Melisse is one of those restaurants in Los Angeles that was on my must-eat list along with Urasawa and Providence. Los Angeles has relatively very few fine dining restaurants that I’ve enjoyed, so I have very high expectations for this particular occasion. I’m hoping I won’t be disappointed as I also wanted to show my mum what kind of foods I’ve been eating outside of the valley. Fox W, a well known Foodspotter, also joined me for this and provided pictures.

Earlier this week, I reviewed the Ink tasting menu that appeared approximately 2 months after open. Today I went to Ink again to sample his food again. I will be blunt and say tonight was by far the BEST LA expensive food that I’ve had. Let’s get straight to what was on the menu.

Note for 2022 migration: this is an old post from my other defunct blog. On this night, Michael Voltaggio was helming the meat station, so my friend and I were in awe that he touched our beef course. I vividly remember that the course was sublime, and if this was the future of the LA food scene, I was super excited to see this restaurant’s future and contribution. Unfortunately and understandably, this restaurant closed in 2017 because he had outgrew it.

In preparation for my second visit to Ink, I’ve finally got off my ass to review and post my original Ink experience. If you don’t know already, this is Michael Voltaggio’s first restaurant that he opened up here in West Hollywood. It’s his take on modern LA cuisine. I was looking forward to try some of his creations, so let’s see what it’s all about.

Note for 2022 migration: this is an old post from my other defunct blog. I recall molecular gastronomy being a very hot thing at this time, and after watching the Voltaggio brothers compete on Top Chef, I was super excited to try out this restaurant. On this night, I remember seeing him directing traffic in his kitchen.

The SAAM at Bazaar by Jose Andres is well known for its take on molecular gastronomy. It’s located in the SLS Hotel off of La Cienega near West Hollywood. It’s filled with your typical pretentious and superficial Hollywood crowds. If you can get past that, there are 2 restaurants here of note: the regular restaurant where you can order tapas and the SAAM restaurant where it’s a 22 course prix fix taster. Since I’m more than likely to not go to the same high end restaurant again, I decided to go big.