Showing posts with label caviar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label caviar. Show all posts

Monday, March 23, 2015

Jetsetting with Petrossian LAX

You have to start your vacation right. We did just that before jetting off to Fiji thanks to Petrossian at the LAX Tom Bradley International terminal. If you haven't been yet, the newly renovated terminal is gorgeous with many shops and restaurants that you'd actually want to go to. You don't have to fly out of TBI, you can still get into the terminal with any valid boarding pass from the same day.

Petrossian LAX
The full lineup of Petrossian's caviar is available here for 30g servings with blinis. Of course, champagne to pair ... what better way to start your vacation? I had the Transmontanus caviar with some Moet.
Petrossian LAX

Even though the kitchen space is limited, you can still get a full meal at Petrossian, with salads and flatbreads, or a plate of cured fish.
Petrossian LAX


Friday, August 15, 2014

Omakase at O Ya (Boston, MA)

When I asked for sushi recommendation, the name that kept popping up was O Ya - with the warning that it's expensive. Indeed, although you can order a la carte at O Ya, the full omakase runs about $250 and the smaller tasting menu $180. But I have to try it, right? I sat at the counter where I can see the chefs at work. My friend was late so I was getting hungry watching all the foie gras sushi being fired out ...

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Finally my friend came and we opted for the smaller omakase menu. As expected, it started with a fresh Kumamoto Oyster (watermelon pearls, cucumber mignonette)
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Then, we proceeded with the nigiri courses. What makes O Ya different is the sauces he puts on the nigiri sushi. They're not just soy sauce or yuzu, but you can find things like Hamachi with spicy banana pepper mousse
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I loved the texture of the seared hamachi and the banana pepper mousse worked well, although it slightly overwhelmed the hamachi flavor. Maybe slightly less mousse on top?

Things like banana pepper mousse doesn't mean that O Ya veers completely from the traditional, though. Our next course is a Salmon with unfiltered wheat soy moromi
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Moromi is a term you may hear in sake brewing, and I believe it basically means the unrefined or unfiltered mash of grain that is undergoing fermentation. I enjoyed the earthy flavor with the fatty salmon.

The next bite is an indulgence: Santa Barbara sea urchin and Russian Osetra caviar
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An unbeatable combination, of course.

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Caviar at Happy Hour? Only at Petrossian (West Hollywood, CA)

There are plenty of happy hours in Los Angeles, but where would you find caviar on the happy hour menu? Well, at Petrossian - the renowned caviar purveyor - of course you would. For happy hour drinks you can get either the caviar cocktail or vodka at a discounted price, or $6 wines.

Let's talk about the food! Last year I put Petrossian's lobster roll as one of the best bites I had that year. The lobster roll was topped with sea urchin and caviar!

For happy hour, you can get a mini version:
Mini Lobster Roll, topped with Sea Urchin, Caviar, Fennel, Daikon, Chives, Parsley, Brioche Roll, Lemongrass & Garlic Aioli, French Fries ($15)

Caviar Lobster Roll
I went for a media preview so they had cut up the mini lobster roll into smaller pieces for us to taste. It's just as good as I remembered and made me want to come back in for a full size!

Other offerings include Tarte Aux Pommes de Terre (Potato Tart, Crème Fraiche, 20g Transmontanus Caviar - $24)
Latkes
The crispy potato tarts remind me of latkes - but topped with caviar makes it that much better, of course.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Flying Out in Style with Petrossian LAX

On the day I left for London, the new Petrossian at LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal was having a media tasting, so of course I had to go! Talk about perfect timing. It was my first time at the new terminal, and the classy Petrossian decor matched the sleek terminal.

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Now, jetsetters can wait for their flights while drinking cocktails garnished with caviar powder. The High Society cocktail is made with Tanqueray gin, St. Germaine, and green chartreuse. The glass is rimmed with caviar powder, which is also in the lemon "boat"
Caviar Cocktail

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Unlimited Caviar for Charity

These days, seems like it's not enough to just ask for donations to raise money for charity. You have to do it in style.

It starts with a limousine pickup, driving you to a mansion in Bel Air. After a cocktail reception, you partake in unlimited caviar (from the "entry level" to the Russian Osetra sturgeon) and champagne, three courses from Top Chef Marcel Vigneron, smoked alligator, and more, listen to live string quartet and piano performances. You leave with a gift bag supposedly worth $1000 in restaurant gift certificates (and caviar facial serum?).


Extravagant? Yes, indeed. And it will costs a pretty penny, starting from $500, but if this sounds like a great night to you, be assured that your money is going to a good cause. The Beverly Hills Caviar Charity Event benefits the Harold Robinson Foundation, which provides free, nurturing camp to inner city and underprivileged children in Los Angeles. Each year, HRF sends thousands of children to an 81-acre facility in the Angeles National Forest.
The deets:
Tickets start from $500pp. Buy them here.
Date: Thursday, November 15th.
6pm cocktail reception, party starts at 7pm.
The parking location will be disclosed to RSVP'd guests. A limo will take you from the parking lot to the mansion (VIP ticket includes limousine pick up at your home).

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Petrossian: Staying Strong with New Executive Chef Giselle Wellman

Bloggers' beloved chef Ben Bailly may have left Petrossian for Fraiche, but that doesn't mean we should all forget about Petrossian. Their new executive chef, Giselle Wellman, is keeping the West Hollywood restaurant going strong.

Chef Giselle Wellman
Giselle is one of a few female executive chefs in Los Angeles and previously worked at Bouchon, Jean Georges and Del Posto in New York, and Jack's La Jolla. Savory Hunter and I were lucky enough to be invite to try the new menu at Petrossian.

First thing's first: prosecco and caviar blinis.
Not that the blinis have really changed with the changing of chefs, but being at Petrossian we felt that we should start with some anyway. They're great as always.
Caviar Blinis
Blinis (Caviar, Trout Roe, Salmon Roe) -$18

Then a delightful little surprise came: Egg Royal (Scrambled Egg, Vodka Whipped Cream, Caviar) -$14
Egg Royal
Although we hadn't thought of ordering it, we're so glad Giselle decided to bring this out. This dish is somewhat rare in LA, and I usually find it at places like Providence and Melisse as a part of the tasting menu. It's good to know I can get it here without spending the dough for a whole tasting menu. It's quite different compared to the others, though. The scrambled egg was incredibly light, especially combined with the vodka whipped cream.

We mainly tasted the new items that Giselle had put on the menu, like the Smoked Sturgeon Risotto (Pressed Caviar, Chive, Crème Fraîche) -$22
Smoked Sturgeon Risotto
An unusual flavor for a risotto (at least for me) and another table favorite. The creme fraiche balances the smoked sturgeon, and you get pleasant bursts of surprise as you encounter the caviar. The crisp apple slices act like a palate cleanser at the end of each bite.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Petrossian is Revived. More than just Caviar

It occasionally happens that even a foodie can't figure out where to go for a nice Sunday brunch. The old places seem boring, but can't think of a new place to try. So when Petrossian came up as a suggestion, I suddenly remembered a recent article about its renovation in one of those daily newsletters like Daily Candy or Tasting Table. Perfect idea!

Petrossian is famous for its caviar, but its West Hollywood outpost has had a cafe attached to it for many years. This has recently been renovated to a spacious modern space.

The menu selection was surprisingly varied (including a foie gras salad! Hey, salad is healthy, right?), although I wasn't sure what to expect before coming there.

Besides the a la carte menu, they also offer a 3-course champagne brunch for $35. I opted for this and got a glass of Louis Roederer Brut Rose.

The first course was a choice of soup selection and I opted for the White Asparagus Veloute.
The veloute was smooth and creamy while maintaining the foaminess of veloute. It was outstanding, with a nice little onion kick. Highly recommended.

For the main course, I went with the Paris Croque Madame (Ham, gruyere on brioche with Bechamel sauce, sunny side up eggs)
Croque madame is the perfect breakfast for me. Eggs, cheese, ham, toast ... Not to mention Brioche toast here. Perfect. Runny sunny side up, nicely toasted brioche, lots of gruyere. Even a bit of salad to cut all that richness so you can go for another bite, since the first bite was immensely satisfying.

As I was deeply impressed with the panna cotta with caviar at Ludobites, and since Petrossian is known for their caviar, for dessert I went with:
Classic Panna Cotta, white peach espuma, with an extra addition of caviar ($6 extra)
Beautiful layering here: panna cotta, white peaches, topped with the espuma.
The second time I had panna cotta with caviar in a week. The one at Ludobites, though, had caviar as the main focus while here the caviar is just an extra. That bit of saltiness does give it a nice touch, but it isn't the point here.

The panna cotta was very dense and rich, more so than the usual. The white peaches were sweet and crisp, and everything was complimented by the light peach foam on top. An excellent and very memorable dessert, I would recommend this to anyone and would definitely get it on future visits.

My first visit to Petrossian was such a pleasant surprise. The newly renovated space had a clean and spacious look, and the food was excellent. I hope they'll keep up the performance.

Petrossian Boutique & Cafe
321 N Robertson Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90048
(310) 271-0576
Petrossian Boutique & Cafe on Urbanspoon

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