TROIS MEC-IS THIS THE BEST RESTAURANT IN LOS ANGELES?

 Chef Ludo Lefebvre is one of the most influential chefs in Los Angeles dining, pioneering and revolutionizing the culinary industry.

 

 

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Michael Hepworth

 

TROIS MEC-IS THIS THE BEST RESTAURANT IN LOS ANGELES?

HOLLYWOOD Perfect Meal Today) 12/31/17/—Those of you who have been to Trois Mec in its four year existence know that it is culinary theatre. Since there are only 24 seats available with eight of those at the counter, it is like dining amongst friends with strong interactionwith the chefs preparing your gourmet meal. The restaurant is located in a non-descript row of shops and is formerly a pizza parlor.

The dining experience is heightened when the restaurant hosts highly touted visiting chefs, and that was the case on my visit to the low key Hollywood restaurant this week. Of course it is the restaurant made famous by Ludo Lefebvre, a classically trained French chef, and his partners Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo. On this chilly December night he welcomed Jamie Bissonette and Ken Oringer from restaurants in Boston and New York making a rare West Coast appearance.

The meal I had was also made special by some very creative wine pairings where they deliberately chose wines from little known or small batch vineyards but they were all impressive, but were mostly priced $100 and up.

The feast got off to an impressive start with the welcome cocktail of Apples to apples, Grey Goose Vodka, Calvados, granny Smith apple and sage. Thiswas quickly followed with a Smoked Uni Spoon containing caviar, Santa Barbara sea urchin, Jamon Iberico and quail egg. Tiny portions of course but it will not get any better than that. Perfect mix with champagne and in this case Pierre Gerbais Grains de Celles.

Next up came the Squash Pakora with an oyster mayo and then the homage to pasta from the visiting chefs in the form of the Piet Pasta, a thicker style than normal. Piece de Resistance however was the Foie Gras from La Belle

Farm served with Japanese Hot Pot and Buddha’s hand mostarda. If that was not enough then the next course of Celery root mousseline, black truffle fondue with cotechino and bitter cocoa was equally magnificent.

I have had lamb cooked many ways but never the way these chefs did it with yogurt foam, mint pesto, artichokes, smoked eel and dry yeast. The final courseof dessert was a Mont Blanc with chestnut cream and of course was a tour de force from the brilliant chefs working that night, and it is no surprise that these special events always sell out. Ken Oringer is one of the most notable chefs in Boston and made his name in 1997 with Clio where he earned a James Beard Award four years in a row for Best Chef Northeast. In 2001 it was named in the top 50 restaurants in America. In 2002 he opened a Sashimi Bar called Uni, and then in 2005 he opened Toro, a Barcelona inspired tapas restaurant. In 2008 he made his debut on Iron Chef beating out Cat Cora in a coffee battle. In 2010 he opened the Italian style Coppa restaurant with Jamie Bissonette followed by Earth in 2011 at Nantucket. Not satisfied with that he opened Toro in New York where he received critical acclaim. In 2016 he opened Toro Bangkok and is currently focused on Toro Dubai. They also have Little Donkey in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Jamie Bissonette earned his Culinary Arts degree at the age of 19 in Fort Lauderdale and his cooking career has taken him to Paris, New York, San Francisco, Phoenix and Boston. In Boston his restaurants included Eastern Standard, KO Prime before partnering up with Ken Oringer at Toro and Then the opening of the above mentioned Coppa. Awards from Food & Wine magazine and the James Beard Foundation have followed, and chef is known for his charcuterie and nose to tail philosophy of cooking which I think is self explanatory. In fact he is a judge at Cochon 555 which sounds like a real fun job.

www.troismec.com

716 N.Highland Avenue, Los Angeles

Valet Parking and some street parking

Prices- Tickets must be bought in advance-around $200 plus tax/tips.

Liquid refreshment-separate. Check in advance to select wines