I know full well that I can be “old-school” when it come to restaurant practices. There was a lot of controversy over Kahn’s/Ellis’ actions. Some lauded it, some (like me) thought it was just uncalled for. The truth is that Virbilia has some limitations. Most critics do. But if your food’s good, just serve it. In the case of an LA Times review, even lackluster reviews garner restaurants traffic. How about asking her if she even plans on conducting a review before booting her? Then to take the photo and out her publicly just seemed like a “look at me” thing to do.
It really wasn’t a surprise when they later went to Twitter and publicly shamed some no-shows by including their names in posts. It didn’t go over well when one of the named revealed that there had been a death in the family that day. No shows are a bummer, but every place has them. If you want, disclose a fee, but naming people on Twitter seems snotty to me.
Some of the dishes at Red Med. were great. At times there were misses and IMO they reflected a bit of pretentiousness in the construction. Listening to the mingling of food and architecture angle of the new spot would make me question the same. I also felt that the service at Red Medicine was just ok. Granted, it was not ultra-fancy, but they had better step up that game if $250 per person is going to fly. Jonathan Gold like Kahn, so I bet they get a very early review.
Ultra-expensive is a tough sell in L.A., moreso than NY or Chicago. But I definitely years for some more “fancy” spots. I’m over the “order it all and it will come out when we feel like it” trend. I would also like to see a return to larger tables with tablecloths and comfortable chairs and less noise. I won’t hold my breathe, and Kahn’s place won’t be that but I hope in general we see a return of a few places practicing what used to be considered fine service and environment.
The ironic thing is that Jonathan Gold is one of the very non anonymous reviewers so I wonder if he will be shown the door.
I agree with the majority of John’s comments since they are about dining and not baseball. The idea of a $250.00 tasting menu seems like a real stretch in LA. Is that out the door or is there tax and tip on top of it? How about wine? Great list? Corkage? This could easily end up as close to a $1,000.00 dinner. Definitely out of my comfort range. For restaurants to really survive, you would need “regulars” and not one time tourists or “foodies.” We shall see, but personally, I don’t give it much of a shelf life.
Thanks for the perspective. Didn’t know that Kahn was the guy who did that to Irene Virbila – I think it was a dick move personally and makes me even less inclined to patronize his restaurants given his evident attitude. He may have worked in some good places and have a good pedigree, but it’s obvious that he has some ego, and it’s pretty distasteful. I wasn’t reading the LA Times when Irene Virbila was reviewing restaurants, but I did catch her last year or two when she did the weekly wine column and also contributed exploratory neighborhood features (e.g., I think Culver City was one). I really enjoyed reading her wine column, she was pretty ecumenical and even featured Costco wines which was fun, and I miss reading her, and Russ Parsons. They were both deeply knowledgeable and deeply rooted in the LA food/wine scene, and it’s different now – the Food section is mainly Jonathan Gold with random restaurant gossip here and there from Jenn Harris, and only the occasional column by Patrick Comiskey, who I wish could contribute more.
Wondering whether I should go to Jitlada or Night+Market WeHo pretheater. Love Jitlada and it’s closer but have been wondering about the other for a while (never been)
Night + Market Song in Silver Lake is currently my favorite Thai restaurant in Los Angeles; I haven’t been to Night + Market in West Hollywood for a long time, though. It’s Night + Market Song that has gotten all of the recent publicity, so you might be confusing the two.
Having two teenage kids, I don’t eat out nearly as much as I use to. That said we visited LA this past May and ate at Cassia. We had an enjoyable Mel, but I wouldn’t b rushing back. IMHO there are a bunch of restaurants in LA that I find more enjoyable and certainly more fun.
Most of the meal at Night and Market Song was excellent, but a couple of entrees were duds. (Wound up with extra entrees as when one wasn’t to my liking, I had it made to go and ordered another). Wish they had seafood, and more chicken dishes. But several of the dishes were outstanding.
I had Republique last week. Food, service and wine list were exceptional. I thought their food was overpriced. Very small portions, especially for their non-meat dishes. Spent around $150 per person not including wine. For that price I expected better.
The meats at republique are quite pricey. The best values are the tarte alsacenne when they have it and the pan drippings (great idea) foie gras, pastas, and chocolate cake. Wine list is exceptional.
Your review is pretty much everyone’s review. Except you forgot to add how slow food comes out. But they’ll keep charging what they are charging as they have a packed house every night.
From the restaurant’s perspective, vegetables are often double the cost of pork or chicken. If you’re going to be living that healthy LA lifestyle, you’re going to have to pay.
It just depends what you order. I eat there at least once a month and often much more often than that and rarely spend $150/pp even with wine. Usually $60-70pp and you can eat and drink very well, $100/pp with nice wine.
![[rofl.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/a/a7452fcd8e675af869f8da01174474a545b03944.gif "rofl"){kind=small}
since they are about dining and not baseball. The idea of a $250.00 tasting menu seems like a real stretch in LA. Is that out the door or is there tax and tip on top of it? How about wine? Great list? Corkage? This could easily end up as close to a $1,000.00 dinner. Definitely out of my comfort range. ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
For restaurants to really survive, you would need “regulars” and not one time tourists or “foodies.” We shall see, but personally, I don’t give it much of a shelf life.![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}