Patina

Thanksgiving at Patina; what more can one ask for? It was a record breaking heat in Los Angeles. A friend of mine was dying at her condominium cooking her turkey. It was a great day not to do any cooking at all. I was very lucky to be invited by my friends. We all opted for the 4 course dinner which was really a late lunch.

We got to the restaurant early but they graciously seated us right away. We had a choice of 2 appetizers, an entrée, and a dessert. We first started with cocktails. Lizzie had white wine, John had a glass of red and John Jr. had a cocktail, "50 shades of cranberry". Mertz and I had a glass of bubbly. An amuse-bouche of Salmon w/ crème fraiche was brought out. That was inhaled quickly. We were all proud of Mertz to see her eat her coned salmon as if it were an ice cream. A variety of bread was in constant supply.

We ordered our first round of appetizers. The choices were: Dungeness Crab with avocado, piquillo and roasted shallot and Beef Tartare with celery, wasabi, pommes gaufrettes. It was nice to sit next to Mertz so we could split both and both were equally good.

For the second appetizers; one had the Pumpkin Veloute; maple gastrique, cinnamon chantilly and bacon-pine nuts. A couple of us had the Roasted Kabocha Squash & Beet Salad. Two of us had the Salsify Agnolotti; pumpkin seed oil, mimolette and black trumpets. I really enjoyed my agnolotti.

There were several selections for entrées. We could have Turkey, Wagyu Beef, Wild Striped Bass or Scottish Salmon. It might have been sacrilegious not to order turkey but I couldn't pass up the Wagyu Beef. I felt better when at least Lizzie decided to have the turkey. We all were very happy with our selections. Everything was delicious. Charles, our server, was attentive without being overbearing.

There were three choices for dessert. Butternut Bread Pudding; spiced caramel and crème fraiche gelato, Pumpkin Pie; streusel, apple cider and cinnamon ice cream, and Sweet Potato Beignets; ginger with bourbon vanilla ice cream. I would have liked to see an apple dessert, perhaps a Tarte Tatin. Since I dislike pumpkin and sweet potato, I ordered the Butternut Bread Pudding which turned out to be a great choice. I was informed that the pumpkin pie and the beignets were very good.

As if the desserts were not enough, they served a little dish with a variety of desserts after dessert! Those too vanished in a few minutes.

It was one of the best Thanksgiving dinners. You can't beat being invited by close friends, not having to cook, not having to do dishes and enjoying great food and company. I thank my friends for a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Patina was a great choice for our Thanksgiving Celebration. I have always had a wonderful meal there. One can consistently count on excellent food and service. Patina is located at 141 S. Grand Ave. in Los Angeles at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.