PASSIONATE RATIONS

I wonder if silent film star Harold Lloyd foresaw what his carriage house would become?

I wonder if he liked good food?  If so, I’m sure he would have approved the carriage house’s transformation into the culinary home of Suzanne Goin, the 2006 winner of the esteemed James Beard Foundation title of “Best Chef in California.”

Even before Chef Goin won the title, my spouse had been clamoring to go to her restaurant, Lucques (pronounced “Lukes”).  Earlier this month we made the journey.

As we often do, we went for lunch—generally a better value and easier seating.

The atmosphere of the restaurant is warmed by the brick and wood interior, casually elegant.  Since it was a beautiful Southern California afternoon, however, we were seated on the cozy enclosed patio.

Our guests were late, so we decided to order drinks so as not to upset the excellent wait staff too much.  I chose a refreshing sangria blanca composed of brandy, white wine and citrus fruits.  My spouse chose a mint vodka gimlet.   By some horrifying oversight on my part, I failed to try it, but I was assured it was delicious, as was mine (so good, I had two).

Perusing the menu, I noted its distinctly American flair, featuring, among other things steak and fries, an heirloom tomato “BLTA,” and even grilled cheese on the bar menu.   But this is no ordinary restaurant.

I was delighted when the waiter brought our bread because, along with it, he set down a plate of fancies:  glazed almonds atop the greenest of elongated olives, next to a mound of sea salt and two enormous slabs of butter.  This, alone, could have kept me occupied for hours.  I tried each item individually, then together.   This caused me to contemplate dumping the entire contents into my bag when we left–everything (even the olives, which, typically, I do not like) were excellent.  The butter was the best I have ever tasted on U.S. soil–absolutely phenomenal. I wish I knew where they found it or what they did to it.   Sea salt, by the way, is the next gourmet taster’s delicacy–with connoisseurs arising who, apparently, can distinguish Mediterranean from Pacific from Red Sea varietals.  Throw in some wine and oysters and you could keep a group of food snobs talking for weeks.

Once our friends arrived we ordered.  They chose the steak frites, apparently a popular choice given the number we saw delivered to nearby tables.  I chose to begin with the Rutiz Farm carrot soup with crème fraiche, mint and ginger sofrito, and selected a main course of soft shell crab with sweet corn-avocado salad and marinated onions.  My spouse chose the Dancing Demon plum and arugula salad with coriander, almonds and pecorino, with an entrée of grilled quail and wild mushroom risotto.

The soup surprised me, coming hot in the middle of summer, but it was a lovely color and even lovelier flavor.

As I sipped from my soup spoon, I couldn’t help but notice my spouse in throes of ecstasy over his salad.   He wordlessly handed me his fork, a delicate slice of purple-golden plum balancing precariously on the end.   Tasting it stopped me in my tracks.  Closing my eyes, I became lost in the very essence of plum.  I have never tasted a plum, or any other fruit, so delicious and so…right.  Paired with the tang of the arugula, my spouse tells me he could have eaten that salad for every course, including dessert, with deep satisfaction…and my small sample of it made me understand.

Then came the entrees.  The reddish pink of my soft shell crab was visible beneath the translucent batter in which it had been enrobed.  It sat almost jauntily atop the contrasting colors of the corn-avocado salad.   My eager first bite had me in throes of delight this time.

The crab crunched lightly beneath my teeth, virtually melting into a perfectly balanced salt- and crab- and sea-flavored symphony.  I gave up only one bite to my spouse, aware that I had ordered the most perfect thing on the menu and wanting to keep it to myself.

This didn’t stop me from trying his quail, however.   It, too, was perfectly seasoned, tender, and delicious.   Alas, I never tried the steak, but one always needs reasons to return….

Dessert could not out-do the entrees, but the bittersweet chocolate sorbet with honey tuile, honeycomb and espresso anglaise I chose sure tried.  It was a perfect ending. And, so, like the silent movies of yore, I tip my hat to the legacy of Harold Lloyd’s carriage house and say…

The End.

Lucques
8474 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA
323-655-6277