craft/Los Angeles

This Saturday was a very exciting evening for Ed & I – we ate at Craft in L.A.! For those of you who may not know, Craft is one of Tom Colicchio’s restaurants – and Tom Colicchio is the head judge on Bravo’s Top Chef!

As a huge fan of Top Chef, when Ed told me he was taking me there on Saturday night I could hardly contain myself! Of course, it’s a popular dining establishment sought out by many other Top Chef fans, and we knew it would be good. But we had no idea how outstanding our experience there would be! Ed even claims that our meal was the best meal he has had all year – and that’s saying something! The ambiance is modern, but warm … the food is quality exemplified … and the service is incredible. It was a fine dining experience that felt casual somehow. It was sophisticated and rich, but not stodgy or formal. We can’t stop thinking about it!

We did get a nice surprise right off the bat … after getting our drinks, our server came out with an Amuse-bouche! It was a Gruyère cheese puff pastry of sorts. I was so in love with the fact that I was somewhere that actually served an amuse-bouche that I didn’t mind handing it right over to Ed. (The world would be so much easier for me if I just enjoyed cheese … but I digress … )

At Craft, you are encouraged to order one starter, one main course and one side dish per person to get the true experience! The portions are individually sized, but they are served in the center of the table family style so you can share with your companions. This was great news for Ed & I, because we always want to try as much as possible! So we perused the menu and had the difficult task of narrowing things down enough to place our order!

As usual, it was extremely difficult to get good pics of the food due to the (beautiful) ambient lighting, but we began with the roasted Octopus (on the left) and the roasted Quail. Ed absolutely loves octopus, and this dish was outstanding! It was served with diced pineapple and a sauce that I can’t remember. I’m not usually the one on-board the octopus train, but I thought this was DELICIOUS! So delicious in fact that I thought the octopus far outshone the quail. This isn’t to say the quail wasn’t yummy, but wow – that octopus was something special…

We both ended up choosing fish for our main courses. I opted for the Alaskan Halibut & Piquillo Pepper and Ed went for the John Dory (on right). The halibut cannot be explained with words! It was the most tender piece of halibut we’ve ever had, and the roasted red pepper on bottom was sweet and meaty and essential to the brilliance and simplicity of the dish. The John Dory was a nice contrast because the fish was light, flaky and ever so buttery, but it was sprinkled with a few slivers of olive, which gave it an exciting salty kick. The dishes aren’t prissy or fancy at Craft, everything is just so simple and fresh, but that’s truly what makes everything so amazing. Our sides were roasted pee wee fingerling potatoes and brussel sprouts with bacon. Again, the family style service is perfect because it encourages sharing. I have been craving more brussel sprouts ever since!

As if all of the above wasn’t satisfactory enough, we knew we had to order dessert. Come on, how could we not see what they had to offer?!? :) So after checking the menu, we decided on a Hazelnut Waffle with braised apples and cinnamon ice cream. However, we had no idea that there was another treat coming … these tiny panna cotta cups with fresh berries arrived at our table just minutes after we ordered our dessert! Then, even more bite-sized treats appeared at the table! A teeny plate arrived with a tiny fudge brownie, a candied pineapple square and a miniature coconut macaroon. Serious attention to the sweets were being showed, and I have to admit, I wasn’t complaining!

And finally, as if it couldn’t get any more extravagant, these two Cranberry Orange muffins perfectly packed to be sent home with us came out “for breakfast the next morning”, compliments of the pastry chef. AWESOME!

All in all, it was a perfect evening … we can’t wait to go back again, with lots of people, so we can try even more! This was absolutely a culinary paradise!!!