The Bazaar by José Andres

Goddamnit José Andrés, it's unfair that you should be able to open up a 4 star contemporary tapas style restaurant at the SLS hotel and deprive me, so long, of it's goodness. No matter, I have sought you out and forgiven you for your jilted oversight.

The Bazaar certainly lived up to all of it's hype. I mean, all of it. From the service, to the décor, down to the last sea salted morsel. With a 6 page menu, a delightful selection of sweet alcoholic beverages (of those, SANGRIA), and little bite sized tastings of each dish? José, I'm pretty sure you had Tiffany Chen in mind when you opened this place up, because. . .this is my kind of dining. My taste buds were in heaven, and my wallet was in hell, but you win & you lose some, as the old aphorism goes.

Enough talk, let's see some photos.
As much as I might have embarrassed my dining companions with my transformer-of-a-camera, I'm sure they're grateful for some documentation of the concoctions that have already passed through their systems. I know I could have phrased that in a better way, but whatever, you're not reading this anyway.

The happy couple.

Pretty lady.

"Not your everyday Caprese"
Cherry tomatoes & Liquid mozzerella
True to it's titular claim, this dish was authentic despite it's homely appearance, our entire table was making audible groans and scraping the dish clean with our spoons, this was that good.

King Crab
Raspberries & Raspberry vinegar
Not too thrilled about this flavor profile, but I could see how this can be appealing to some people. Not to me though...

Tortilla de patatas "new way"
Egg 63, caramelized onions, and potato foam
Loved the presentation of this one. Of course, I'm a sucker for anything miniature, what can I say? From puppies to food. And this came with a miniature spoon. Taste-wise, I wasn't blown away, but it was an interesting combination of flavors. There wasn't much to distinguish in terms of textures, but it was creamy, sweet, and light.

Pa'amb tomaquet
Catalan-style toasted bread, tomatoes, and Manchego cheese
I love me a good Manchego. With such an exotic name, I expected more both out of the presentation and the taste of this one, but it flopped. . . like a dead baby.

Watermelon "Nigiri"
Yellowtail, watermelon, jalapeno, red wine, soy, wasabi
Chicco was disappointed in this one, but I rather enjoyed it because my expectations were not as high. The watermelon was a surprising component and I loved the light airiness. It just tasted like spring by the sea in my mouth.

Sea Urchin steamed buns with avocado
Mike's choice. They were raving about it, but I wasn't too crazy about the mushiness. Perhaps it may have been better with a toasted crust... a different bread, and not the steamed bun. I don't know, but it didn't sit well with me.

Sautéed Shrimp
Garlic, Guindilla pepper, almonds
DROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL. Perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned, perfectly perfect.

Seared Scallops
Romesco sauce
I'm the scallop girl. Courtney thought these were too salty. I was fine with it, but nothing spectacular to say, however it was cooked properly :)

Japanese Taco
Grilled eel, shiso, cucumber, wasabi, chicharron
Very interesting. Wanted a bigger portion.

Braised Wagyu beef cheeks with clementines
I didn't taste much of this, but the table's consensus was that the portions were too large for such a buttery meat. They would have done well to cut it in half!

Baby Japanese peaches with kiwi, greek yogurt, and zataar
Light, sweet, sour, and delightful. Playful notes in my mouth made this a nice final touch.

But we didn't want it to be over, so we ordered cotton candy fois gras.
It wasn't...much like we expected.
But, at least we tried it...?

Reinvented Philly cheese steak.
The cheese was on the inside, and oozed out when you took a bite!
I didn't have any, but from the looks of everyone, it was delicious.

Mini fois gras sandwiches.
I DREAM ABOUT THESE BABIES.
THEY WERE HANDS DOWN THE BEST TAPAS OF THE NIGHT, CHOSEN BY YOURS TRULY.

Lamb loin, foraged mushrooms, creamy potato
Potatoes were good. Didn't eat the lamb.

Pretty darn happy.

NOW, for dessert! :)

José, even by hiring a French pastry chef, you cannot fool me. The desserts were "meh" compared to dinner. Don't you MEH me! We ordered a modern twist on the French "l'île flottante" and an apple crisp thingie. The puff on the left was a nitrogen coconut meringue with caramelized bananas and custard, while the left was saffron ice cream with an apple pastry.

Despite leaving full bellied, content, empty walleted, and honestly, a little happy from the Sangria, Courtney and I decided we needed to come back!


Fast forward to a week later.
Brunch at Tres: a section of Bazaar.
They offer a nice brunch buffet (not like Las Vegas status) for around $38 and also an a la carte menu, which we opted for, because a high class lunch means McDonald's for dinner.

We were seated by the "fireplace" on a couch with fuzzy pillows.
The atmosphere was a lot more relaxed, which I enjoyed, despite the service being a little shabby. I didn't mind, because it was a lethargic morning meal.

Free pastries for poor service. Ha.

Courtney's quail eggs over rice.
Interesting? Reminded me of my grams. :)

Eggs florentine with smoked salmon.
I could easily make this at home (well except for the foam), but it was delicious nonetheless.
How can you go wrong with smoked salmon and buttered toast?
That's right, you can't.



Thanks, Senor Andres.