The Dining Room

I visited "Volt" back in January to try Bryan Voltaggio (runner-up in "Top Chef")'s creations. His dishes were good and I started wonder how his bother, Michael Voltaggio, the winner of Top Chef Season 6, compares to Bryan. I had an opportunity to fly out to California and thought 'hmmm why don't I pay a visit to his restaurant and compare?'. So the journey and my comparison began.

The Dining Room is located inside the Langham Hotel at Pasadena, California. It is rated One Michelin Star and also received exceptional scores in the 2009 Zagat Los Angeles/Southern California Restaurant guide. It is described as new American cuisine using classic disciplin and modern trends. Chef Micheal also utilizes the seasonal produce that California offers. I couldn't take a good picture but the center of the dining room is decorated with different shaped wine decanters. Each bottle of wine is served in these wine decanters. It was beautiful to see these delicate pieces of art.

So I tried a Seven Course Prix-Fixe Menu.

Powdered Parfait of Bagels and Lox
Bagel, cream cheese, and salmon in pulverized form by dry ice. It reminded me of my visit to The Fat Duck, where molecular gastronomy was used by Heston Blumenthal. All the senses in your tongue could taste the bits of bagel, cream cheese, and little sweetness as the cold powder melts in your mouth. It was a great way to star your appetite.

Langoustine
White Asparagus, Tiny Eggs, Fried Calamari, Squid Ink
Asparagus cooked just about right and saltiness of fried calamari were accompanied by the yolk from the tiny egg which it brought the all flavors together. However, I thought that there are too many components in one dish.

Trouffle Brioche
served hot, very moist and hints of trouffles. It was good bread. It was served with Echire Butter from France, Goat Cheese Butter, and Butter from Vermont. Trouffle brioche tastes the best when eaten with the goat's milk butter. They were little cheap on the extra bread, somewhat similar to "Volt". Be sure to ask for more breads when you goto either "Volt" or "The Dining Room".

Foie Gras Terrine
Minus 8 Vinegar. Wild Rice, Wild Strawberries
I was little surprised to see this dish. It was almost identical to one of the dishes served at "Volt". However, this tasted little more like foie gras than the one at "Volt". Little tangy flavor from the wild rice brought out the taste of foie gras very well. This was very excellent.

Tasmanian Sea Trout
Hibiscus, Pink Peppercorn, Puffed Mushroom Cracker
Again, too much things going on... Sea trout was little too salty as I think it was slow cooked--rare, raw almost. The porcini crackers brought an earthy finish to the course. I guess the hibiscus air left me with ambivalent. Was it used to balance the saltiness of sea trout and bring harmony to the dish? hmmm. I had to rinse off my mouth with my wine couple times.

Seaweed Mashed Potatoes
This was served along with the fish course. Very tasty!

Pastrami Pigeon
Swiss Cheese, Sauerkraut, Rye
The meat was moist throughout and tasty. Nothing special...

Lamb Shoulder Confit
Tomato-Coconut, Chickpea Cake, Coffee Cardamom Soil, Blossom Leaf
Little too much going on. I would've liked more if it was just a simple lamb creation. Meat was cooked well and moist though.

Wagyu Beef Cheeks
Marrow Toast, English Pea Cluster
Meat was very tender yet savory with red wine sauce. Some might not like the texture if you never had Wagyu beef.

Peanut Butter and Jelly
Before the dessert, Voltaggio's version of Dippin' Dots was served. Globules of peanut butter and jelly frozen with liquid nitrogen. It was quite tasty with light and airy texture.

Choices of Desserts
Fools Gold
Chocolate, Salty Hazelnut Praline, Milk Sorbet
This dessert is quickly becoming his signature dessert so I had to try this over other desserts. A serpentine block of granache-like chocolate combined with the hazlelnut praline on top. The salt worked well with the sweet this time, unlike the fish dish from previous. The sorbet had a good contrast of cool and calm.

It was little disappointing at the end that I wasn't served with the mignardises. I wanted to try Chef's famous chocolate pop rocks lollipop and fruit candies wrapped in rice paper. It was definitely worth to try Chef's creations and see what is all the fuss about Michelin Star rated restaurant. There were quite of hit and misses in courses. However, I always believe that every day is not the same and there will always some misses on given day. After all, "Volt" was great but "The Dining Room" was little better with presentations, ideas, and tastes. I should revisit "Volt" again soon and reexamine it with Table 21.