Feast Blog

Sitting high above the Yerba Buena Gardens is a small restaurant, Samovar Tea Lounge. I discovered Samovar several years ago and often bring out-of-town guests there for a healthy, innovative lunch offerings. Back then, they were not open in the evenings but have now expanded their hours until early evening. It is warm and inviting with banquettes lined with exotic drapes and comfy pillows. Part of their advertisement is the idea of not rushing and early on, it proved difficult to get lunch ordered and eaten within an hour. Fortunately, they have improved that over the years.

Pictured here is Moorish Mint Tea; a complete lunch which included grilled Halloumi kebabs served on top of a mint salad. Alongside were three dolmas and and a handful of dried olives as well as two Medjool dates stuffed with chevre and topped with a pistachio-crusted walnut. This is one of two standard meals that I have become accustomed to; the Moorish platter mostly eaten when it is warm and sunny and one craves room temperature food that is flavorful and full of fresh, bright ingredients. When it is cold and blustery, I desperately crave the the Indian tofu curry platter with basmati rice and masala chai. Rich and satisfying and warm, it is a concoction I have often tried to recreate at home but I never seem to be able to get it as redolent with spices as they can create.

I can also heartily recommend the Japanese luncheon. In a round, ceramic bento box I was served a seaweed salad, two scoops of rice topped with various condiments, a triangle of seared yellowtale and two shrimp, and some marinated broccoli rabe. There was also a very delicate, subtle tea soup which had some unknown vegetables which were a bit on the soft side. Along with the lunch, I ordered the “upcharge” Matcha service ($5 on their website but $10 in the restaurant). There was a nut-crusted sweet (may have been mochi, but didn’t really taste like it) along with the Matcha and then a green tea-dusted brownie bite was served with the lunch as well.

The Chinese lunch starts with an amazing Oolong Tea coupled with a hot-pot of chicken, vegetables, rice, and a great gingery sauce. The second tier of the service is squash potstickers. The top tier had my dessert; a coconut rice pudding. With the  Russian lunch one is served a folded crepe (they called it a blini, but it was a crepe) filled with smoked trout and topped with capers, thinly sliced onions, and sour cream. You also got a selection of fresh fruit, a “Russian Tea Egg” which was a glorified Deviled egg topped with caviar, and two sweets, a bread pudding that was amazingly stunning — drizzled with a Bergamot honey and studded with dried tea and pistachios, and a single truffle made with smokey Russian tea. The classic, smokey tea had to be “self-serve” by walking to a stand that contained a classic Samovar from which he poured his tea.

Besides the innovative menu for dining, many who visit Samovar do so only for their extensive tea menu. While many are more enthralled with the perfectly brewed coffee, here it is all about tea; white, green, black, pu-erh, or herbal. And if a full meal is not desired, there are enough small bites of sweet treats, sandwiches, or salads which will satisfy any appetite.

There is no irony in the fact that what could be considered my most memorable Los Angeles meal in recent history was not spent with a fellow foodie. I wanted to go somewhere special with Tony, who was my childhood friend and easily one of the most influential people in my early life. We hadn’t seen each other in over 27 years so it was important for me to find a restaurant that would be indicative of great Los Angeles food, offer a wide selection, and that was near to the L.A. County Museum of Art, where we met prior to dinner. The irony is that Tony didn’t care for much of the food at all — but that is no reflection on AOC whatsoever. Tony is a guy who genuinely prefers Dennys. Oh well. Besides being an amazing evening with an old friend, it gave me some astounding left-overs for my few days at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.

Right off the bat, we ordered the largest cheese plate possible, five cheeses for $25; Besace du Berger (goat), Vermont shepherd Major Farms (sheep), Sottocenere Veneto Italy (cow), Casatica di Bufala Bergramo Italy (buffalo), and Bayley Hazen Jasper Hill Farm Vermont (blue). An exceptional selection which was loved by me and nibbled at by Tony. Well, he at least likes cheese.

For the main courses, I ordered for us to share the Duck confit and shell bean stew with ham hock, Clams, sherry, chanterelles and garlic, and a salad of apple, persimmon, pecans, and Roaring 40s blue. I also couldn’t resist a side of farro and black rice with pinenuts and currants. There is no way I could pick one favorite dish over another, but writing this now — a few weeks later — the taste of the clams and chanterelles still haunts me. From the wood-burning oven and served in a cast-iron skillet, I can’t recall ever having received such unctuous shellfish served thus with mushrooms before. So rich and with the crusty toast to sop up the garlicky sauce, even Tony appreciated the sauce without being a fish eater.

I thought he would like the duck, but it was too rich for him. For me, it was a great example of how to elevate a cassoulet knock-off. Served with the creamy beans and tender duck, were finely turned and fresh root vegetables. Granted, I only had a few bites when the dish was served hot, but it made for a great cold dish the following day and I could sense how well prepared the dish really was. The fresh salad was completely consumed by both of us, clean apples and bright persimmons. Also, the farro and wild rice was probably unnecessary during the course of the meal (except that I loved it), but was also an exceptional left-over. Perfectly seasoned and not a mis-step during the course of the meal.

Now I will give Tony points for having a sweet tooth and we shared an Ibarra chocolate cake with spiced pepitas and dulce de leche ice cream. If only I could have had left-over of this as well. Obviously prepared to order, the spiced pepitas made a warm chocolate cake on a different level; rich, yes — but moreso than just a good, warm chocolate cake. The dulche de leche ice cream provided a creamy counterpoint; a bit sweeter than than dark cake.

A word on service; we were seated in a smallish room upstairs, away from the main dining room. It could get a little loud, especially when the bridal shower at a nearby table got a bit more rowdy than desired. But we stayed well beyond the time when anyone else was seated in the room and the service continued to be superlative. They guided me on the dishes that I would be taking with me, since I did not have refrigeration. Everyone, from the bussers to the waitress, were excellent.

I firmly believe that many “foodies” out there discount the oldest restaurant in London, Rules. This was a second visit for me and a destination restaurant that I was looking forward to returning to. See, the last time I ate there, I was only a budding foodie, there was no such thing as a blog, and no way to network with other culinary aficionados to know where to eat. I was just a history buff who had read about the illustrious history including the literary greats who had dined there; Galsworthy, Thackeray, Dickens, and H.G. Wells.

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