The Participants

Herb Farm Counterpoint

...so if the truffles and wine didn't do it for you, we have the real dessert course (courtesy of Shorty's)!

Pics from The Herb Farm

Three Forks, Three Stars

On 1/26/08, we went to Three Forks Chop House in Claremont, California on Greg West's nickel. Claremont, for those who don't know, is somewhere between Pasadena and Needles. I was blown away by how great an experience the staff had created. The appetizers were outstanding, including homemade (or "house-made" in the current jargon) charcuterie and sausages. The selection of dry-aged beef was tremendous, each one specially prepared with a variety of specialty salts (from fleur de sel to Hawaiian red) and fine sauces (such as a fennel-pollen bearnaise). We did not partake of the game, which looked good, because the cow meat looked too enticing, even for Roger.

The only misstep of the evening was Dan's first cocktail. He ordered a Basil Hayden's (bourbon) on the rocks. What came was a martini glass with some sort of bourbonized slush in it, as if someone had tried to make a manhattan with bourbon in a squishie machine. They expertly fixed it.

Thanks, Greg.

Providence Chef's Table

On Saturday, 10/20, we were at the Providence Chef's Table. There were at least 18 courses we can recall. Exquisite food and service, although it was very cold in this kitchen alcove set apart from the rest of the operation by a glass wall and glass door. Cost was $250/person including tip, tax, etc. A phenomenal food experience, topped off by meeting Michael Cimarusti, the chef/uberdork who runs the place.

Water Grill II

Let me be the first to thank Roger for the great evening this Saturday at the Water Grill. It has improved significantly over the past year, from excellent to, well, exquisite (I went there last year on a non-triumvirate basis). Oysters were superb, and the staff was knowledgeable. The foie gras was succulent. Slow-poached sturgeon was a wonderful combination of bitter and sweet. When I ordered the same dish last year, it was a bit too pungent, and perhaps slightly undercooked. It remains in the top 5 restaurants of LA, to be sure.

Bastide or Not caviar again...

Shortly after the departure of its prior chef, we dined at Bastide. In many ways, the evening was lovely. But the food, while uniformly excellent, was, well, tedious.

We had the tasting menu. It was more like the hit-parade of the petit-bourgeois: lobster tail (a bit tough), seared ahi tuna, rack of lamb (rare), diver scallops, beef shortrib, creme brulee, and a cheese plate where cheeses were identified by the fromageur by country of origin and animal. I found myself grateful not to have "a blini" with paddlefish roe on it. The white wine was chilled as if it were Bartles & Jaymes. And it was $200 a head. By way of contrast, I recently dined at Sona, and the first four courses of the nine-course tasting menu were unusual fish preparations, daring and interesting. Its cheese plate consisted half of different blue cheeses, with a tiny bit of history or description (not enough to bore) accompanying them in arrangement. Were it not for the somewhat haphazard service, it would have been superb (for example, we received our neighbors' appetizer of foie gras, and - as it was a tasting menu with unannounced courses - we were able to feign ignorance until we had eaten it - the most luscious foie gras I had ever tasted, both light and rich).

I will give Bastide this: we were seated outside in a fantastic setting with a very attentive (if somewhat ignorant) waitstaff. It was a great three hour meal, regardless of its lack of gastronomic personality and focus.

In Memoriam

Although most of the restaurants we have visited were outstanding, some have not survived. It is a brutal business. To my knowledge, the following are now best found on archive.com:

Shame on the Moon
Rix
Alto Palato
Bastide*

*Not technically dead, but plainly wilting under its new, uninspired chef.

Updates

I'm trying to put together a Triumvirate history of sorts here, so that we can start using this site. Let me know what you think about the changes and/or additional suggestions. It's a rather clumsy framework, but see below.

Valentino was excellent.

Next Up: The Tetrarchy

Gregory James, it's all you. July 8!

Welcome

Please write your reviews. The best reviews will not only cover the restaurants themselves, but include discussions of the Triumvirate Evenings as a whole.