two of the best in the city right now. As someone who cares far more about savory dishes than sweet dishes, I don’t think I can do these two items justice. I just know that I loved the playfulness of breaking the “marble” top here, and the hidden ingredients beneath were outstanding.
Coconut Mousse, Lime Coconut Granita, Pineapple, Nata de Coco. The LA Times singled out this dish in their writeup of Nightshade, and the article includes a far more attractive picture than this one. By now Maryn and I were deep in glasses of port, which means my tasting notes are pretty much useless. Let’s just say these dishes emerge from the kitchen looking as if belong in a museum, not a restaurant. Apparently, this dish was inspired by the Harry Nilsson song “Coconut,” which makes it even more fantastic. It’s the type of shit you’d expect to see at Vespertine. So, so, so good.Â
And that’s Nightshade! Look for another post (tomorrow, maybe?) or Friday if you want to read some of my non-food writing. Otherwise, thank you for obliging me. Fancy food posts are done for now. Music and beer to come.
