TBA
Hayato
Finally scored one of the most coveted reservations in Los Angeles, Hayato. Gave up on getting a booking on a weekend (or a Friday), gave up on getting a booking for two, finally scored a mid-week booking for one after years of trying.
With just seven seats and one seating a night that last 3.5 hours, Hayato is an experience at every meal. Two guests at the end were clearly regulars (!), two more were chefs/former chefs/friends of Hayato-go at the two Michelin star Harbor House Inn in Elk (north of Santa Rosa), and the last two other guests were clearly well-traveled foodies who had snagged a reservation at Kato the night before. o_0 They did a lot of drinking, including some Dom Perignon 2003 Plenitude 2 for the regulars.
As far as both the food and the rest of the experience: it lives up to their reputation. Two Michelin stars feels almost insufficient (proof that Michelin guide hates Los Angeles still?). From the two openers, one of aburi fatty kinmedai (Japan, Chiba) that is uniquely fatty compared to most golden eye snapper and hence responds very differently to searing, and the second, tempura corn kernels and Hokkaido scallop, the uniquely cultured approach to the entire meal is set and delivered on the entire night.
Lightly charcoal grilled matsutake mushrooms from Oregon just have their juices flowing, the ikura is lightly marinated and much less salty than most, allowing it to be much more interesting. Nearly every ingredient, every dish, who knows what else is direct from Japan. Charcoal grilled mehikari (green eyes) are superb, about the only dish I found I would skip was the kisu bo-zushi (Japanese whiting), which was too mild a flavor to be of interest (plus I might have had some prior disappointing experience with pressed sushi...).
Owan: managatsuo (silver pomfret) soup was back in balance, meaty without being overwhelming, just enough yuzu. Live spot prawns (botan ebi) might have been the highlight at many lesser meals, but here they were merely one more excellent transition from one flavor to another. Baja California wild abalone was another unique dish, served in the same broth it was cooked in as opposed to its own liver, and much more flavorful than farmed. Charcoal grilled kinki (rockfish) with onion initially seemed a bit too mainstream a dish, but the surprising delicacy of the onion combined with the fattiness and charcoal was perfect.
Shin-ika and burdock root (baby squid) was subtle, while the tempura baby corn was yet another unique execution of seemingly pedestrian ingredients, yet picked only from the best sources and elevated to the top of what is possible. Lightly breaded with panko, had no idea what to expect-- many dishes were served with a tiny side of sea salt, definitely used that with the baby corn. A minature nabe pot was next: wild unagi, komatsuna, matsutake, kabu (wild freshwater eel, greens, mushroom, turnip). Wild unagi has a pleasantly meaty taste, fresher than farmed; like the botan ebi, this alone could have been the highlight at lesser restaurants.
With little experience with grilled karasumi (dried mullet roe), I will refrain from comment, other than it was surprisingly mild for what could have been quite strong. The crab rice pot, with a tiny side of soup, as well as veggies, felt more delicate and refined than what Chef Daniel Son served at Sushi Sonagi. Being purely Japanese as opposed to Chef Daniel Son's Korean influences, this was entirely expected; some may prefer the more bold flavor at Sushi Sonagi, whereas Chef Brandon Hayato Go aims for a much more subtle. I am not sure what I prefer, even after three (!) servings of dungeness crab rice.
Harry's Berries provided the strawberries (from Oxnard), kinako cream - a nutty flavor as it is made from roasted soybean flour. Delectable. I think seconds were available but I (with some regret) refrained. The penultimate course was local raspberries, peaches, and pluots; I forget all the sources, but the last was from Arnett Farms in the Central Valley, which are known for a quality product. Final course was matcha, which is, again, not an area of expertise for me. Delicate and refined, and yes, full of caffeine.
With such a social group tonight, it was quite an interesting meal. Michelin star chefs talking to more Michelin star chefs, all very experienced, yet young enough to have an appreciation of the food scene as it evolves. Some of the other guests, very well traveled, both in terms of actual travel as well as fine dining. And two regulars-- to be a regular here sounds crazy to me. What was normally a 3.5 hour meal stretched to nearly 4 hours. Quite the experience, although a bit much for a weeknight; I will admit I was happy to call it a night as the clock rolled past 11pm!