Of course b.o.s. has been on my radar for a while. I read about the opening on EaterLA maybe three or four months ago. My eyes widened as I read about the “modern nose-to-tail” menu that promised brains and tripe. More recently both LA Weekly and the LA Times ran reviews. That in combination with a Facebook post by my friend Erin alerting me to said reviews, was the icing on the cake. I called up my buddy Adam — the only kid I know who has a taste for offal that can match my own — and told him we were going out Saturday night. A reservation was made. We dined. And, surprisingly, we didn’t go as all-out as I’d originally hoped. My requests to try the sweetbreads tacos and crispy curried calf brains were rejected in favor of “safer” dishes. In other words, I’m gonna have to go back to b.o.s. soon before they change their menu. If any of you readers are offal fans and live in LA let me know. I’ll pick up the tab. Just know that I have a two drink minimum when it comes to meeting my readers. Just ask Stephen from Japan.
Here’s a rundown of the meal with some pictures I snapped.
Carpaccio of tongue with pea sprouts, avocado, pickled shallots and Issan dressing. This was very, very good. According to my mother (my childhood memories are hazy) I used to love tongue. Then in my awkward teen years (hello, manorexia!) I thought it was gross. Now I’m back on the wagon and happily consuming it. The raw tongue was somewhat bland but the hints of avocado and pickled shallots imparted some flavor.
Our second course, not pictured, was the braised Japanese eggplant salad with baby kale and house vinaigrette. It was the only item we ordered that did not contain beef, but I’m sure whatever the eggplant was braised in must have been cow-related because it did have a meaty flavor that I couldn’t quite place.
Roasted bone marrow, circulated egg, housemade furikake, sesame gochujang paste. This was the least impressive dish of the night. After great iterations at Au Pied De Cochon, Animal, CUT, and countless other restaurants, b.o.s. simply disappointed. Scrape as I might, there wasn’t much marrow to that bone! The circulated egg sounded great but did little to elevate the dish. We were instructed to dip the toast in the egg mixture, but that provided very little reward, so we applied spoonfuls instead. With so little marrow to enjoy, it was basically gooey egg on toast
Beef tataki, papaya salad. The sirloin was very lightly seared on the outside giving it an excellent crust and a warm raw center. The papaya salad was an excellent addition to the dish. I really liked the flavors here.
Fried tripe, yogurt dipping sauce. This was the surprise star of the meal. The breading was top-notch and the flavor of the tripe was — perhaps for the first time in my life — downright delicious. There was very little taste to the intestines, mostly you just got a sense of the breading, a somewhat creamy interior texture, and some creaminess imparted by the yogurt dipping sauce. I could have had an entire order to myself. It’s a must-try item in my opinion.
Oxtail ravioli, oxtail jus, tomato powder, micro vegetables. Do you like the immensely rich taste of oxtail? Then these ravioli (three to an order) are going to make you very happy. Densely packed with meat and green onions, they arrive bathing in a pool of oxtail jus. So, so good. I think if you were to eat all 3 it might be quite filling, but just having one or one and a half makes for the perfect sample size. I wish the tomato powder would have been a little more present, as I liked the idea but didn’t taste the difference.
Beef tendon, risotto, pea sprouts, turnips, bacon. The final plate of the evening was another decadent combo that — much like the oxtail ravioli — was a bit on the heavy side. Of course, the standout here was the tendon. I’ve never had such a wonderfully soft, delicate preparation before. I’ve only really had it in pho before, where it can be tough, and the absorbed broth dominates the flavor. In the variation served at b.o.s., I felt like the fattiness and richness was elevated far beyond my expectations. The sporadic chunks of pork belly were dull by comparison.
Medicine – It’s Not Enough [MP3]
