//Epicurean Epiphanies

The Tasting Kitchen Philosophy

Last night, we had the Chefs Menu at the Tasting Kitchen. The Tasting Kitchen is a concept kitchen along Abbot Kinney in Venice, California where the menu is changed daily, and numbered accordingly. We had menu #774, which approximates to about two years of experimentation.

Roast Chicken is, in this writers opinion, the wonderbread of entrees: never offensive, but never spectacular.

The chef, Casey Lane, proved otherwise.

Serving half a roast chicken with a blackened cabbage-like vegetable. This dish was all about simple, plain ingredients transformed through immaculate technique and plated without any fancy frills. Charred bits of the vegetable added heft, and left bits of crunch and texture to play against the smooth slipperiness of the rest of the leaf. The chicken itself was from another planet. The meat was moist and had a consistent softness through its entire section, and the skin was thin and crisp but still moist - when held up by finger, it held its own structure.

The simple flavour profile let the taste of the meat take center.  I really enjoyed the dignity of it, and the thought that one could, if practiced enough, access a dish like this at home too.

Other Notables:
_Dessert had an olive oil ice cream: it was full-flavoured, but without the usual heaviness of a full-cream ice cream. It was refreshing without being wimpy like sorbets. I will remember this fondly.
_Pork Rillette: I heart good rillette - smooth, chunky textures that yield ever so gently against the tongue.


*In othernews, I am currently in love with Bob Ghandi: Ratatat playing opposites off each other: low running primal beat with angel strings. It is the audio painting of a panther running through an African meadow.