Gold Dig #69

Le Comptoir is one of the most intimate experiences on Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list. There are only two seatings per night, in which 10 lucky people get to sit at the counter watching Chef Gary Menes prepare and plate the 8-course set menu. He starts with an introduction describing that much of the meal is made up of fruits and vegetables he has harvested from his garden in Long Beach that day, follows with a warning that once he starts cooking he’ll be heads-down focused on the food, then turns around and gets started. Once dessert is served, he emerges from his intensely concentrated cooking and comes around to chat warmly with each diner.

The Dish

The menu starts with “something amusing”, followed by 8 vegetarian courses that everyone receives and eats at the same time. A few of the courses have alternate options (often containing meat) that you can select for a supplemental fee. There were two of us, so we decided to get one of the standard menu and one with all of the supplements, so that we could try everything! We also got the wine pairings for all of the courses, and single-origin coffee that comes after dessert but must be ordered at the beginning of the meal.

Seaweed Amuse

Our “something amusing” to start the meal was strips of very light, crisp pieces of seaweed served with aioli. Tasted like a very good version of exactly what it sounds like. Nothing too exciting, but I nice way to get warmed up for the meal.

Green Garlic and Potato Veloute

The first course was served as a small tower of breadcrumbs topped with Greek yogurt in the middle of a bowl, around which was then poured the veloute. It was creamy and rich, with nice bits of crunch from the breadcrumbs.

Vegetable and Fruit Plate

It is literally a plate filled with bite-sized pieces of about 30 different fruits and vegetables. While that doesn’t necessarily sound particularly exciting, I have to say it was hands-down the best thing we ate that night (and we ate a lot of very good things). Each item was individually prepared and carefully placed on the plate. Describing each item would be a bit much, but what I can say is that eating each was like having a bit of the best possible version of that item. I’m pretty sure that some of them (like the nectarine slice) weren’t even cooked or prepared in any way, other than having been grown with care, picked at peak ripeness, and handled with ultimate attention.

Oven Poached Egg

I believe they get their eggs from local friends with chickens, as the menu describes eggs from X person’s backyard, with the person varying from time to time. When we were there, the egg was from the Esperanza sisters’ backyard, so thanks Esperanza sisters whoever you are! The egg was poached in brown butter, lemon, and chives, and served with greens from Gary Menes’ garden and a slice of his sourdough bread made from 23-year old starter. It was a good egg.

Tempura Asparagus

The fourth course standard item was tempura asparagus with melted tomato and roasted garlic. It was a nice light tempura batter with good crunch, with a tasty garlicky oil on the tomatoes.

Diver Scallop

The supplemental dish for the fourth course was a diver scallop with preserved orange confit and grape vierge. I think this might have been the best scallop I’ve eaten to this point in my life (definitely in the top 3). It was tender and buttery, with not a hint of fishiness and a natural sweetness that was nicely enhanced by the sauce.

Wine Pairing

I somehow managed to forget to take a picture of the fifth course, which was a violet artichoke with onion rissole and stone ground corn in a savory broth. We were pretty deep into the meal at this point, including a wine pairing with each course, which I believe might be to blame for the missing fifth course. It does however present an opportune moment to talk about the wine pairing. Get the wine pairing! It completes what is already a wonderfully elevated and yet intimate-feeling experience. I loved how each of the eight wines enhanced the course it accompanied, even the whites which I tend to be less a fan of.

“Cassoulet”

Back on track… the standard sixth course item was a “cassoulet” of garden beans and nectarine in sauce cuisson. “Cassoulet” in quotes because as you can see from the picture, this was far from a casserole. The beans were quite nice in the reduced cooking liquid, but really I was all about the nectarine. I’m obsessed with Le Comptoir’s nectarines, so much so that I am tempted to trek down to Long Beach and attempt to sneak into Gary Menes’ garden to get some.

Black Truffle Pasta

The supplemental item for course six was Australian Winter Black Truffles shaved over handmade pasta alla chitarra. If you hadn’t already figured out from the picture, they do not skimp on the truffles. To the point where my dining mate actually said he thought it was too much. It’s not often you get to have incredible truffles in their purest form like this, so I enjoyed every morsel.

Potatoes and Peas from the Garden

The seventh course “potatoes” were actually a potato purée, with snap peas, morels, and scallion in a jus d’onion. I know people love mashed potatoes, but I don’t care much for potatoes in general. However, I would have been quite happy to have this dish again for the morels alone.

Dry Aged Grass Fed Beef

The supplemental seventh course was dry aged grass fed beef served with wheat berries and a condiment made with garden greens. The beef was perfectly tender and full of flavor even without the condiment. I also love the chew of wheat berries, which I get so few chances to eat.

Donut Hole

The dessert course was a donut hole made from the chef’s 23-year old sourdough starter and served with preserved fruit from the kitchen garden, creme chantilly, and chocolate sauce. A little bit of everything on the plate made for the perfect bite. Such a good bite, in fact, that I only got one. My dining mate, who up to that point had been on his best behavior judiciously splitting each shared dish in half, gobbled up the rest of the donut before I could get my fork in there to fend him off.

Chef’s Selection of Cheeses

The supplemental dessert course was the chef’s selection of three cheeses, served with grapes from his garden and a slice of bread made from his 23-year old sourdough starter. Sweet grapes and wonderful cheeses, almost too rich for my stuffed belly. Or perhaps I was still brooding over the donut I was robbed of.