Hotel ravioli

Los Angeles, September 11, 2015—

I'M AFRAID I don't know quite what to say about this. Apollo knows I take little pride in my blogphotography, but I assure you I did my best here (which is to say, I did unthinkingly just what I always do, pointed the damn phone at it and shot it). The menu listed it as

Pumpkin Ravioli
Wilted spinach, toasted hazelnuts, mushrooms, sage-cream butter

and, on paper, that was good enough for me. After a day's drive to Los Angeles I was in no mood for a big dinner, just a Martini and a light supper.

As you see, the mushrooms run away with the dish. The cream (it was not "butter") took second place, and then the cheese. The hazelnuts were there, more by texture than flavor, and the pumpkin was a distant reference, like a bibliographic note in a term paper.

Beforehand, a "Caesar salad," innocent of anchovy and guilty of thuddish cheese nibbles. With it all, a second Martini.

•JW's Steakhouse at the Marriott Hotel, 5855 West Century Boulevard, Los Angeles; 310-641-5700
☛Restaurants visited in 2015 are listed at Eatingday's Restaurants (but not this one)