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| Spago in the evening |
I closed out my first dineLA with a Friday night dinner at Spago, joined by Hua, Karthik and Brian. We arrived early for our 6pm reservation and, as such, spent some time waiting in the bar area while the restaurant finished setting up for dinner. Around 6, we were seated in the lovely courtyard, which has lights in the trees, candles, a sculpture, a water installation, and plenty of heat lamps. With four people, we were able to try pretty much the entire dineLA menu.
First, bread service: walnut bread, olive bread, white bread, and Parmesan lavash, all good:
Hua's cocktail (the components of which I don't remember, but it was both tasty and strong):
Tuna tartare cones, one of Spago's signatures:
Dungeness crab cannelloni:
Arctic char gravlax (with creme fraiche, a quail egg, and blini):
Pumpkin soup:
Sweet corn agnolotti, another Spago signature:
Duck breast with butternut squash puree:
Halibut with an accompaniment involving shrimp and crispness (memory is clearly a bit fuzzy here):
Lime cheesecake:
Apple vol au vent:
Medjool date sticky toffee pudding:
The main courses and desserts were all excellent, but the appetizers and agnolotti were really "wow"-inducing. With the service being polished, warm, and well-paced, and the setting elegant, it was a beautiful meal all-around. It goes without saying that we'd love to return!
