Extra Credit

Tonight I ate at The Bazaar by José Andrés to celebrate my anniversary. Now, I’m not going to lie, my love for everything José Andrés is not new. I wouldn’t classify it as stalking, but if he releases a new product or restaurant, you best believe I’m there. Andrés is an immigrant from Mieres, Spain, known not only for his amazing food, but his anti-Trump activism. He even shut down five of his restaurants in support of the ‘Day Without Immigrants.’ He has chains across several countries as well as manages a handful of restaurants. Regardless of political stance, you can’t deny he is an admirable businessman. 

All Bazaar locations are found within SLS (Service Luxury Style) hotels. The interior of the La Cienega location is reason enough to pay the restaurant a visit. There are large screens with visuals of monkeys dressed in tuxedos, bright red carpets, eccentric couches to sit on as well as a variety of different chairs and tables. The whole building looks like the inside of a high class porn star’s house. It is a sight to see to say the least. The menu is tapas style, thus you order 6-7 dishes, which are all fairly small portions. 

To begin I had something that I can never resist at Bazaar, I had the Cotton Candy Foie Gras. Served on what looks like a small ice block, the order comes with two sticks of cotton candy. The server always reminds you to eat it in one bite, I recommend you do as you are told. The cotton candy is perfectly smooth and airy with only a tinge of sweetness. Then you reach the center of foie gras which is always a delight, but, even better, there are crunchy crystals within it to add crunch; I am not positive but I think these are lightly sweetened sugar crystals. Next was the Rossejat Negra, which is a paella style pasta soaked in squid ink served with sepia sofrito—a sauce of tomato, onion, peppers, garlic, and herbs— shrimp, and a saffron aioli. Cooked to perfection, my favorite part of this dish is scraping the outer edge of the cast iron pan it is served in to get those crispy bites. Next was the jicama wrapped guacamole, these look like little translucent dumplings. Also to be eaten in one bite, these are nice to order mid meal to refresh the palette. The jicama cools down your mouth and initially has its (sometimes overbearing) earthy flavor which is then balanced by the burst of guacamole and chipotle salsa. We then had the Croquetas de Pollo, which are tiny chicken béchamel fritters served in a giant ceramic shoe…yes a shoe. These are not my favorite dish simply because they are bready and meaty, not my personal favorites, yet they are fun to order. We then ended the mains with the Tuna Ceviche and Avocado Roll. This dish is akin to a sushi roll however instead of rice on the inside there is ceviche and instead of seaweed on the outside there is, somehow, a thin, glossy layer of avocado holding it all together. The creaminess of the avocado is cut by a drizzling of lemon juice on the roll and then, we revisit the jicama. The jicama on the inside of the roll helps to draw together the combination of strong flavors.

What is an anniversary without desert? It is a new boyfriend. Thus, we got three deserts. We got two snacks from the patisserie attached to the restaurant, including a marshmallow and a chocolate cookie. I never thought I would be willing to pay that much for a single marshmallow, but I also never though I could eat a cloud. We also got the Mille- Feuille which is served with caramel cream and salted caramel. This is layers upon layers of pastry puff that is not too sweet and not too bland. To close our night we had a sudachi-looking cake whose name I can not recall because I don’t believe it is on the menu. It was a beautiful round, shiny sphere of light brown on top of an almond cake centered with a lemony earl grey filling. This was by far my favorite desert, the filling was smooth like mousse and the almond cake, unlike most, was not dry in the slightest. I am so thankful to have eaten this meal and had this experience with someone I love. I can’t wait to repeat it next year.