The bizarre side of The Bazaar.

Few things in life make me as giddy as Spanish-style Modern Cuisine. How fun it is to eat something that has been cleverly re-imagined, re-designed and re-dreamed into a version of itself that previously only existed in culinary fantasies. And now, through the wonderment of science and the artistry of  craftsman Chefs we can eat our food fantasies like mini edible masterpieces. Recently at The Bazaar at Los Angeles' SLS Hotel we sampled fanciful modern interpretations of Spanish Tapas by Chef José Andrés. Chef Andrés is a master at turning a recipe on it's side and making it extraordinary.

The atmosphere at The Bazaar is like the 1980's movie Tron crashed into an excessive bordello on Mars. And the food fits the wild setting. We began the evening with one of the famous cocktails and watched the magic begin. The delicious Caipirinha is created tableside and frozen with smoking liquid nitrous. The resulting cocktail is a cross between the perfect cachaça and lime drink with an elegant slushy from 7Eleven, garnished with flash frozen flower petals of course. The passion fruit cocktail made with orange rum, passion fruit and topped with passion fruit foam was like the best dessert I've ever tasted (but wait until I actually get to dessert!).

The dinner menu is divided into Traditional and Modern Tapas; we mainly stuck to the modern side and opted to enjoy the beautifully bizarre side of The Bazaar. Beginning our culinary adventure with an order of olives which consisted of traditional olives - speared by toothpicks and stuffed with peppers and anchovies, and modern olives - perfectly smooth olive colored spheres. Slide the sphere into your mouth and like a delicate balloon it erupts with delicious flavor and then floats down your throat. While this technique is becoming common in modern preparations it never ceases to surprise and delight me.

We followed the olive amuse with a fabulously whimsical caprese salad which also came with liquefied mozzarella balls as well as dehydrated-rehydrated tomatoes. The burst of mozzarella with the delicate tomatoes accompanied by a traditional pesto was a fantastic combination to hold in your mouth. Almost everything we ordered is worthy of its own dedicated review but in the interest of (some) brevity I'll condense. The Linguini, which is literally called "Your Life Will Change Dashi Linguini," includes light pasta strands, fresh grated Parmesan, tomatoes, basil and delicious little quail eggs. Mix all the ingredients together and savor. The other standout, which came highly recommended, was the Philly Cheesesteak. Whoa. This pop-over style airy bread is filled with liquid cheddar and topped with tender Wagyu beef. Can I say whoa again?

Dessert is less of an item that stands out and more of an experience itself. After indulging in one of the several dinning rooms you are led into an actual candy room filled with chocolates and pastries and confections, oh my. We just had to order a few for the sake of the blog. And we decided on the chocolate pop-rocks and the Floating Coconut Island with passion fruit and vanilla. Both were playful and light and the right way to end this decadent and delightfully modern evening.

The Bazaar by José Andrés
465 South La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA