Wining, Dining and BBQing Part 1

This weekend we celebrated the independence of America from the clutches of the evil British empire. No taxation without representation damn redcoats.

July 4th is an American institution. If you're American and you don't like July 4th that's because you're A) Benedict Arnold, you hate hot dogs, burgers or beer, you don't like fireworks, you're Canadian/British or you don't believe in freedom. USA USA USA!!!

The celebration of Independence Day is supposed to be a celebration of America. Or as the SO has been saying it 'Merica. She hasn't started watching NASCAR or drinking Bud Light just yet but I think she's on her way. Anyways, like with any celebratory public holiday there's tons of drinking and eating but for the SO and I this is no different than any other weekend. The difference this time was that we had 3 days to gorge and binge and we got to justify everything by saying "It's July 4th and that extra burger, beer, chip, brownie, cake, cocktail, etc. is because we're celebrating America and not because we're insatiable eating machines."

Alright, I know, too much blah blah blah. You're not here for the words you're here for the pictures.

Before I got to Spain I started watching this rotund Spanish man Jose Andres do a 30 minute cooking show called Made in Spain. I loved it because it got me excited about Spain and made Spanish food look good. Little did I know that Barcelona cuisine would fall miserably short of the expectations built up thanks to Jose. I later learned that he was owner/chef of 5 restaurants in the D.C. Metro area and was renowned for his take on molecular gastronomy. What is molecular gastronomy you say? Wikipedia defines it as "a scientific discipline that studies the physical and chemical processes that occur while cooking. Molecular gastronomy seeks to investigate and explain the chemical reasons behind the transformation of ingredients, as well as the social, artistic and technical components of culinaryand gastronomic phenomena in general."Or as I like to call it, "how can we charge $12 for some pretty looking food".

So Jose Andres opened a restaurant in the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills called The Bazaar. It's a modern take on Spanish tapas. Yes, I'm eating tapas in Los Angeles after living in Spain for a year. No, they did not have patatas bravas. Yes, I almost punched myself in the face when I thought about ordering the pan amb tomate.

My picture of the menu didn't come out very well so here's one from one of the gazillion food blogs. 

The dining room area. Once again taken from a food blog. My picture would've been just like this except filled with Kim Kardashian looking girls and their boyfriends and Michael Douglas looking older men with their trophy wives/escorts/mistresses/"friends". 

Bazaar has a water menu. Do you want the definition of pretentious? It's this...

Speyside-Glenlivet Still (750ml) - $10
Speyside is drawn from the 500 million year old Braes of Glenlivet rock formation, situated inside the Crown Estate of Glenlivet. At a total mineral content of 58 mg/liter, it is light, slightly alkaline and virtually sodium-free and nitrate-free.

or how about this...

Lauretana Still (750ml) - $10
Lauretana proclaims this is the most microbiologically pure, natural drinking water known to the world. Bottled in a unique 750 ml clear glass bottle designed by the famous Ferrari coach-maker Pininfarina

We started off with crab meat steamed buns. There's two of us and there are three steamed buns. Guess who ate the third.

Scallops Romanesco. They used a fair amount of rock salt on the sauce. I'd recommend not slathering it on unless you want to guzzle the rock mineral drip water.

The accompaniment to our dinner, a Priorat wine. I learned about wines from the Priorat region while I was dining with two friends in Barcelona and was glad to see that Bazaar had some on the menu. We got the cheapest one.

Cippolini onions topped with a slice of tangerine. Really liked this one. There's five onions on this one. I swear the chef is just messing with me.

Hanger steak. Delicious.

Bazaar's pièce de résistance, Cotton Candy Foie Gras. It was....let's say....interesting. I've never been a fan of foie gras but I had to try this one. The cotton candy envelops the foie gras but I didn't really see how the cotton candy enhanced the flavor. God, I sound like such a douche.

Japanese tacos. Eel wrapped in cucumber skin. Liked this dish. Maybe I'm biased. 

Avocado wrapped with jicama. Fresh and delicious but all I could taste was the guacamole. 

After we were done with our entrees we were escorted to the Patisserie for desserts. The desserts were all lined up for our viewing pleasure.

Nitro Coconut Floating Island. I don't even know how to describe this one so I'll just copy what I found in a food review, It's "a whimsical take on the French meringue pie". It wasn't that full of whim but it was delicious and light.

The man, the legend, the chef....Jose Andres. 

The hotel and restaurant was designed by Philippe Starke so they had some of his "art". 

The SO mesmerized by the bears and me trying not to worry too much about how much I just paid for that dinner. All in all a very good restaurant and definitely a place I'd recommend for special occasions, out of town guests and 2nd-3rd dates with your new lady/guy friend.

Part 2 of this post will come later after I've finished digesting. Might take a couple of days.