A penny for your tapas?

My eyes dart from perfectly stacked books to flat screens projecting portraits of Tudor kings. I pause to stare at glass cases where oddities from an encrusted, oyster-shucking glove to a miniature Titanic replica rest. I was unsure if I had just entered Ripley’s Believe It Or Not or my dinner destination. The Bazaar by José Andrés has created much excitement in the Los Angeles food scene for its delightful, unexpected tapas selections as well as its tactile, carnival-esque décor.

Andrés has attracted much attention during his culinary career through cookbooks, television appearances and accolades. Many credit the chef with bringing Spanish-style tapas to American diners. The Bazaar is his first restaurant outside Washington, D.C. His four other restaurants, Zaytinya, Oyamel, Jaleo and Café Atlantico, serve versions of tapas and mezze within the Beltway.

Previously enjoying his other restaurants, I had been eager to visit The Bazaar. I put on my highest high-heels, my tightest jeans and hippest top to enjoy the DineLA prix fixe menu. However, my efforts to achieve the effortless look of cool fell flat at the hostess stand. Even on a weeknight, I was made to wait thirty minutes past my reservation. If it was a ploy to weed out the uncool, but hungry crowds, they didn’t know they had met their match. My date and I were encouraged to wait at the bar until our table was ready, but our stomachs told us to hover until the hostess understood that we weren’t going to ignore our grumbling stomachs.

I finally leaned back in a white armchair, margarita with a sea salt foam top in hand, to peruse the menu. Maybe we seemed hipper sitting down, or maybe he understood our attempts at cool, regardless, the server was much more welcoming than the hostess. He had a strong interest to ensure we appreciated the inventive menu as much as he did. He explained the menu concept and how the restaurant provided a large value for the DineLA menu – I agree with him. I had waited to visit The Bazaar, because its tapas selection can sink any young professionals’ monthly budget. However, I found the restaurant week menu to be one of the few that provided a real experience of the restaurant by allowing the diner to choose three tapas from its regular menu as the entrée portion of the meal.

The food arrived as it was fired, similarly to what I had experienced at Andrés’ other restaurants. I ordered a smooth, watermelon-colored gazpacho that arrived first. The dishes then started to come out quickly allowing me to hop from different flavors, colors and textures. A manchengo cheese bread woke up my gazpacho-cooled taste buds. The perfectly cooked beef hanger steak with piquillo pepper confit melted into the Ottoman carrot fritters. Perhaps the most interesting plate was the “philly cheese steak” on air bread, unlike any sandwich I have ever eaten.

At the end of our gluttonous entrée course, our server informed us that we would now be escorted to the Patisserie for our desert course. I now had visited or been encouraged to visit all three portions of the restaurant. Whether this was a conscious decision to create a choreographed dining experience or to simply turn the tables faster, it seemed abrupt. While we received polite service from our waiter in the Patisserie, a bond had been created with our server as he led us through our meal. Shuttling us to another table broke the connections.

Even though we were displaced for desert, the flan made up for the injustice. My date and I savored the opportunity to visit The Bazaar. We are now starting a penny jar to fund our next visit – only 5,000 more to save.

The Bazaar by José Andrés
465 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90048
310-246-5567
www.thebazaar.com