New York City is my affair, my mistress, my lover, and Los Angeles is the love of my life.
An LA girl at heart, I have been to NYC at least once a year to enjoy not only the atmosphere, but also the 5-star restaurants and the hot dog vendors on the street, who sometimes oh-so-kindly cut me a slice of the lamb rotisserie to top the hot dog. Heaven.
Since I left Los Angeles after college, I didn't get a considerable amount of time to explore the finer restaurants in LA, so I didn't know they existed. Yes, I had been the the generic Beverly Hills restaurants--the Lawry's and Porterhouse Bistros and Stinking Roses of the world--but I hadn't been to any restaurants which compared to New York's fine gourmet dining.
....Until I went to Maison Akira.
Maison Akira, located in Pasadena, CA, is home to Chef Akira, a chef who combines French and Japanese influence into dishes that pay stunning attention to detail, play on the senses, and touch the most complementary parts of the pallate. In short, the meal was orgasmic.DD and I opted for the 9-course tasting menu, which encompassed almost every prized dish on the menu. The chef paid such amazing attention to detail that he even interspersed small servings of raspberry sorbet to cleanse the pallate after a fish dish!
It was after this inspired meal that my man and I decided it would be a failure NOT to get what they called the "Hollywood Bowl Bento Boxes" for our recent excursion to the Hollywood Bowl. These boxes of brilliance were designed to bring to the classiest picnic you ever had at the Hollywood Bowl, before going into the show. Needless to say, this meal continued to excite and awe, and was nothing short of brilliant.
The menu:
- Soba Pasta Salad
- Shrimp Cocktail
- House Smoked Duck Breast
- House Smoked Salmon
- French Cheese
- Salami & Garlic Sausage
- Ratatouille Nicoise
- Assorted Vegetables
- Bread, Butter and all necessary utensils
Main Course:
Miso Marinated Chilean Sea Bass & Grilled Sliced Chicken Breast
Or
Miso Marinated Chilean Sea Bass & Kobe Steak (add $8.00)
Dessert:
Apple Tart with Caramel Sauce
The price? A mere $25. Can I buy this for a regular dinner without the Hollywood Bowl?
Every single thing that the chef prepared was delicious, and DD and I only left the steamed vegetables and the bread behind, since we knew the chef didn't do anything special to them. Every item was a crescendo, leading to the next item, which was even more explosive. The finishers, the kobe steak and the sea bass, were beyond words. Needless to say, the meal was eaten in silence, with occasional sounds of contentment.
I confess, Maison Akira rivaled Gramercy Tavern and Jean-Georges. New York, something tells me LA is about to give you a run for your money.
Maison Akira
713 E Green Street, Pasadena, CA
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