Michael Lippman

I got off work early, so I called my wife and told her I’d be getting off work late.  Went to Spago, sat at the bar.  Alone.  What a great way to eat the best food in town without dropping $250.  No wife, no date, no one to order multiple courses and random side dishes and desserts and coffees.  Just a glass of wine and a piece of fish -- to taste the food, to be able to say “I’ve been there”, to be part of the scene, to eat well.  And I’ll be out of here for 60 bucks (unless I get drunk and start ordering random shit.)  Think about all the times I accidentally spend 60 bucks.  A parking ticket and a late DVD.

All the fish dishes look great, and most are around 35 clams -- cheap compared to Cut (always keep rationalizing how and why things are not that expensive).  I ask the bartender for his recommendation.  (Unfortunately both bartenders here are men, major flaw.)  He recommends the striped bass, Chinese Thai style, with veggies in a chili oil.  He serves me bread, telling me how good it is.  Big cheese flat bread, almond bread, olive bread, French bread.  All good -- who needs appetizers?  Good 10 dollar glass of the Pierpon Soave -- Soave, so unhip that it’s hip to know how good it is these days.  Crisp, light, but complete. 

The fish is really good.  It’s tender but not flaky, yielding reluctantly to the fork in that great bass-y way, the sauce not afraid to be spicy, oily, great chili flavor, the veggies julienned, mixed up on the plate and on top of the fish, as if haphazardly, which makes each bite different from the last.  I eat it way too fast.  It builds, getting better and better.  It’s gone. 

Ah …  It’s mellow here at the bar, not really a scene, not the thrill of Cut , but a perfect place to eat a divine piece of fish.  Very grown-up.  And it all comes in at 51 dollars. 

Until I notice they “proudly serve” Château d’Yquem by the 2 ounce pour for 22 bucks.  Which if you really think about it, is kind of a steal.