It's summer time, so the topic is HOT - and not just the climate-control. Condé Nast's Traveler Magazine has chosen 80 of the hottest tables around the world, and not only does the US top that silly list with 23 restaurants, but LA has three of them. Good thing, otherwise I'd have to jet down to Brazil for some ai, caliente! Not that I mind Brazil. I just hate flying. Hate.
In LA, they are Geisha House, Meson G, and Patina. Now that makes me wonder about Condé Nast's criteria for what's hot and what's not. Of all the restaurants in LA, they chose Geisha House?!?! My experience at Geisha House was *eh* Certainly, the company was fabulous, and smooth cold sake is never bad, but the food was...so very so-so. Is it that Condé Nasty is simply about fashion over food-tion? I didn't think so, but maybe I was mistaken. The other two, Patina and Meson G - well duh, I haven't tried those yet, but if making it onto Condé Nasty's Hot List means they're anything like Geisha House, then... *sigh*
And it makes me wonder even more that Condé Nast only found two hot tables in San Francisco. Oh really? Only two? Bocadillos and Quince. Is it safe to assume that these restaurants are owned by celebrities and/or have about 3 million dollars invested in interior decor and/or have clientele who are just too precious to eat? LOL!
Oh, alright, Meson G is still on my To-Dine List. ;)
tags :: food : and drink : restaurants : reviews : los angeles
Anonymous says
Why all the hate on Geisha House? Are you just jealous because everyone else was prettier than you?
Rachael says
LOL. The only negative review I ever wrote was on Geisha House. That place makes my hair curl (come to think of it, on a bad hair day, I should pop by!), Meson G is super amazing fantastic though. Its really great. On the other hand, I could name about 45 other places I like more! LOL.
Rachael says
Whoa, wait, whoa. To anonymous: its a dreadful RESTAURANT, IE, the food is just not that great. Saying that about Sarah is just tacky. Shame, shame. Meanie. Have you been to Geisha House and had the food? Who cares what you look like. It hasnt got good food. Even they know that. Come on.
sarah says
anonymous: everyone else was prettier than me, how did you know?!?! but i wasn't jealous about that, for goodness' sake. no, i was pea green with envy that they actually went to the bathroom and threw up all their *eh* food, and i actually had to digest it.
*yikes!* did that nasty comment just type out of my fingers? LOL!
sarah says
anonymous: everyone else was prettier than me, how did you know?!?! but i wasn't jealous about that, for goodness' sake. no, i was pea green with envy that they actually went to the bathroom and threw up all their *eh* food, and i actually had to digest it.
*yikes!* did that nasty comment just type out of my fingers? LOL!
sarah says
oh yes, and the place is very aesthetically interesting - high on the sensory stimulation meter, with fireplace, tiny tv screens all over the back wall of the bar showing almost pornographic japanese movies, lots of noise, lots of eye candy. but like i said, the FOOD is just sooooo ridiculously *eh* (not inedible, just a horrible waste for such a pretty space)
Anonymous says
good post... thanks.
Kim
my articles: financial articles
LACheesemonger says
Oh I see, playful Sarah is at 'work' again today (pun? or reality :0 ...playing at work? ;-) ). Me thinks anonymous comment above is same mean person who wrote the crouching drunk, horny tiger post a few entries back???
Hey, Sarah wasn't even wearing her saucy tank *not that I have any real knowledge of the situation---shameless gratuitous flirting with eblog host* ;) that night, otherwise the guys at GH would have been all over her like a bear on honey. Umm, wait, that's was supposed to be a compliment; but somehow, me puts foot in mouth...again; strike one already, lol?
Meson G is what..."super amazing fantastic", like wittamer chocolates are tour de force, multi-orgasmic, moaning ecstasy?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/udaman/Wittamer-chocs.jpg
If I had the spending $$$, I'd go for Patina instead, cough up the big $$$, bring my own wines, call ahead of time, bring in the wines a week or two before, consult with the chef(s); and pay through the nose for a special meal designed to compliment the wines. You know, challenge the staff to inspiration or death by failure, hehe. That's how the high rollers do it.
Umm, can we get a independent 3rd party opinion on the J-porn issue? 1st Sarah said it was, now she's saying almost. You know, maybe Sarah's from conservative, Chruch going Korean family (whole lotta Korean's in So. Cal. area are quite the religious types) that is a bit like the religious right-political movement going on in the US politics right now. Then again, maybe DS (as in Devilicious) is quite knowledgeable about J-porn... ;) .
I try to leave my stimulation to exciting food and wine combinations... though I have yet to see any examples of Sarah's saucy tank-tops, you never know, lol. Is it getting hot in here, I need a *very* cold sake or two...
Sam says
Sarah, I am afraid you are totally wrong about San Francisco. People who are too precious to eat are all kept fenced in the Marina district.
We know how to enjoy our food up here, and although I havent been to either of those places {yet{, they both have fairly solid reputations based on substance more than style.
sarah says
sam, thank goodness. i always envy san francisco - dining scene up there is QUITE different from l.a. in fact, SF has much more the "dining," whereas l.a. seems to have much more the "scene" - LOL! (don't get me wrong, angelenos, i love l.a. too ;) )
i was worried there for a second, though, because based on Conde Nast's choice of geisha house in l.a., i had to wonder what their SF choices were like. :)
Anonymous says
As to the SF choices, isn't Boccadillos that place with the little sandwiches, supposedly tapas style? On the edge of the financial district & north beach, near the transamerica pyramid? I mean, it's OK, but not great, I can definatley think of better places.
Just because you were wondering about their SF choices, Sarah. hardly a "Dining" place IMHO.
Lori
Anonymous says
I just read your full review of your experience at Geisha House and had to laugh about the oysters. They're from Maine. LOL!
Sam says
yeah lori - you are maybe right about Boccadillos maybe not being a 'dining destination' - but it is a hot table (I know when we tried to get in and not been able to), but at least it isn't being picked for 'stylishness' alone, which is what I thought Sarah was suggesting was happening in LA.
Anonymous says
The restaurants in SF are OK, it is just the people are so dumpy and anti-LA it gets old really fast and I do like sunshine and protected left turns more than once a year!
Monkey Gland says
Dunno about you West Coast shennanigans but I thought the "England" (poor old Scotland and Wales, always the bridesmaids, never the bride) ones were pretty good on the whole. Hoxton Apprentice is a gem and run by a charity too.
sarah says
maybe "hot" refers to the degree of difficulty of actually getting a table. geisha house right now is popping at the seams every weekend, i think, and i know you couldn't expect to walk right into meson g or patina on a friday for dinner. a friend of mine says bocadillos is also a place that's very tough to get into. no reservations and tons of people waiting...
LACheesemonger says
sarah said...
"anonymous: everyone else was prettier than me, how did you know?!?! but i wasn't jealous about that, for goodness' sake. no, i was pea green with envy that they actually went to the bathroom and threw up all their *eh* food, and i actually had to digest it.
*yikes!* did that nasty comment just type out of my fingers? LOL!"
LOL, if they were all prettier (doubtful) than Sarah, then that place must be a paradise of iCandy...yawn. Neither Sarah or Michelle Kwan are the most 'beautiful'(ly) attractive women in the world; but overall, both of them have hotness that probably 9 out 10 patrons in GH will never attain.
For these two delightful women combine über cuteness with boatloads of personality, a wealth of enjoyable character of significant depth...which is what winemakers tend to aspire to for the complete package in making world class wines. Pretty labels are nice, and both Sarah & MK are that from the outside. But you'd be bored to death if they did not contain the wealth of satisfaction from with in.
A restaurant that doesn’t' deliver the goods in a complete package is merely the fad of the day, loaded with the trend seekers of the day. Fashion & quality aren't the same things. Geisha House = Fashion House. I'm not very trendy obviously, which is why I don't fit into blogging life :<) Discriminating wine enthusiasts know what is merely pretty packaging, and something satisfying in the long run, that you want to keep coming back to again and again the rest of your life--- *smile & brain candy*, that fits my ‘sweet tooth' just fine…the Delicious Life ;).