Red O

8155 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90046-7016
http://www.redorestaurant.com/

What do 2% milk, margarine, frozen peas and Red O have in common? They're reasonable substitutes if you can't have the real, good stuff. Without any trips planned to the Chicago area anytime soon, Red O was the best way to taste Rick Bayless' creations without boarding a plane. Red O has been on our radar since before its opening. However, after word that a month's worth of reservations had already been booked, we decided to wait until the hyped subsided a bit. However, in the last couple months since it's opening, we've started coming across numerous mixed reviews about the place: there were a variety of unflattering comments criticizing the mediocre food to the gruffness of the doorman/bouncer. Even skepticism about how much Chef Bayless was involved in the venture. However, none of that stopped us from checking things out for ourselves.

classic guacamole (not pictured)- made from avocadoes grown on a Mexican volcano, which infused a higher level of sweetness into the savory fruit. Or at least that's what the server told us. It just tasted like any typical guac, though. Also accompanied with a green and red salsa. The table was split between which version was superior. One had a bit more heat while the other hinted at a bit more acidity.


1. sopes - gleason ranch pork belly, black beans, salsa negra, sesame - just big enough for one large mouthful. At least that's how I chose to eat it. As typical with most braised pork bellies, this version was heavily sauced and mighty tender. The supporting "tortilla" played a well-suited supporting role, helping to diffuse the richness of the meat while providing a pleasant grainy texture and a bit of sweetness from the masa (cornmeal dough).


2. beef short rib tamales - a bit more sophisticated than your average tamale (maybe due to the frisee), but I can't say that it was much tastier. The accompanying salsa was a bit spicy, but in a good way. Overall, not a memorable dish. Someone else had ordered the goat cheese version which was much tastier.


3. cochinita pibil - "Why have regular pig when you can have a suckling pig?" Word of wisdom from our server. The pork was very nicely prepared. There was a slight crispiness on the outside and stringy, tender pork within. The heaviness of the sauce and meat were tempered by the leafy greens and acidity from the pickled red onions. Overall, a fairly heavy dish with bold flavors. Felt as though this dish would have been better served were it cut down in portion size and paired with tortillas or even a side of rice.

4. sonoma county lamb in chili colorado - this is what we would have liked the suckling pig to be. A heavily flavored dish with tender meats in a smaller portion size with accompanying tortillas. The lamb had its natural gaminess but it complimented the chili colorado sauce quite nicely.


5. Tres leches - Forgot to take notes and forgot to take a picture before digging in. Sometimes, we never learn. I guess it was pretty good. Probably not a great dessert, as if it were, there's likely be nothing left before we took this picture.

With high hopes and anticipation for Red O, we came out of there thinking it was just "OK". A place worth trying but not really worth returning to. If this is the quality of the food at Chef Bayless' flagship restaurants in Chicago, we're going to be sorely disappointed. The highlights of the meal were actually things that we didn't order for ourselves. The shrimp dish that Joey ordered had a fantastic flavor. And Ed's goat cheese tamale and short rib sope were superior to the versions we ordered. So perhaps the food in general isn't mediocre, it's likely we just didn't order the right things. But even then, it's not likely we'll be returning anytime soon, unless a BBE coupon is on the horizon.