Test Kitchen may likely be trailblazing the next evolution in the LA dining scene. The idea behind the place is to provide visiting chefs a place for them to experiment and test new ideas and concepts, whether it be for the sake of experimentation itself or for implementation in a future restaurant venture. Each guest chef's tenure within the Kitchen only lasts a few days, so every dinner served there can be considered a limited engagement. The concept makes a lot of sense. Food, at least good food, is certainly more than meeting the physical need of hunger, but provides each of us an experience. It goes to reason then, that the Test Kitchen concept is a successful one. Limit the supply of the number of dinners to be served by each chef, so diners feel a sense of exclusivity with each meal.
Test Kitchen tended to keep their guest chef lineup a well kept secret. They allowed reservations to be made prior to the annoucement of the guest chef. Due to the caliber of the guest chefs, once they were named, reservations were snatched up quickly. So, on a whim, we made our reservations before the annoucement of our chef. If it turned out to be someone we didn't care for, we could always cancel. But when "Jordan Kahn" was identfied as the guest chef, we were absolutely thrilled!
Chef Kahn is one of the few chefs we've learned about without the help of television. This was a man that seemed to be born a chef. He started his career at French Laundry at the age of 17. He followed this with helping Thomas Keller open his New York flagship, Per Se. He then went on to stints at Alinea, Michael Mina (SF) and XIV. And we're eagerly anticipating the opening of Red Medicine, his newest Vietnamese-inspired venture with Umami burger guru, Adam Fleischman. Quite a resume.
In conformity with his Red Medicine concept, Chef Kahn prepared a classic Vietnamese meal of bo 7 mon.
Seven Courses of Wagu Beef
2. ONGLET (hanger) tartare - mustard leaves, chili paste, herbs - We've had steak tartar numerous times before. But never from the hanger cut of meat. The protein is a little chewier than typical tartars. Definitely a different "mouth feel" (quoting Gale Simmons). The mustard leaves provided a nice earthy, bittery balance. While the chili paste (home made Siracha?) gave this a nice bit of heat.
3. ENTRECÔTE (strip) - ogen melon, chlorophyll, fines herbs, fried shallot, lime - Probably the least successful dish of the night. You never expect strip steak to be as tender as filet mignon but even this piece took more than the expected amount of mastication. Flavor profiles were somewhat similar to that of the beef tongue, flavor was secondary as it was tough to get over the toughness of the meat. Its temperature seemed right, but some fiberous tissue kept getting in the way.
4. OS À MOELLE (marrow) - beef cheek ragout, rice powder, chicories, nuoc cham, onion pickles - Deep fried marrow. Suprised this hasn't shown up at the county fair. The ragout was nice. Beef cheeks are always tender and one of my favorite cuts. The marrow was captured inside a dense crunchy doughball. We appreciated the sophistication it took to execute this dish, but the texture of the hard crusted dough was not very appealing.
5. CALOTTE DE BOEUF (ribeye) - lemongrass-brown butter, pickles, herbs, nuoc cham, lettuce, rice cake - A much better version of "steak" when compared to the strip two courses earlier. This was accompanied with lettuce, used to wrap the meat, along with a variety of Vietnamese veggies. This then, veggie/meat taco, is dipped in some nuoc cham and enjoyed. The vegetables were extremely fresh, all had a nice fresh crispness when bit into. A well-rounded dish.
6. POITRINE (brisket) - Vietnamese caramel, green peanuts, flowering brassica - D's rarely a fan of braised meats. But she liked this one. It was the lack of heavy-handedness with the braising sauce. This version was a little lighter and has a subtle sweetness. The beef was very tender. Only a fork was required to pull this lump apart. The peanuts, again, added a bit of aroma and texture.
7. PHO CONSOMMÉ - espelette, coriander - Weird. This was suppose to be Chef Kahn's "essence of pho". All the elements of the traditional Vietnamese beef noodle dish, without the beef or the noodles. Although the soup was quite flavorful, it was a bit oily. Felt a bit odd coming at the end of the meal as well. After eating six courses of beef, drinking a bowl of hot oily soup isn't the best way to finish a meal.
8. LIME SABAYON - cucumber, jasmine, cashew, hyssop - An interesting and complex dessert. This had a lot of flavors and textures intermingled. The cream at the bottom was incredibly lemon-y. Its the "opens your eyes" bit of acid. However, the cucumber whip was a nice touch to temper the mouth pucker. Shortbread and crumble both provided a nice textural compliment. A nice way to finish off a heavy meal.
Chef Kahn had a very interesting take on a traditional Vietnamese meal. His talents can be seen throughout his dishes. There was a high level of execution along with a bit of creativity, all the way staying true to the essence of the meal. Although there were some low points (stringy meat and oily soup), the meal overall was a success. All of which makes us all the more excited to try his other dishes at Red Medicine when it opens its doors.