Bistro LQ - Tasting Menu

"I know where I want to take you for your birthday", read the IM from my friend Kris. I thought to myself "Ok, but it's still two months away why are we even thinking about that". I tend to not think that far in advance, but as the week's passed by, I started thinking more about this dinner. I browsed the menu, and wasn't terrible excited about my options. I'm not one of those people who will eat anything and a lot of the menu didn't sound very appealing to me. I told Kris, "If you're going to make me eat brains, there better be wine".  After a pep talk from my mom, and the aforementioned wine, I was ready to start eating.

First was the sea snail amuse bouche. A little parsley butter flavored the snail nicely. It was fine, but nothing amazing.



Uni with yuzu tapicoca, lobster gelee and an oyster. The creamy uni went well with the citrus flavor of the tapicoa. The lobster gelee was a little strange, but actually did a good job of flavoring the oyster at the bottom of the mini beaker.





One of our favorites was the smoked haddock wrapped around cream cheese, placed on a pancake and topped with arugula caviar. I loved smoked foods...fish, cheese, etc so this was definitely pleasing to my palate. The fish of course is a natural pairing with the cream cheese and the arugula caviar added a welcome freshness to the dish.



Scallops with oatmeal, parsley grits, and cinnamon. This was one of the best scallops I've ever had. It didn't have a very strong sear, but the scallop was meaty and tasted of the sea without being too fishy. This was my first time trying savory oatmeal. The slight citrus flavor went really well with the scallops and swiping a forkful of cinnamon really enhanced the flavors.



My most favorite dish of the evening was the cod with lentils and blood sausage with pimenton wrapped octopus. Before this dinner, I probably would have said I would never try blood sausage in a million years, but a week later, I can't stop thinking about how good it was. The taste was very reminiscent of Mexican chorizo and even had a similar crumbly texture. It added great flavor to the lentils and cod.



To round out the seafood dishes, was a nice small plate. Tempura of zucchini on top of salted cod puree. Neither was especially amazing on their own, but they went nicely together,


Our meat course was hangar steak with sesame glaze and topped with bonito flakes. The steak was cooked a little more rare than I prefer and overall the dish was slightly disappointing. I suppose I was looking for a bigger punch of flavor from the glaze and bonito flakes. The vegetables on the side were cooked perfectly and there was a nice surprise of a sweet, roasted garlic clove.



By this point, it was hard to fathom eating any more food, but then the restaurant's famous cheese cart was rolled in our direction. We told our server we weren't picky when it came to cheese and he served us a delightful combination of cow's milk, goat's milk, and sheep's milk cheese with an array of dipping sauces and breads. My favorite "sauce" was the truffle honey which I gladly scarfed after Kris shocked me by saying he doesn't really like the taste of truffles. After that confession, I started to seriously reconsider our friendship, but lucky for Kris, we're compatible in other dining aspects.





At long last there was dessert. Gianduja with hazelnut ice cream and an assortment of petit four. The gianduja was a bit rich after all the food we had just consumed, but the hazelnut ice cream was a nice accompaniment. The petit four were also good with our favorite bite being the little fruit jelly that we couldn't place, but was a welcome bite on our tongues.





After two and a half hours and countless calories, I felt like I needed to be wheeled home, but it was so worth it. The dinner was a great treat and made me realize, that I am willing to eat more adventurously than I previously imagined.

Bistro LQ
8009 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 951-1008
www.bistrolq.com/