Michael Lippman

Hatfield's rules.  Hatfield's rocks.  We had 14 courses and almost every one was incredible.  Yay Hatfield's.  Hatfield's Hatfield's hip hip hooray.  The lamb blew my mind.  The chicken with foie gras was incredible.  We had really good wine.  The croque madame, genius.  The halibut, the octopus salad, so good.  I took pictures.  Let me show them to you!  

While I could pretend that I know how to write about this meal intelligently and professionally, I don't.  I haven't been blogging for that long, and I'm simply not there yet.  Thank you Hatfield's for showing me how much I can grow.  My critical faculties shut down early in the meal and that was the end of that. 

Anyway, before I start drinking ... Hatfield's is the collaboration between Karen and Quinn Hatfield, who worked together at Spago, then moved to New York where, between them, they worked at Jean Georges, Bouley, Grammercy Tavern, Mercer Kitchen, Jo Jo and Vong.  After a stint in San Francisco as co-chefs at Cortez, they opened Hatfield’s on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. 

Karen tells us the story of how this tiny space, which is now her and her husband’s restaurant, was up for lease for a full year -- and no one looked at it twice.  Why?  Because it seemed impossible to actually fit anything into it.  And now, every time a chef comes to the restaurant he or she says, “damn, I love this space.  Had I seen it, I would have snapped it up in two seconds.”  Karen assures us that most of those chef did see the space, did not snap it up, and don't even remember.

And it’s not that they went crazy making the space something it isn’t.  They took two shoe-box-sized adjoining rooms and turned them into a spare, simple, elegant, functional restaurant.   It’s like they wanted to put on a play, rented out a tiny theatre space with no lighting board and no backstage area, and made it work because of the purity of their commitment and the excellence of their art. 

I went with 3 other people, cooks and foodies, and we all ordered the 7 course tasting menu.  They did it "tandem" so that 2 plates of 2 different dishes came out for each course.  We shared with the person sitting next to us, so we each got to try 14 courses. 

The first course was a Croque Madame on a grilled bioche, with hamachi, prosciutto, and quail egg; and a cuttlefish with mushrooms and celery root puree.  This course was incredible.  First of all, the croque madame was so light, while still tasting like a full-blown ham and egg sandwich.  The hamachi does not replace the ham, as I first thought it would, but rather the cheese.  Love.  The cuttlefish was even better.  We took bites of each, switching off plates, oohing and ahing.  They were such different dishes yet they were so much fun to eat side by side, bite by bite.  Weird and wonderful.

The next course: warm octopus salad with trumpet mushrooms, nettle puree, asparagus, buckwheat crisp.  Amazing, comforting, different.  The buckwheat crisp was genius, it gave a soupy warm salad some crunch.  And: the mustard green and ricotto ravioli, also yummy. 

One of the cooks I'm with is from Mozza, and he's very good at discerning how a dish is cooked, and the ingredients in a dish.  I figure he will be a big asset.  He is not.  We're all getting drunk and high on the food.  The game becomes which dish (in each tandem course) do we like better.  "Ooh they're both so good but I think I like this one a tiny bit more."  "Really?  I like this one more".

The next course:  the branzino with chanterelles and swiss chard; and the olive oil poached halibut, asparagus, hon shimeji mushrooms, pickled ramp vinaigrette.  At first the banzino blew us away and the halibut seemed bland next to it.  Then the halibut caught up.  I ended up trading some of "my half" of the branzino for more of the halibut.  

Next was the tandem course called "2 foie gras".  Foie gras with squab leg on a puree of lentil and artichoke;  and foie gras with chicken breast and zuchini basil coulis.  Two foie gras dishes.  Unreal.  What can I say?  Nothing.  The squab was awesome, but the chicken was out of this world.  None of us could believe the chicken.  The Mozza cook suspected that the chicken was cooked sous vide.  He asked the waiter, the waiter said yes, it was!  Score!  One point for our critical faculties! Anyway, the chicken was amazing.

Then came the date and mint crusted lamb with a puree of heirloom carrot, turnip, kohnrabi, fava beans; and the braised beef rib with crispy spaetzle, rapini, and mustard yam puree.  The beef was really good.  I'm a steak lover, I have high standards, and this was great.  The lamb was transcendent.  I've subsequently read many reviews of Hatfield's and nobody fails to mention this lamb dish.  Awwwesome.  I ask the waiter to please bring out the entire lamb and carve it tableside.  Please.  More!  We all agree the lamb is the high point.  Which I guess is intentional, because now it's dessert time.

For dessert.  First:  strawberry napolean and blueberry panna cotta.  We all loved the paana cotta best, then I cut back and preferred the strawberry.  Anything to assert some degree of ego and individuality.  Sublime strawberries, I procalim.  And, they are.

Then a peanut butter chocolate cake thingy with ice cream.  And some other ice cream thingy.  Whatever.  More lamb please. 

I say to the waiter, please bring out that whole lamb and carve it tableside.  Wait a second, I already made that joke. 

Hatfield's , 7458 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles CA, 90036