Los Angeles, California
This restaurant is lead by Chef Phillip Frankland Lee, a man who worked his way from being a dishwasher to garnering attention for attaining the most consecutive wins on Food Network shows including "Chopped", "Guy's Grocery Games", and "Cutthroat Kitchen", as well as competing on Bravo's "Top Chef" season 13. At Scratch| Bar & Kitchen, the staff is comprised of all chefs, without separate waitstaff, resulting in a more intimate experience with the open kitchen. Everything from the aged cheese to the butter is made in house, thus the name "Scratch". The kitchen is open and avails the guest to even more conversation with the chefs. Ingredients are seasonal, with new menu items added every week, allowing for a gradual transformation of the menu across time.
Popcorn with thyme, oil, and sugar
The above ingredients are description enough of the flavors presented in this snack, which served to be a delightful break between courses. Although it somehow seemed too simple for this caliber of a meal, the popcorn turned out to be a nice interruption between courses that was both tiny and light without disturbing my taste buds too significantly since there was little pause between the timely presentations of each course.
Mussel Shooter with ceviche green lip mussel, onion and serrano chile atop a mixture of sake, tomato syrup, and lime juice with uni and avocado mouse on the bottom of the glass
I was instructed to experience this dish with the directions: bite, sip, scoop.
I found this bite was nearly too small, as it was only a piece of mussel rather than the entire meat, but it was followed by a perfect tiny exclamation of spice from the serrano. The liquid was so well balanced that I could have had an entire cup to allow the ongoing experience of the taste. Lime provided acidity to contrast the slight sweetness from the tomato and both flavors were mellowed by the sake. The avocado in the bottom served as a neutral palate cleanser for me while also providing a saltiness from the uni.
Crispy kale on beet mustard with salmon roe and parmesan cheese
The salmon roe lent a unique texture and aspect of moisture to the dish, which was a welcome surprise contrast to the kale. Nonetheless, the slightly bitter kale retained a crispy texture prior to being combined on the tongue. The parmesan served to contribute salt to the dish, but with the roe remaining my favorite creative aspect of the plate.
Mushroom meringue with chanterelle puree, shaved truffle, and cured foie gras
The meringue was a fantastic textural concept for presenting this dish. It was enhanced by the creaminess of the puree and foie gras combination, which provided richness to contrast the earthiness delivered by the thin slice of black truffle. There was also a sprinkle of dehydrated mushroom on top that I could not separately detect, but certainly it added to the overall subtle earthy taste and provided a beautiful visual appeal.
Raw Jellyfish topped with house-made soy sauce, ponzu, and yuzu kosho
The jellyfish revealed a crunchy texture and firmness that required chewing, not to be mistaken for any semblance of a tough or rubbery texture. The sauces highlighted the restaurant's adherence to making everything from scratch, which included the intensive work required by this sauce. However, I found it to be predictable, exactly as described. The bite was delivered on a beautiful shell from which the fish was slurped, which provided depth to the experience of the dish to set it apart.
Cured bresaola, house-made Manchego-Style cheese, grilled sourdough bread with Meade to drink
The Meade was thick and sweet and surprisingly it did not overwhelm the little bites. Perfectly toasted sourdough was mildly firm all the way through and then enrobed with buttery flavor, while not becoming soggy. The firm cheese delivered a gentle saltiness that I nibbled off carefully in order to extend my experience of the tiny slice. The bresaola was sliced so thinly that the paper like round imparted only a mild beef taste that may have been slightly more enjoyable for me had it been a tad thicker as it was nearly translucent.
Roasted sweet 100 tomatoes, liquid nitrogen frozen burrata cheese, focaccia croutons, thai basil puree, balsamic vinegar marinated kombu, basil blossoms
This take on a caprese salad was texturally complex and fascinating to eat. The thin sheet of kombu easily sliced and immediately clung to the cheese and tomato. The tomatoes themselves were plain with a simple roasting but the basil puree was intense and clean and fresh! It lead me to conjure up imagery of the most incredible pesto!
Bluefin tuna tartare seasoned with soy, ponzu, finger limes, and Maldon salt, topped with Santa Barbara Uni, smoked avocado, chive creme, puffed wild rice, smoked honey and nori powder
The smoked avocado and puffed rice provided a great crunchy texture on top of this bite with thin slices of smoked avocado beneath. The crunchiness of salt and puffed rice was a contrast to the consistent creaminess of the other components. I enjoyed the smokey flavor enhanced by the acid from the limes, creation of a balanced dish.
Cuttlefish noodles with spiced sweet potato puree, cilantro gazpacho, topped with sourdough bread crumbs
This bowl was my favorite and simply bursting with flavor! Even as the sauce was mixed in as I ate through the dish, the flavors remained intact with beautifully layered complexity that lit up my taste buds as the cuttlefish served as a neutral noodle to carry the sauce.
Grilled leek brushed with basil bone marrow sabayon, finished with lemon and basil blossoms
The leek was presented as soft as a braised meat, easily pulling apart, yet still retaining its shape and longitudinal ribs. Although it was an interesting presentation, it was not particularly exciting since there were not any surprising or complex tastes to the bite, but with a subtle char from the exterior brushed casing.
bahn mi with mushroom puree, cilantro, baguette
The cilantro was plated as multiple leaves that were all connected to a single stalk, making it challenging to separate for each bite, but I cut the leaves apart and enjoyed them with the pieces of bread covered in the mushroom. The mushroom was somewhat straightforward, leaving me desiring either a more intense mushroom earthiness or an added seasoning or herb for more depth. The flowers were lovely to view, but did not impart further flavor to the dish that I could discern.
Cold preparation of grilled foie gras, cauliflower puree, grits tossed in lemon, olive oil and black pepper, roasted and pickled sun chokes, puffed quinoa, carrot syrup, and nasturtium
This bite was sweet and creamy, but enlivened by the crunchy and earthy sun chokes. I found that the nasturtium greens did not add detectable depth when up against the fatty richness of the other components. I did enjoy the ratio of amaranth on the plate, as I found it to be exactly the amount needed to soaking up the olive oil dressing.
Pan roasted quail with red mustard frill, rutabaga and orange puree, pickled walnut, quail jus
The combination of rutabaga with orange resulted in retaining an earthy flavor, but without being bitter with contrasted with the citrus. The tender quail required only a dull knife to slice, but still remained toothsome, requiring a chew that resulted in a rewarding endeavor.
Roasted bone marrow, grilled focaccia, whipped egg yolk, grilled pearl onions dressed in lemon and olive oil
My experience of this bite was that the bread was too large for me to taste the marrow definitively. However, the egg yolk was a sublimely perfect texture and flavor with a hint of onion that did not override the rest of the bite.
Grilled Maine lobster with smoked paprika aioli, shaved radish, fennel fronds, and Cioppino broth
This dish offered a sensational seafood flavor with perfectly tender lobster and rich broth. Although the broth had the depth of a bouillabaisse, it remained light since it was a broth and not thickened with any sort of cream. The depth of the dish was further increased by the fennel contrast and smoky paprika. For me, the caviar was lost as it swam in the rest of the flavors.
Kobe ribeye, potato hummus, crispy potatoes, horseradish demi-glace, sugar blistered carrots, puffed amaranth, watercress
The multicolored carrots were only a few tiny disks on the plate, but the potatoes had been baked and then flash fried making them a perfectly mild crispiness without being oily. I wanted to continue to eat them as they disappeared from my plate. Again, the greens on this dish seemed only for decoration, as the watercress was not intense enough to contribute to the flavor for me against the perfectly tender and rich chunks of seared meat that had a mild meaty flavor.
Triple creme cheese ice cream, brioche toasted with brown sugar and butter
The burnt brioche had a brown sugar like flavor with dense cheesy ice cream and chives. The ice cream was so thick and I decided to cut with a knife when it did not easily separate with my spoon. The topping also included a drizzle of what appeared to be honey, but it was too mild to contribute a flavor, so it may have been more enjoyed had it added a level of sweetness.
Cardamom panna cotta, poached pear, buttermilk granita, shortbread crumble, dehydrated pear
The pear was beautifully sweet and tender as the dried pear shavings afforded a nice textural variation. These were enhanced by the crunchy firmness of the shortbread and the cold creaminess of the granita. As much as I enjoyed those details, the bottom of the plate perplexed me. The dish was coated in a thick panna cotta that was intended to have a cardamon flavor. Although I saw the flecks of spice, I experienced it as simply a thick cream without lending a discernible flavor. Perhaps adding more spice would have allowed this to be a contributing flavor component. I may have provided an unexpected flavor, such a rosemary, or a warming flavor, such as cayenne, if it were my recipe to tweak.
Spiced white chocolate ganache, dulcey ganache, candied hazelnut
The white valrhona chocolate was perfectly gentle mouthfeel with smoothness that melted so rapidly that the process began even as I touched it to place in my mouth. I appreciated the small size as it was quite rich with the caramel ganache on the bottom.
Maple vanilla marshmallow
The house made marshmallow delivered a tiny chewy bite with a thoroughly toasted finish. Again, the bite was surprisingly simple to me, in the same way that the popcorn was as well. It was very small, perhaps approximately the size of two mini marshmallows. Although it was an interesting completion, I found the texture to be too tough and the maple not intense enough to be detected above the toasted exterior. This chewy toughness may be due to me allowing it to sit and cool for too long prior to experiencing it as I surveyed the bustling kitchen in front of me.
For this experience, I was impressed that every detail of the dishes were made in house. However, in my opinion, some of the concepts were too straightforward for what I would hope to have laid before me during such an indulgent meal. Certainly, it still stands as an enjoyable experience.
