Ultimate Patina

My goddaughter had a big surprise after her very quiet Thanksgiving. Her whole family from Boston decided to surprise her since they couldn't be here on Thanksgiving. I had the chore of booking a reservation for 12. Her father wanted a nice restaurant with great food and service.
One restaurant came to mind; Patina at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

Since there were 12 of us, they prepared a set menu which I got to pick. They put us in a private room and I must tell you that we had a great time. They started us out with a Butternut Squash Soup with pepper and pomegranate. Delicious with the bread which by the way was served with not just butter but some sea salt.  A dash of salt on the butter and laid on top of the warm crusty bread went very well with this soup.

Then we were presented with a Terrine of Scarbourough Beets. We all admired the looks of this dish with fried bread in the bottom, some orange condiment and creme fraiche. It tasted as good as it looked.

We had a choice of Beef Tenderloin with root vegetables, potato puree and sauce Bordelaise and Butter Poached Lobster with sunchoke, escarole and sauce Americaine. This was a no-brainer for me because I have had the lobster before and still haven't had anything like it. This was the most tender lobster; they poached it to perfection. The sauce was not at all overpowering. The flavor and texture of all the ingredients came together like the symphony at the concert hall next door.

Two people in our party ordered the Beef Tenderloin.  They were happy with it. I did not even get to try a bite since I was too consumed with my lobster.

For dessert, we had the Green Apple Battera with coconut ice and crispy meringue. Loved the green apple and meringue but not the coconut. I happen to dislike coconut; o.k. for those of you who know me.... I hate coconut. I guess nothing is really perfect is it?  This came very close. Not to worry, they served some petits fours which I happily consumed.

Service was impeccable. Kevin Welby, the general manager whom I met previously came by our room several times to check up on us and asked what he could do for us. I asked him to entertain us and do a little dance which he declined but apologized. Maybe next time?

We got to meet the wonderful chef, Charles Olalia. We all voiced our opinion which was unanimous: Excellent!