Two celebrity chefs in two nights!? You’d think I was some kind of high roller. This, of course, is not the case. I’m just as poor and poverty-stricken today as I was yesterday. I still make shit money working the same old job, it is certainly not my paycheck that pays for these fancy meals. It’s my drug dealing and sex trafficking that pays for expensive dinners.
So, thanks to drugs and prostitution money, last night I was able to enjoy some awesome food courtesy of Rick Bayless’ new LA culinary venture Red O.
We kind of left the ordering up to the waiter last night, because the menu was filled with possibilities and I didn’t want to be bothered to do my homework and select something for myself. I’d heard the guacamole was a “must” order, and it did not disappoint. It was so simple and yet the flavors were so bright and harmonious I was shocked. It seems odd, but there was a softness to the avocado that somehow tasted totally new to me. I could really only pick out a tiny bit of onion other than the avocado, but for the most part the guacamole was very restrained, and I think that’s what made it so enjoyable.
Next came the pork belly sopes, which were pretty unbelievable. Lately I’ve been the first person to scoff at this whole pork belly thing, because…isn’t it getting out of hand at this point? Yeah, I get it, it tastes awesome. But it’s getting old! The salsa negra dressing was subtle (just drizzled onto the plate beneath the sopes) but when you dragged the corn masa through them they really added a nice smokiness to the fattiness of the pork belly.
The best appetizer of the night was the slow-cooked duck taquitos. I wasn’t expecting to like these at all (it’s a taquito! so what!?) but the tomato-arbol chili sauce was outstanding. There may have been a scuffle over the arugula, which was perfect for sopping up the remnants of the sauce. Seriously, this was the best thing I tasted, and probably the first thing I’d recommend to someone visiting Red O for the first time.
I tasted the pollo en mole enchiladas but I was not a fan. Dark moles — despite being one of chef Bayless’ specialties — are generally too rich and chocolatey for my palate. I could appreciate the depth of the flavors, but after two or three bites I was done. Chicken in a sweet, smoky, chocolate sauce? Not for me. Now, obviously that’s an over-generalization of the flavor, but like I said it doesn’t appeal to my palate so that’s the best way to describe what it tastes like to me. Bayless is, like, mole royalty (he won Top Chef Masters with it!) so it’s worth a shot if you’ve already tasted and like other chef’s variations. It was served with a side of black beans and a hit of queso fresco. I don’t know if the beans were refried or what, but they were the best black beans I’ve ever tasted.
I ordered pescado en mole verde, which was a perfectly-grilled, generous portion of yellowtail in a green mole made with pumpkin seeds. Hurray for seasonal menus! The fish was paired with what appeared to be small golden potatoes, and green beans. The dish was served with warm corn tortillas for some good old fashioned build-your-own soft taco play. I barely played. I was too wrapped up in the yellowtail and the sauce to worry about constructing a little taco for me to eat. I just shoveled it into my mouth and enjoyed it.
Dessert was creamy goat cheese cheesecake, which was presented as four little “cakes” topped with sharp goat cheese topping, a startling green sauce I learned was made from a Mexican herb whose flavor is close to root beer in flavor (the pastry chef uses it to make a unique simple syrup for the cakes, so I guess it was a simple syrup, not a “sauce” as I just stated) and a piece of caramel corn. The sharpness of the goat cheese, the herb simple syrup and the burnt caramel from the popcorn all played splendidly together. I ate three of the four cakes, and tried to stabbed anyone who dared try to get their fork near the plate.
Of all the Mexican food I’ve had in LA, from Border Grill to Loteria or Mr. Churro, and all the way down to the carts and trucks of the East Side, Red O stands out as the most impressive display of Mexican flavors I’ve tasted in this city. It’s not the cheapest option in the city, but the menu was expertly conceived and the execution last night was flawless. I will most definitely be returning in the near future. Once I earn some more of that sweet drug and prostitution money!
Songs: Ohia – Back On Top
