Jer-Ne

I hadn't been disappointed in a restaurant in awhile. I guess I was overdue. After eagerly anticipating DineLA as an opportunity to eat at fine restaurants for reasonable prices, I decided to go with my Twin to Jer-Ne, a blind stab in the dark based on what sounded like a good menu. What I got instead was food that attempted to be "fusion" and eclectic and modern, and instead ended up being cooked oddly, tasting slightly "off", all while sitting in a freezing cold restaurant.

I fought the butternut squash movement for awhile, first scorning the notion of an orange vegetable puree being a cold soup... New York changed that with Gramercy Tavern serving what to this day is still one of the best butternut squash soups I've ever had. So I've been adventurously daring in ordering the butternut squash soup, in hopes that it would replicate the greatness of the Gramercy Tavern experience. Jer-Ne fell miserably short. The butternut squash soup (butternut squash, Frangelico, pumpkin oil) was so bland and slightly bitter that I ended up adding tons of pepper in hopes that it would save it. It did not. The bitterness actually overwhelmed the pepper, creating this very sad aftertaste in my mouth that hardly felt like what I was paying for. I happen to love Frangelico, and theoretically, it should have made the butternut squash a little sweeter, but perhaps the pumpkin oil just overwhelmed it.

For the meal, I ordered a Chilean sea bass, also a favorite of mine. Usually the fish is so tender you don't even need a butter knife, but this time it was seared on one side and soft throughout. The only problem was, it was over-seared. In other words, the bottom of the fish was hard to prod through, even with a knife, and the rest was too soft. It had quite an odd texture to it, too divergent, and I couldn't deal with it.

The dessert was hardly better, with pumpkin creme brulee and maple walnut ice cream. In my general order of preference, I would usually pick the creme over the maple walnut, but this time I enjoyed picking at the walnuts more than I enjoyed the creme brulee. The creme was almost too crispy, and again there was something slightly off about the flavor... Almost as if it lacked sweetness. It was odd, coming from a dessert to lack sweetness, but I suppose it may have also been part of the theme of autumn and dreariness.

Overall, nothing to write home about, though presentation was awarded a few points. Next time I suppose we'll have to gun for something in the Beverly area, since I'm having more and more orgasmic meals from there than anywhere else in the LA area.

Jer-Ne Restaurant + Bar

4375 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey, CA 90292 - (310) 823-1700

http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/MarinadelRey/Dining/Jer-NeRestaurantBar/Default.htm