76145 Mon Dec 05 12:51:00 -0800 2005 5 2 Los Angeles Area 0 419483 This is mostly a rave, with a minor rant. For the attention span challenged, here is the bottom line: Don't let the "bistro" in the name fool you. Bistro K is putting out some of the best high end French food with experimental California touches (some asian, some southwestern and mexican) in all of greater LA. Right up there with what Bastide did before the chef change, what Melisse and Grace do now, and better than many other aspiring A-list foodie joints like Sona. The service, however, can't compare to any of those places. Bistro K is in South Pasadena, occcupying an unbelievably small space within the corner of the local playhouse at Fremont and El Centro. Approximately 400 sq. ft is my guess - max seating capacity around 20. Very cozy. While I didn't see it, I must guess that the kitchen is miniscule, perhaps large enought to hold a 60 inch. professional stove/grill with two ovens, and maybe 2 or 3 chefs. Maybe. They have no license, so BYOB is a must, but they charge no corkage. On top of the very modest pricing, this renders the place a steal. The menu is your first tip off that this is no classic bistro. Approximately 12 appetizers/salads, all in the $9-$13 range. The frisee salad with a beautiful tart dressing and a warm corn tamale topped with Selles-sur-cher french goat cheese and pomegranate seeds was delightful, as was the rolled Caeser salad wrapped in a tortilla (so much better than you think it sounds, and maybe the best Caeser I have ever had). My timbale of Dungeoness crab surrounded by a pistachio "mouse" (with fresh ginger?)and topped with a chive oil and a homemade pink grapefruit jelly was a spectacular show of disparate textures and flavors unfolding progressively and explosively in the mouth. My sole criteque is that there was perhaps a touch too much of the pistachio mousse for the amount of crab. The entree menue is no less ambitious. Four fish/shellfish entrees and at least 10-12 meat/fowl/game entrees with none over $25. The halibut cheeks with lentil puree and a bunch of other accompaniments that have escaped my memory were delicious. The Cote de Beouf was transcendent, beautiful meat, perfectely roasted, with a delicious bacon and herb rub/crust and flavorful jus. The sides were unusual and totally successful. A salsify au gratin was delicous with fresh nutmeg (I think) boosting the complexity of flavor and straddling that fine line between the sweet and savory. A raw cabbage and garlic slaw was not at all sweet, but was instead slightly bitter and intensly pungent. But when consumed with a bite of the beef, its effect was startlingly transformative - the beef suddenly seemed twice as rich and silky, with the sweetness of the meat and the savoryness of the crust somehow amplified by the cabbage/garlic. Amazing. Finally, my braised wild boar shank had massive caveman appeal, and the red wine reduction sauce beneath it begged me to lick the plate. My side dishes of chesnut puree with pomegranate seeds and roasted wild mushrooms took the shank in two different directions, the one rich/earthy/sweet and the other rich/earthy/savory-smoky, both fantastic. The apple tart tatin was perfection too. Now for the bad. We were seated at 7:40 and appetizers/salads arrived around 8:15-8:20. The entrees, alas, did not arrive until more than an hour after the first set of plates was cleared, around 9:30-9:40. What obviously happened was that the kitcen got "slammed" by the dessert orders of a large table ahead of us and the appetize orders of another large table seated after us. But despite the obvious cause, and understandable lack of capacity in such a small kitchen, the wait was excessive and detracted quite a bit from the experience. In an ideal world, they would schedule their seatings/reservations such that they could manage their capacity and output. The lone waitress and busboy did a fine job, but obviously such modest staffing and tight seating can't compete with the likes of larger more established restaurants. In this aspect, it was "bistro." Ultimately, I highly, highly recommend Bisto K, but with the caveat that unless the above described wait is fine with you, you might wish to visit on a weeknight or if dining on a weekend, try to be part of the first seating. Mon Dec 05 12:51:00 -0800 2005 0 DonnyMac 1 419517 I, too, love Bistro K but completely agree with your review. The food is always outstanding, extremely creative and beautifully presented. One of my favorites is their soft scrambled eggs in the shell with vodka cream and caviar--- to DIE for! There is always one waitress who is very adept at explaining everything, but the service is so slow due to (probably) having one cook in the kitchen, one busboy and one waitress. I will definitely go back since the food is just too good to pass up, but I hope they solve the timing problem soon. Link: http://tokyoastrogirl.blogspot.com/ Mon Dec 05 14:34:27 -0800 2005 419483 0 tokyoastrogirl 1 419816 Ditto on all counts. Unfortunately, based on reads here and my own experience, I don't believe that the wait time will improve. I have been there twice, the first time with only 4 tables occupied, early in the evening, with not more than 10 people there. We were in no hurry, but waited what seemed to be an eternity between courses. They poured our wine, then we didn't see anything appear from the kitchen for a least 30 minutes. Same for others in the room, so at least I didn't take it personally. Thankfully I enjoy the company of my s.o., but at some point the wine ran out, our topics of conversation were almost exhausted, and without food to contemplate or discuss, we took to watching the others in the room looking equally confused. Our 3-course dinner for two people took about 2-1/2 hours from the time we were seated. I just don't think they have the physical capacity and staff support, in front or in the kitchen, to move any faster. Tue Dec 06 14:26:03 -0800 2005 419483 0 Local 1 420353 As an employee of Bistro K, I thank you for your kind words. We strive to be different and original in our menu yet try to maintain it at affordable prices so that our diners will be willing to try them. You will not find items like chicken (chicken in the u.s. for the most part lack flavor), rack of lamb (everyone and their mama has a rack of lamb on their menu), and salmon (c'mon, Carrows serves salmon!) Chef Laurent the owner places heavy emphasis on freshness of ingredients and quality of food so all dishes are prepared to order, which unfortunately takes a bit longer. The kitchen has anywhere from 2 to 3 cooks/chefs at any given night and we all work in a kitchen that is about 10' by 10' and only accomodates two stoves, a grill and two ovens. We thank you for your patronage and patience and hope for your continued support. Tue Dec 27 03:19:21 -0800 2005 419483 0 tlu603 1 1896326 Bravissimo, Bistro K. I have never had a bad experience there--even though the wait is always very, very long before/between courses. The waitstaff are sweet but sometimes seem a little backwards and naive. So what. I think it's nice to have what seem to be real local college students/newbies serving you, and they all seem to be genuinely good-natured. I will remember next time to bring a second bottle of wine. I have raved about this place to many people already, especially about the ridiculous prices. I'm not complaining a bit, mind you, but c'mon, guys, this is fine dining at Il Fornaio prices. How are they doing this? So I will let them take all the time in the world. That crab-avocado-grapefruit thing was spectacular, and my version of it was so packed with crab, I wondered how they broke even. Last time I was there I had the chef's tasting menu, and loved every bite. It took at least 3 hours. But hey, time to digest and enjoy. The courses were so good, I barely took notice. I can't recommend this place enough. Sat Sep 23 01:03:41 -0700 2006 419483 42089 mancina 1 1903131 Why are people so hurried when it comes to service? I agree with mancia, this is fine dinning. Kick back, relax, engage your company and enjoy your evening. This is directly from the BK website: To ensure freshness, taste and a great experience all dishes are cook to order. Depending on techniques that we use, some recipes are more complicated than other requiring a longer cooking and preparation time. From our minced herbs to our Infusions, everything is prepared at the time the order is placed. I have not seen this hurried approach to eating abroad. Tue Sep 26 16:34:10 -0700 2006 419483 12340 Grog