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» Other Useful Information
Cuisine: French, Continental
Table to Get: Center 4-Top, Car Seating
Special Features: Celebrity Cehf, Designer Eater, Hollywood Crowd
Payment Options: Visa, MasterCard, AmEx
The Place:
XIV
The Scene:
The marquee of names at this new Sunset Strip eatery couldn't be more impressive with club-owner Sam Nazarian, of Hyde and Katsuya, debuting his latest Starck-designed restaurant and lounge led by chef Michael Mina. Nazarian seems to be the LA man of the moment, showing up in the odd episode of The Hills where he tolerates character Heidi Montag as his employee and also opening the new SLS Hotel Beverly Hills where Starck is also head designer.
Initially there were lofty plans to turn this bungalow-style rock club into something more than just another round of upgrades in Nazarian's seemingly endless book of nightlife hocus-pocus. A translucent box-shape architectural pad occupies the building's western corner with life-size topiary display of the numeral XIV. We're not sure what happened, but the result is a thoroughly new concept dining space in what essentially looks like Privilege, Shelter, or Coconut Teaser before it. Visitors enter a dark and elegant lounge and restaurant space with rococo-mirrored bar with marble top, distinguished Chippendale chairs in a library theme dining room and new covered patio literally on top of one of the loudest intersections on Los Angeles.
The Food:
Visitors arrive to a hostess booth that insists that only complete parties may be seated, even if the restaurant is empty. If not prompt for a 8pm reservation, your wait in the bar can drag up to 30-minutes. Once seated, a staff more in line with Mina than Nazarian locales embarks on an ambitious explanation of the lengthy menu perfectly pronouncing tough French words as if plucked from the Sorbonne. The menu is selected for the entire table, and then priced based on a “light but satisfying”, “a proper meal” or “indulge” dinner feast. The menu is a bit hard to navigate with items separated in odd order between meat, fish, shellfish, poultry and appetizers. Should a carpaccio appetizer really be at the bottom of the menu? Standouts include a fantastic caviar parfait, chilled Maine Lobster and violet artichokes with black truffle. Fish courses include ocean trout, lemon-glazed cod and tuna tartare with chili aioli. Meat and game items like beef carpaccio with romaine hearts, roasted venison and saffron-braised veal seem heavy given the nightlife-craving crowd. Supposed lighter items include sauteed pork belly with cashews, Sonoma duck with prosciutto and terrine of foie gras that seem anything but dietetic.
Last Word:
Having known him through his name eatery with the St. Francis San Francisco and Stonehill Tavern in Dana Point, Michael Mina debuts a sexy new Hollywood dining experience along the Sunset Strip.
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