Glendale, California, November 19—
A NEW DISCOVERY tonight, brought to our attention last night at dinner by a friend who knows the restaurant scene down here: Bashan, a forty-seater storefront owned by a young couple, wife working the house, husband running the kitchen. In two years they've apparently developed quite a following, placing high in a curious, sweet new category in Zagat's panoply: Restaurants Owned by Couples.
We'd heard they're particularly attentive to the quality and provenance of their ingredients: but in the event this attention was matched by the resourcefulness and expertise of the kitchen. We had the three-course "tasting menu," which simply allows you to choose from among five or six first courses, five or six entrees, and two desserts.
First, though, we were brought our amuse-bouches: a little shot glass full of thick, creamy cauliflower soup and a shallow glass dish with finely chopped Marcona almonds, salt, piquant peppers, and lime zest. As instructed, we merged these two to make a delicious soup.
I went on to a green salad with tangerine sections, red onions, cherry tomatoes, and Reggianito cheese, creamy and pungent and dressed discreetly with a white Balsamic truffle vinaigrette.
Then a wonderful version of grilled hanger steak in an authentic but unctuous molé sauce, garnished with chayote, Marcona almonds again, cipollini, and caramelized figs. Truly enterprising, with wide-ranging but nicely balanced flavors and textures, and the steak grilled perfectly. Dessert was a fine chocolate bread pudding with a spoonful of soft, delicate vanilla ice cream.
I particularly like it when a running theme emerges in a meal like this, when it's handled subtly, as it was here: the almonds, sliced in the salad, finely minced in the steak garnish; the chocolate in the molé, then the dessert. We'll be back, for sure. Thanks for the tip, Sarah!
Pinot grigio, ?Isola, 2008; Malbec, Alamos (Mendoza), 2008
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