patina (dineLA lunch)

patina (dineLA lunch)
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

#25 on my 101 in 1001 list (22/143)
restaurant week is a great time to get a taste of restaurants that you might not get to due to the many choices for good food and a limited budget. i came here with a group to find out if patina would be worth a return visit for one of their dinner tasting menus.

our lunch started with delicately chopped salmon with a vinegar-y, mini floret of cauliflower and a sliver of cucumber. light and refreshing, the amuse bouche had a nice balance of tartness from the little bit of cauliflower with the creaminess of the fresh salmon.

for our first course, two of us had the seared scallop, vegetable crudites & wasabi espuma. the scallop was perfectly prepared and fresh. it had a slight crunchy outside with a sweet, juicy inside. the slivers of radishes that made up the vegetable crudites was a little bland. i could taste some vinegar on a few pieces, but it was more crunchy texture, and little taste. the wasabi espuma was tasty and added some flavor to the veggies. i tasted my bf's butternut squash soup, which was creamy and flavorful. i thought it was well done, but i wasn't sure what to make of the pumpkin seeds which were still in the shell. i liked the toastiness, but thought leaving them in the shell made them chewy. i also tried my friend's beet & endive salad, which was pretty good.

three of us chose the grilled sea bass, anis polenta and carrot jus for our entrees. the fish was bland, but the polenta was creamy and flavorful as was the carrot jus, and the sunchokes were sweet. the carnaroli rice forest mushroom risotto was creamy and prepared well, but was also a tad bland. i didn't get as much of the mushroom flavor from this dish as i had expected.

for dessert, we tasted all three of the options: delice of tangerine & cinnamon walnut linzer, an assortment of cookies, petits macarons & flavored marshamallow pieces, and a selection of sorbet. all were pretty tasty. i wasn't sure what to make of the icy creamy tangerine mixture, but it was fragrant. the linzer was more of a sweet and salty granola mixture under a small scoop of orange sorbet. the sorbets were all good, and included a green tea macha, persimmon passionfruit, which tasted more of tart passion fruit, and a creamy coconut. my favorite was the variety on the plate of cookies. i liked the little macarons and cookies. we also opted for the red & white wines recommended with the lunch. the red was good, but the white tasted a little stale.

overall, we enjoyed our meal except for a few things. i am still interested in trying their tasting menu, although the cost may be prohibitive for some time. the restaurant is a lovely, bright space, and our waitstaff were attentive. even though most things were done well and beautifully arranged on the plate, i'm only giving them three stars because i expect more flavor in an entree from a restaurant that normally charges as much as they do for food.