This past week, I got a special recognition for my achievements at work and in the community and it was a little bittersweet because I knew that I would be accepting that award by myself that night. Luckily one of my friends also got the award so he ended up as my date, but I couldn’t help but feel some important people in my life were missing that night. So I knew that I wanted to do something to celebrate this achievement and just feel proud of myself for one night…and turns out this weekend coincided with DineLA. My boyfriend could sense how hard this whole award thing was for me, and so plans came together and he ended up taking me to The Bazaar for a special date night. We headed there hungry after watching El Bulli: Cooking in Progress earlier in the day.
I had been reading various blogs so that I would know what to expect and what dishes looked like something I would like. We ordered off the special DineLA menu, and added some other dishes as well. For DineLA you got to pick one first course, three small plates for the second course, and one dessert.
To drink, I wanted something without alcohol, but refreshing. This is what my waiter brought me. It was amazingly fruity and light…but I don’t know what it was! I meant to ask before I left, but it slipped my mind. Either way…I love ordering random non alcoholic drinks at nice places, I’m always pleasantly surprised! So good!
Our picks for first course were:
Tortilla de Patatas “New Way”
Potato foam, egg 63, caramelized onions
Japanese Taco
Grilled eel, shiso, cucumber, wasabi, chicharron
My BF added:
Wild mushroom Soup
Idiazábal cheese, golden egg yolk
I added:
“Philly Cheesesteak”*
Air bread, cheddar, Wagyu beef
My Second Course Picks:
Embutidos platter
Chorizo, lomo, salchichon
Croquetas de pollo
Chicken and béchamel fritters
“The ultimate Spanish tapa!” Ensaladilla rusa
Potatoes, carrots, mayo, tuna belly
His Second Course Picks:
Mussels
Olive oil, vinegar, pimentón
Sautéed shrimp
Garlic, guindilla pepper
Beef hanger steak
Piquillo pepper confit
My BF picked these as extras:
Oxtail
Watermelon radish, cilantro, steamed buns
“Your life will change” Dashi linguini
Parmesan, Quail egg, basil
At this point we were a little full…but still had dessert waiting for us!
As we sat and talked about what a fantastic meal this had been, our waiter took our dessert order. We were told that when we were ready we would head over to the Patisserie to enjoy our final course of the night. I was really looking forward to seeing the Patisserie for myself! I had heard so many great things! So we left the dining room…which I’m assuming was the Blanca room.
And headed across the restaurant to an eclectic section…awesome.
We sat on a high table that we had all to ourselves as we waited for our sweets to arrive!
There was a candle in his dessert because The Bazaar knew we were celebrating a special occasion. So melt and a lovely surprise!
His pick:
Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta
Apricots and muscat gelatin
My pick:
Traditional Spanish Flan
Vanilla and fruit
I really wanted to try this, so we ordered it as an extra.
Nitro Coconut Floating Island
Passion fruit and vanilla
At some point during dessert, a man approached our table to say hi…it was so random that it took me a moment to realize it was Yeekai of CogCoffee! I’m telling you, Los Angeles isn’t that big! It was a nice surprise! And, Eleana (@pokeleana) who I know through Sharon happened to be there that night too! It was so great to meet a fellow Vampire Diaries fangirl! And the best part was that our boyfriends totally hit it off, so we’ll have to do a double date soon!
I’m glad I got to try The Bazaar last night. I had heard so much about it, and really wanted to experience it for myself. It was a great place to celebrate a special occasion because it just felt really special to me. A big thanks to my wonderful, handsome, caring, boyfriend for taking me.
The Bazaar by Jose Andres
465 South La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Yay!!! So glad you finally went to one of my faves. Looks like you had a great introduction! 🙂
Aren’t those chicken croquettes amazing? They serve them at the Tres bar as well, and I had them once while waiting for an event starting in the SLS ballroom. Damn they were tasty…