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| The only picture I took! |
On one of our last trips to Los Angeles the wife and I went out of our way to eat at Micheal Voltaggio's sandwich joint called Ink.Sack (which is on the same block as INK). Last time we already had dinner reservations at The Playground in Santa Ana so Ink was going to have to wait.
Last week the wife and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary and due to unforeseen circumstances we really did not do anything, but as soon as a few things cleared up I called down and made a reservation for us. It was kind a late reservation but considering we did not leave the central valley until almost 1 pm on Sunday that was a good call!
Checked into the Westin at LAX around 5 relaxed for a bit and then headed out. We got to INK a little early so we grabbed a couple of cocktails at the bar while we waited. As we sat with our drinks Micheal Voltaggio is working his own line. The restaurant is laid out with two kitchens the hot kitchen and the cold kitchen (I think the bar tender said "They use a lot of liquid nitrogen in the cold kitchen". Sorry if this is incorrect!)
When we sat down Beth already new she wanted the scallop dish, but we have decided next time to come with more cash so we can do his tasting menu! Below is exactyle what we ate for dinner:
- hamachi, dashi sponge, soy-yuzu, radish, rice cracker
- baja scallops, egg yolk gnocchi, mushroom hay
- brussels sprouts, pig ears, lardo, apple
- wagyu beef, carrots, tendon, horseradish tofu
I am going to be honest...this was hands down one of the best meals I have ever had. I think I ate most of the brussel sprout dish, the egg yolk gnocchi was so good (I think this was Beth's favorite dish of the night) and the Wagyu beef was so tender. I wish I could explain how good and odd the hamachi dish was. The menu had three pork items and I wish I could of tried them all (I love pork)
You will notice there are no pictures, well the reason was...I could not bring myself to be that dude!! I believe that sometimes there is a time and place for busting the phone out and taking picture but I think if you are out at a nice restaurant with your wife for your anniversary you should keep the phone down and so I did.
My last trip south I had the chance to meet Mr. Voltaggio briefly and he signed my copy of VOLT Ink (which I have read straight thru). As I read the book it made me a big fan of these guys and in the book I found this calculated genuis in the way they looked at the food they prepared. Now that I have had the chance to eat at Ink I am hoping to re-read the book and maybe get a whole new perspective. I told Beth that I would do dishes at Ink if it meant I could learn as much as I could possibly learn.Thank you Ink for a great dinner and nice evening!
