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| Open Kitchen at Fifty Seven |
Fifty Seven is a brand new concept restaurant where a Chef in residence is established and given a period of time to delivery fantastic food. In this case the
Chef is David Nayfeld, recently from Eleven Madison in NYC one of several 3 Michelin star restaurants in the city. Eleven Madison is not only hard to get in but the price fixed meal is out of site for the average person at over $275.00 per person. Fifty Seven gives you the opportunity to try awesome food from a notable and very talented chef for a great value. Although I am not a drinker notable though is that
Sommelier Max Coane has a great lineup of wines to accompany the great food.
Fifty Seven is located in what used to be considered the wrong side of the tracks but these days has developed into one of the new in places in LA to work and live. The restaurant is in the old Heinz 57 building located in the
Arts District. It has a real downtown look and feel located in an historic brick building, Iron fixtures large pipes you feel like you are in downtown Chicago but with great weather. .
The interior has a loft feel with several levels first is the Downstairs, the bar, the kitchen and the eating area but all of it is open so you have this feeling of space. What I really like is as you are going up a short group of stairs you pass by the open kitchen and each of he station chefs is working on their piece of the meal like artists. It is Fifty Seven's way of bringing the theme of the Arts District into the restaurant.
On to the food. Our server Allison was very helpful and guided us to the shared smaller bites where we could get the best feeling for the Chef's style and vision. Before the food came out we were given these little dumpling sized baked puffs, they had a crispy edge but the center was as light as cotton candy I would describe it as an air filled baked cheese ultra lite soufflé.
First thing to note is that the menu is changed several times per week so you can make this a regular stop and try something new each time.
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| Straacciatella Sumptuous Creamy Cheese |
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| Fried Chicken |
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| Pork Jowl New age Sweet and Spicy |
Our first plate was the
Stracciatella with Charred
Tomatillo Jam,
Bottarga, Dandelion greens and beautifully buttered sourdough toast. This was a great combination of tastes creamy cheese, bitter greens with a little bite from the Tomatillo.
Next up was the Pork Jowl chunks of Roasted Pork with a combination of White Sesame and
Mandarinquat with Roasted Romaine Lettuce and
Shishito Peppers the taste was similar to a Sweet and Spicy Pork. The Mandarinquat looks like a slice of tomato but it is an explosive sweet citrus morsel (this is a taste experience in itself).
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| Agnolotti with light Lemon Sauce |
The
Agnolotti is stuffed with Sheep's Milk Ricotta accompanied with Morels, Ramps and Peas with a very light lemony sauce that bound all the flavors together. As with all the plates thus far the combination of flavors are fantastic or each component is delicious by itself. The Fried Chicken was up next and we were expecting a bone in piece of Chicken but were surprised to get a crispy flattened fried chicken breast with what you could describe as brittle caramelized chicken skin with Pickled Carrots, Jalapenos, Spring Onions and a stone ground mustard drizzle. The dish was great but what stood out was the caramelized skin and the pickled veggies. The meal had this great contrast of the sinful Fried Chicken savory taste and the pickled veggies with that vinegar bite.
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| As good as it looks |
Last up was the Diver Scallops with Wild Rice, Green Olives, Fennel, a sea foam and Feta. Definitely the best plate when you combined all the flavors together. For me you got the salty substance of the perfectly cooked Scallop, with the earthiness bite of the Wild Rice and Green Olive, the licorice flavor of the Fennel As you can see it was full of color and is a must try.
This restaurant s all about creating and supporting a neighborhood. Overall Fifty Seven is a must go to restaurant in LA it is the complete evening stop after dinner you can go downstairs and catch the evening local entertainment.