Gordon Ramsay at the London

The "celebrity chef" has become a polarizing figure. There are many who criticize them for their prominence without having paid their dues while plenty of others flock to eateries simply due to a celebrity chef's affiliation. We tend to be somewhere in the middle. It's hard to criticize someone like Gordon Ramsay for not having paid his dues as he's been awarded 12 Michelin stars for his restaurants around the world. Having been fascinated with his television personality for a few years now, we decided to try his restaurant at the London in West Hollywood a couple years back during Restaurant Week. After having done so, we'd felt that his celebrity had outpaced his "chef-ity", as we were very disappointed with the food.

Chef Ramsay later sold the restaurant in early 2009 while continuing to lend his name to the eatery. So a few years had passed and a Blackboard Eats came out offering 30% off the entire meal, including beverages. We felt it was time to give Chef Ramsay's namesake at The London another shot. For this meal, we decided on the "make-your-own" five course pre-fix. The two of us selected different entrees and appetizers so we could taste as many items as possible. The great thing was that we were allowed to design our meal using two menus, the Boxwood Cafe lunch menu (also by Gordan Ramsay) and the Gordon Ramsay at the London dinner menu.

1. Appetizer 1 - Bacon and Egg, carmelized sea scallop, curried lentils - Seared scallop with a braised pork belly. A heavier course than your typical appetizer. The scallop was slightly overcooked but still tasty. The pork belly was hearty, full-flavored but not quite as tender as expected. The quail egg was a bit excessive. Braised pork belly is already rich enough.

2. Appetizer 2: Foie Gras Terrine Toasted Brioche, yuzu marmalade - Always a killer combination: crunchy and buttery brioche with a liver terrine accompanied by a sweet and citrus-y condiment. Yummy!

3. Appetizer 3: Miso Glazed Sablefish, swiss chard, sweet turnips - Very similar to sea bass. The flesh was soft, flaky and mild-flavored, which provides a great stage for the sweet miso glaze. It was also nice to have some substantial greens to eat with the fish.

4. Appetizer 4: Kingfish Crudo, pomegranate, cucumber sorbet, breakfast radish - The cucumber sorbet was a nice palate cleanser. My only complaint was that the fish was sitting in a river of pomegranate sauce. The sauce was thin and watery, without much taste. It was also splashing around the plate a lot - definitely an accident waiting to happen if the waiter wasn't paying attention to his grip. The dish could have done without the sauce.

5. Main dish #1: Liberty Farms Duck Breast, huckleberry, pine Nut Cassoulet, foie gras Brûlée - One of the better duck preparations we've had. Liberty Farms sure knows how to raise their fowl! Although we'd preferred the breast to be cooked a little more throughout. The foie was unnecessary, but still welcomed. This was one of the few duck dishes that didn't leave me wishing for some Asian-style Peking duck.

6. Main dish #2: Prime Rib-eye Steak, garlic herb crust, green asparagus, smoked tomato - Not the best cut of meat when compared to top-tiered steakhouses, but the garlic herb crust was very tasty.

7. Artisan cheese plate - Two cheeses with raisin bread and honey. The Spanish goat cheese really stood out. Great flavor - if we could only remember the name!

8. Macaron (not pictured) - They gave me two small plastic tubes of macarons, 4 in each.

9. Chocolate Cylinder, burnt marshmallow, caramelized banana, salted peanuts - Flavors were reminiscent of a peanut butter cup. Burnt marshmallows are always a favorite. A nice way to end a meal - super yummy!

Quite an 180 from our last visit. Of the ten courses we shared, there really wasn't one that was a disappointment. A very solid meal from start to finish. The five-course tasting is reasonably priced at $65 and with our BBE included, this meal was a steal. Hard to say if the change was a direct result of Chef Ramsey's absence, but the food is definitely tastier. Second chances do pay off!