Bazaar Meats
Last night my wife and I went out for a little birthday dinner action. Chef Jose Andres has always been one of those visionary chefs who can make something traditional into something completely new and innovative. I’ve always been one to appreciate tradition but think that there’s always room for improvement. I think that’s why I loved Bazaar Meats as much as I did.
Let me start by saying that if you have the money to do the prix fixe menu, you need to do the prix fixe menu. I am not a rich man and although my wife and I like to indulge from time to time, we couldn’t quite come to terms with dropping $3-400 on a Sunday night. We did however eat our way through the menu al la carte. It’s entirely possible to do I assure you but it would be very tough to find your way through each “bazaar” kitchen set up for a specific section of the mammoth menus. No, literally, the menus are like 2 feet long and plastic. I’d be lying if I said we didn’t spill a drink our two when looking through them.
We started the night out with king crab and shrimp cocktail. Far from what you would expect a typical seafood cocktail but still within the realm of the original. The shrimp were poached and opaque, the king crab in massive chunks with bits of avocado tossed in the smoother version of cocktail sauce. Definitely no horseradish in this one. Overall, it was good but a bit too saucy.
Next course came in several waves. We were served Spanish ham croquettes in a glass Nike shoe…..Yeah, you read that right. And to make it even more epic, they were made by Selma Hayek’s brother. On second thought, I don’t know if that helps the case or not, either way, these were awesome. Creamy and salty from the meat and crispy shell. The literally would pop open in your mouth for that perfect umami sense on your tongue. Next up were the olives two ways. One stuffed with anchovies pequillo pepper, the other served as a liquid gumdrop. Unreal. From my understanding (minimal at that) the olive oil is boiled off, frozen and then unthawed into these little pearls bursting with the exact flavor of the pervious version. Still trying to wrap my head around it epicness. Next was the Cotton Candy Foie Gras. Yes, I assure you, you also read that correctly. The ultimate in savory sweet. It was sweet, savory and ended with a surprising amaranth crunch to balance it all out. Weird I agree but delicious as can be. Finally, my favorite, Chef Jose Andres very own version of the traditional Lox and Bagels. Little fillo cones filled with salmon roe, cream cheese and a sprig of dill. I wish these could be ordered to go. The crispy shell with the creamy cheese smothered with the roe that is literally bursting with flavor. This whole dish epitomizes the hash tag #FTW.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, it did. For the entrees we ordered beef cheeks and a massive veal chop. The beef cheeks were Sous Vide’d for 36 hours. You absolutely read that right, 36 hours. This meat was so tender I could have used the handle of my spoon to cut it. The mojo rojo sauce it was served on deserves it praise. Similar to chipotle but more refined and thinned out but the peppers in it were still prevalent. The veal chop was massive and served over a verde mojo sauce. I assumed the green came from spinach was it was equally as smooth as the mojo rojo but a dark dark green. Remember, I’m not a foodie.
After our two-hour affair we literally had not room for dessert. The reason for the was a surprise from the kitchen with some robochon potatoes. I want to avoid giving away too much however I think it needs to be said. These were the best potatoes I’ve ever had. I know a while back I said Searsucker had the best, well I was wrong. The Chef then told me they were made with equal parts potato and butter and the guilt set in….followed by another spoonful of these masterpieces.
All in all this was an awesome experience. A bit pricey yes but totally worth it in the end. The service was excellent and the experience was irreplaceable.
