ShopEatSleep

This is the first post by ShopEatSleep contributor Shirley Lau, a proud native of Los Angeles who loves all things food and travel. She’s eaten at some of the swankiest restaurants in the world and — thanks to her stomach of steel — at some of the grimiest street-side food stalls. Her passion to see the world has taken her to more than 20 states and 18 countries. A seasoned communications professional, Shirley is a freelance writer and editor who, when not gorging on food and jetting off on a plane, loves to spend time with her two dogs.

Pork belly adobo at Bashan Restaurant

Every year, my husband and I approach dineL.A. Restaurant Week with enthusiasm and caution. We’ve had our share of great experiences — my favorite by far was Spago — and several not-so-memorable ones (and that’s putting it nicely). Bashan Restaurant in Montrose/North Glendale falls somewhere in the middle.

At first glance, Bashan Restaurant may look a bit out of place. Located on Verdugo Road, the restaurant seems to be one of the only sit-down eateries along that stretch. And when you add fine dining to the mix, it becomes even more of a head-scratcher.

But this fine dining establishment is different from the rest — it’s casual. It’s the kind of place you can go in flip-flops and jeans and feel perfectly comfortable. The brainchild of Chef Nadav Bashan, whose impressive resume includes working at Michael’s in Santa Monica and Providence, the restaurant offers a menu that is both seasonal and farmers market-driven. Infusing California, Mediterranean and Asian practices, Bashan Restaurant incorporates classic French technique in all its preparations.

We arrive 10 minutes before opening and find two groups already waiting ahead of us. Good thing we made a reservation because the intimate restaurant — with just a handful of tables — filled up fairly quickly. The décor is minimalistic, with driftwood and a mirror adorning its walls. I suppose they want all the attention to go to the food.

Both my hubby and I ordered off the dineL.A. menu and opted for the wine pairing. While waiting for our food, we were offered a choice between sourdough and olive bread. Now, I’m a bit of a bread snob. A lot of times for me, the complimentary bread sets the pace for the evening. The bread at Bashan was underwhelming at first bite. It was way too hot — a telltale sign that the bread was reheated and not freshly baked — and way too doughy. But within a few minutes, the sourdough had vanished off of my plate. Go figure.

Our waiter started us off with an amuse bouche: mango mousse topped with cucumber, ikura (salmon roe) and micro cilantro. The sweet and salty combo always wins in my book, but it needed a tad more of the sweet.

Mango amuse bouche

Next came the appetizers. My husband got the royal hamachi sashimi and I opted for the pork belly “adobo.” The sashimi wasn’t the freshest I’ve ever had but it was more than decent. The fish came with pickled white buna-shimeji mushrooms, scallion, radish, wasabi caviar and ponzu sauce. The crunchiness of the scallion and radish, combined with the chewiness of the mushrooms and caviar made for an exciting dish.

Hamachi

The pork belly (pictured above), which seems to be one of the more popular dishes on the menu, was perfectly tender and seasoned. Not a classic adobo, the pork belly came atop a bed of sugar snap peas, buna-shimeji mushrooms and pineapple. A garlic cracker and red jalapeño coulis completed the savory dish.

Grilled skirt steak was our entrée of choice. Both of our steaks came out slightly overcooked; I asked for medium rare and got medium. My hubby asked for rare and got something between medium rare and rare. Surprisingly, the meat was still tender. White cannellini bean ragout, salsa verde, sweet 100 tomatoes, Anaheim chiles, plantain chips, chipotle puree and a poached egg helped to balance out the saltiness of the meat.

Grilled skirt steak

Rounding out our decadent meal was dessert. I got the brioche chocolate bread pudding with chocolate sauce, cocoa nibs and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. My hubby got the buttermilk panna cotta with pomegranate granita, kalamata olive caramel and puff pastry biscuits. The chocolate bread budding tasted like a really delicious brownie — it wasn’t overly sweet or overly saturated with chocolate. Factor in the vanilla ice cream and the dish was golden.

Chocolate bread pudding

The panna cotta was probably my favorite dish of the night, which is a surprise given my apathy toward the Italian dessert. The use of buttermilk gave the panna cotta a creamier consistency, rather than its usual gelatin texture, and the granita added a dash of tanginess that helped to break up the richness of the dish. I think it’s safe to say both desserts were the stars of the meal.

Panna cotta