ink

Los Angeles, CA

For one of our few trips into LA, we ventured to Top Chef Winner Michael Voltoggio's new, highly anticipated, restaurant, ink. They have a 15 minute policy on reservations, so we arrived early at 7:30 for our 7.45 reservations.

tequila serrano, lime, grapefruit, soda & triple maredsous, denée, belgium

The bar area was crowded but we found a couple seats to order our cocktails. The cocktail menu is very creative and unique. Chu-Toro ordered the tequila serrano, which like it's name, tastes like a spicy serrano chili. It was a good thing we liked our cocktails so much, because we sat at the bar for an hour. Thankfully the manager Whitney appreciated that we were patient and covered our first round of drinks. I also weaseled my way into requesting a signed menu. So despite my usual frustrations with wait times, especially when having reservations, Whitney made our wait bearable with her kind offering and acknowledgment. 

vodka lime, ginger, soda

When we were seated, Chu-Toro had another cocktail, a vodka lime with ginger and soda. Our server Adam was aware of our long wait was very expeditious with our orders and service throughout the evening. He also explained that the concept of the restaurant was still changing and it was the first night that the multiple course offering was recommended as opposed to sharing all dishes as they were available as it had previously been for the first month since opening.

kale, burrata, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin preserves, yuzu

We started with the kale salad which was excellent. My favorite part of salad were the pumpkin seeds which added great texture to the well balanced dish. A definite must order.

octopus and hiramasa, romaine hearts, fried caesar dressing  

There's something that turns me off to raw fish in modern restaurants because it never meets the quality that I have learned to expect from a sushi bar. The fried caesar dressing was the best part of the dish making an overall bite decent, but the hiramasa was a little fishy while the octopus was cut too thin. The presentation was nice, but I would pass on this dish next time.

butternut squash risotto, chicken wings, egg yolk, toasted wild rice, aromatic broth

The surprising best dish of the meal was butternut squash risotto which was unlike anything I've ever had before. It was creamy, sweet, savory, and delicious. I seriously considered ordering another. The deboned chicken wing was juicy and flavorful while the egg and butternut squash played off each other perfectly. This is the kind of stuff we saw on tv that made us want to eat chef Voltaggio's food.

spaghetti, giant squid, squash, hazelnut-ink pesto, piment d’espelette

The spaghetti was one of those inventive, creative, unique dishes that tasted good, but I was not overwhelmed with. I did like the hazelnut-ink pesto but didn't leave me craving more like the risotto. 

skate wing, red pepper dashi, shishito peppers, kelp pasta, fennel 

Chu-Toro's skate wing was another pallet challenging dish. She thought it was good, not great, but I actually really appreciated it. I'm not sure everything meshed together perfectly, but there was definitely great potential in this dish. The skate wing itself was extremely flavorful. The mixture of the other ingredients masked the excellence of the fish. The red pepper dash and shishito peppers were a struggle between spicy and bitter. The kelp pasta, although beautifully done in thick ribbons, was not needed and incorporated distracting flavors. But I love trying food that makes you think and this dish did just that.

veal cheek, red curry, nante carrots baked in salt, fried and sticky rice 

While the skate wing was unique the veal cheek was simply excellent execution. The veal cheeks were amazingly perfectly cooked, melt in your mouth tender. The red curry provided a noticeable thai element that mixed well into the carrots and veal. I was torn between this dish and the Berkshire pork, but Adam informed me that this was chef Voltaggio's favorite item on the menu. How can you go wrong with the chef's favorite?

apple, crème caramel, burnt wood sabayon, walnut

stumptown coffees costa rica torres

We shared the apple dessert per Adam's recommendation and it was delectable. Sweet delicious cream caramel atop a graham crust, yummy.

Quick pic with chef Voltaggio

We drank coffee and sat around for a half hour but Whitney didn't forget about us, and asked if we would like to meet the chef instead of getting a signed menu. We didn't want to bother him since he was still in full cooking mode, but figured we should take advantage of the offer. Although very busy, he was cordial and appreciative, we shook hands and he posed for a pic. There's still some kinks to be worked out from a service perspective, but chef Voltaggio's food is creative, challenging and surprisingly affordable. I think we'll check it out again in a few months when he rolls out the omakase menu. It's worth the effort to get a reservation to check out the very good food at ink.

Rating 7.5/10

October 26, 2011