Yes, this is another post on something Top Chef. Sorry, can’t help myself. I’d been reading (like maaaannnnny others) about Michael Voltaggio’s long anticipated restaurant, ink. since last year.
ink. is located on Melrose in West Hollywood, just a few steps from its casual sandwich shop sibling, ink.sack. Faintly lit and somewhat hidden behind a metal gate on the corner of Kings Road, the restaurant is only really identifiable by the valet parking sign out on the sidewalk. Inside, you are immediately hit by the only substantive source of light coming from the Josie-esque open kitchen. The chef himself bobbing in and out of sight, looking focused as hell. Minimalistic tables and chairs. Also, I just want to mention that I don’t think Michael Voltaggio believes in light. Maybe he purposefully set up his establishment to spite people taking pictures of his food, in which case, the joke’s on me. I just had such a difficult time getting good shots.
Among the four of us, we ended up ordering almost everything on the menu. The portions seemed small at first, and we were starting to get flashbacks of our experience at Son of a Gun, but they got bigger as dinner progressed.
1. dungeness crab . smoked mayo . bok choy “kimchi”: Crab was a bit flaky, wished the kimchi had more of a kick to it, but all in all was good.
2. young turnips . radishes . coffee-cardamom soil . nasturtium . frozen yogurt: Cardamom was very pronounced. Frozen yogurt was good – tasted like goat cheese. I was like “WTF is nasturtium??” Looked it up. It’s the name of the “flower” in the dish, except it’s not a flower. It’s a type of watercress. Definitely an interesting dish.
3. hamachi . parsnip-sesame cream . grapefruit . jalapeno: We were actually so close to not getting this dish, because “all hamachi dishes are the same”. Dayam we were so wrong. I LOOOVED IT! I was extremely surprised at how well the components went together. One humble piece of advice though – have the hamachi WITH the sesame cake. It’s crazy.
4. spaghetti . giant squid . squash . hazelnut . ink pesto . piment d’espelette: I’m sure everyone knows this by now, by the ”spaghetti” is actually squid strips, not pasta. Good, but something was missing. Can’t really pinpoint what it was though.
5. sea bass . lemon . caper . brown butter . romanesco . black olive oil . anchovy: Solid dish. Very good.
6. bay scallops . cream of dehydrated potato . potato skins . buttermilk-shellfish broth: A friend commented on the cream of dehydrated potato – “Isn’t that just mashed potato made from the potato flakes?”. Haaaaaaha. But the dish was good, especially the potato skins.
7. octopus . butter popcorn . piquillo pepper . spinach: If you are looking for the butter popcorn in the picture, it is the base of the dish (that mushy part). Solid dish.
8. halibut cheeks . red pepper dashi . shishito peppers . kelp pasta: Can we talk about how AWESOME this dish was? Taste-wise, it was one of the best of the night. The sauce was so good. The kelp pasta was so cool.
9. beef tartare . horseradish . hearts of palm . sea bean chimichurri: This is a horseradish lover’s dream. You basically press on the ingredients with the back of your spoon to fuse it all together before eating. I am not a huge fan of horseradish, but I definitely appreciated the dish.
10. quail . banana polenta . beet juice . sorrel salad: OMGGGGGGG BANANA POLENNTTTTAAA. Hands down the best thing that entered my mouth this entire dinner. Apparently, MVolt had served this when he was at the Langham. This should be served on its own.
11. seaweed mashed potatoes . sea grass . sea beans: Mashed potatoes with a seaweed aftertaste. I think it would have been better served with the quail. Seriously. The banana polenta should have been the standalone dish.
12. berkshire pork tenderloin . charcoal crust . macaroni and cheese . leeks: Sauce was smoky and amazing. Pork was perfectly prepared. Pasta was good too. Great dish.
13. veal cheek . red curry . nante carrots baked in salt . fried sticky rice: I loved this dish. The veal cheek was good, and I’m such a sucker for anything sticky rice.
14. wagyu hanger steak . ras el hanout yogurt . black garlic . mushroom chicharron: The chicharron was the highlight of this dish – wished there were more on the plate! (Apparently ras el hanout is a Morrocan spice blend.)
15. grapefruit curd . avocado . cilantro sorbet . charred maple-lime: Really good dish, cool flavors. The cilantro sorbet was interesting and very sweet in a good way. The grapefruit curd was so yummy. My favorite dessert of the three.
16. chocolate . coffee . spice: My least favorite of the three desserts but it was still good. Basically a coffee/chocolate dippin-dots-esque dish. Look at the cold steam!
17. apple . creme caramel . burnt wood sabayon . walnut: REALLY good. Reminiscent of an apple tart, with creme caramel meringue and a light custard at the bottom, surrounded with syrupy apple balls.
I am definitely going back for the omakase!
ink.
8360 melrose avenue
los angeles, ca 90069
(323) 651-5866
open tuesdays-thursdays 6pm-11pm & fridays-saturdays 6pm-12am (closed mondays & sundays)
reservations
just wanted to say, great blog — good photos, nice recaps of the meals. was looking at restaurants in LA for an upcoming trip and saw your yelp profile, and then this blog… thanks for sharing your experiences. keep it up!
Hi there! Thanks so much for your kind words. You have, in all sincerity, made my day. Hope you have a great time in LA – you should try Animal if you’re an adventurous meat eater. Bar Marmont for a good, juicy burger. Def. also try hole in the wall Mexican places too!