Red Medicine, Beverly Hills CA

I was warned about Red Medicine by no less than three people that it wasn’t that good, that the service was awful, that it was overpriced, etc – yet on the other hand I had it on good word from others that Jordan Kahn’s cooking was quite unique and that given a knowledge of my palate from reading my ramblings it was exactly the kind of place I’d like, provided we got one of the “good” servers. In the end the yays beat the nays for two reasons; number one being the hours and location and number two being the fact that I found a buddy who was equally interested in experiencing what, precisely, the former pastry chef of such celebrated kitchens as The French Laundry, Per Se, Michael Mina, and Alinea was thinking when he opted to open a Vietnamese/French concept restaurant in Beverly Hills.

Having originally booked Red Medicine based around my conference schedule for a 9:30pm seating as good fortune would have it the lectures ended early and with no interest in the provided “dinner” at The Beverly Hilton I was ready to eat by 5:30 – a decision that led to pre-gaming with pizza at Stella Rossa and yet still an early arrival just after 8:00pm at 8400 Wilshire Blvd where we fortuitously found free parking and made our way into the 90% full restaurant only to be told that they would be “happy” to seat us early and shortly thereafter further dispelling any fears of bad service or attitude propagated by not only people I know but by the media in regard to the public unmasking and removal of LA Times Critic Irene Virbila from the restaurant.

Seated at an all-too-convenient two-top well lit from the streetlights outside the restaurant menus were handed to us by the host and moments later we would be greeted by Rachel, a pleasant young woman who at first seemed taken aback when I joked with her that “we order, you bring food?” when she asked if we “understood how the menu worked” but then relaxed quite a bit after I told her I was just joking and did an admirable job keeping up with the rapidity of the room including water refills, replacing silverware between meals, delivering plates, and even occasionally bussing tables as the night went on. With a “no problem, I’ll be back in a few” after stating that it would take a bit to make our decisions Rachel disappeared and my friend and I began our deliberations as nearly every item on the menu sounded at the very least unique if not downright delicious.

Commenting on how interesting it was that a Cuban-American pastry chef would chose to focus on fine-dining/French leaning Vietnamese savories while browsing around the high ceilinged and therefore quite loud interior I have to say that although a bit cold I did not dislike the space at Red Medicine; the stripped down design, the concrete and wood, and the partially open kitchen very similar to that at ink. (and as it would turn out, to that at Animal and Gjelina as well) but the tables a bit closer together and the lighting somehow a bit more eerie casting an off-white luminescence over the entirety of the space. With our decisions largely made but still debating a couple of small details Rachel would return and while my dining partner opted for his first of two cocktails I firmed up the order for seven dishes, all to be served family style, to which Rachel simply stated “I hope you guys brought an appetite.”

Having asked her to have the chef send the dishes out in whatever order he felt fit the night’s dining at Red Medicine would actually start quite promptly with the first dish arriving no more than ten minutes after we placed our order in the form of “Brussels Sprouts / caramelized shallots, fish sauce, vermouth” – a dish that looked nothing like Brussels sprouts at first glance, but the first dish in a while that would sell me on this suddenly en vogue veggie. Topping the plate with dainty and crisp shrimp chips plus leaves – both raw and fried – of basil that added a nice crunch and some herbaciousness, the base of this plate was steaming hot and filled with at least thirty or forty of the small sprouts, all perfectly caramelized and imbued with their characteristic buttery notes. With the sprouts good, what really upped the ante in this dish for myself was the light and clean use of fish sauce balanced carefully against pungent caramelized shallots plus very light boozy sweetness from the Vermouth. Having been told by my friend at ink that this dish should be ordered if on the menu I entirely agree as it is quite rare for someone to take so many pungent flavors and make it work with so much balance and nuance.

Moving next to another longtime member of Kahn’s menu “Pork Rillette / crispy chicken skin, lychee, clove, pistachio, spicy herbs” would arrive in a cast iron casserole with a side dish of toasted bread and although appearing quite vegetal at first what lurked below the chicory, clove, and greens was anything but. Deep and intense with a smooth and spicy pork terrine broken up by not only toasted pistachios but also by the crunchy sapor of fried chicken what really set the rest of the flavors off was actually the lychee and sliced cipollini onions, an east meets west and sweet on sweet pairing I’d have never thought would work so well and much like the sprouts a very “busy” dish where everything just seemed to work.

By now proving that dishes were going to be anything but simple the next to arrive was something I’d have generally taken a pass on but luckily agreed to based on my co-diner’s suggestion. Titled “Santa Barbara Spot Prawns / melon, coconut, morning glory, horseradish, coriander” and thereby already featuring two things I generally don’t fancy in the melon and horseradish I was happy to find that this beautiful presentation in a shallow hand-blown glass bowl was surprisingly delicate beginning with some of the sweetest and snappiest prawns I’ve ever tasted. With the delectable shellfish base noted and resting in a light pool of melon juice and cilantro oil the rest of this dish would walk a tightrope of textures and techniques from the raw morning glory, coriander, and compressed melon to the modernist coconut powder and light notes of horseradish. With sliced daikon and water chestnuts adding just a bit more crunch this was certainly the lightest and most crisp selection in an otherwise heavy meal and perhaps all the better for it.

With that brief interlude of expectedly light fare (actually, not even an interlude as the next course arrived while we were working on the Prawns and finishing up the Rillette) the next course to arrive would actually prove to be lighter than expected…or at least as “light” as duck liver and head cheese can be. Described as “Foie Gras / mousse, tete de cochon, beets, green strawberries, chicory, croissant” and served on a slate in linear style this presentation began at its base with a buttery thin crust topped with poignant head cheese and four large dollops of airy mousse laden with the soon-to-be-forbidden flavor of duck liver. A strong base but obviously not enough technique or texture for Kahn’s kitchen what came next was an inspired pairing of bitters and sours not common to American foie gras preparations featuring earthy beets, sour green strawberries, sliced radishes, hearts of palm, and a “soil” made of chicory, cumin, sesame, and just a touch of brown sugar. Shockingly vegetal yet deeply satisfying this would prove to be the best foie gras preparation of my visit to Los Angeles and with the impending ban I’d strongly urge anyone interested to check it out before year’s end.

Having already underestimated the Red Medicine kitchen’s ability to take several hefty or potent ingredients and weave them into a fine mesh of flavors it was at this point no surprise when “Duck / caramelized endive, banana, toasted grains, brown butter, chinese five spice” arrived fragrant, aromatic, and although complex certainly not overly so. Beginning first with the duck – a fine specimen with just a bit of game and a nicely crisped skin – my favorite protein would prove quite nice and served overtop buttery endive at one end and crispy puffed rice and quinoa at the other it was interesting to compare and contrast before next exploring further and adding in the charred frisee, dehydrated brown butter, and razor thin slices of banana plus banana puree. Clearly reminiscent of Peking duck given the use of five spice but at the same time veering into Cuban flavors with the banana there was a part of me that thought perhaps some might find this dish too sweet but given my substantial sweet tooth I enjoyed it a great deal.

With duck and foie gras covered in the previous two dishes the last two courses of the night would feature another favorite ingredient – eggs – and with each arriving in a large bowl the duo would start with “Sweet corn / kelley’s egg, turmeric crepe, black malt, shiitake,” a dish that did not appear to be much at first sight, but a dish as unique as all those before it in the end. Having already mentioned the deep bowl, peering into this dish looked nothing like corn but rater something akin to a large dumpling topped with spindly greens and mounds of dirt but what once appeared like a dumpling would actually prove to be the thinnest of crepes imbued with the punchy notes of spicy turmeric while what lied beneath would indeed be slightly blistered and buttered sweet corn, dried shiitakes, and a single creamy egg. Taking a bite of each component before stirring it all together and forking some onto my plate I’ll admit that at first I didn’t quite “get” this dish, but as I tried a bit more it all seemed to come together – a smoky sweetness that was almost fruity and umami laden undertones with just a bit of spice. While probably the “worst” dish of the evening that was mostly due to how good everything else was rather than a reflection on the corn itself.

For the coup de grace our final savory of the evening was the oft raved Heirloom rice porridge / egg yolk, hazelnuts, ginseng, echire butter with Santa Barbara Red Uni and without a second thought I can say this was the single best savory I ate in Los Angeles and a top contender for one of the best things I ate all year. Beginning first with the porridge itself – think a hybrid between congee and risotto fortified with what it turns out is 6 tablespoons of echire butter plus a bit of cream that is easily enough to feed a pair (both calorically and portion-wise) on its own. Now add in a creamy egg-yolk that stiffens a bit in the steaming hot porridge, cracked hazelnuts, flakes of duck confit, sliced bok choy, various dried herbs including ginseng, and finally four large sea urchin tongues and I think you see where this is going; a full bodied blend of savory flavors all amplified by the copious use of butter and literally overwhelming the senses with no one flavor dominant but all contributing to the whole. While delayed in our enjoyment by a lack of service spoon I will simply say that despite Stella Rossa, despite the other six savories, and despite the obvious need to try Kahn’s desserts there was no way any of this was going back to the kitchen and not a drop of it did.

With the dessert menu featuring five options but one crossed off as they’d ran out of muscat grapes and my dining partner looking just a bit past comfortably full at this point we decided to go light on dessert and only three out of the remaining four options, the first two arriving as a duo and then the last when we’d completed those. Beginning first with what has become Red Medicine’s signature dessert, “Coconut Bavarois / coffee, condensed milk, thai basil, peanut croquant, chicory” the fragrant dessert arrived in what was perhaps a half-full eight ounce glass and again featuring the adept use of tastes, textures, and temperatures I really enjoyed the manner in which Khan utilized the custard-soft coconut as a backdrop to show off the contrast between sharp notes of the crunchy coffee and the more mellow tones of the peanut butter cookie. With the base strong and only enhanced by the sweetness of the condensed milk ice cream the final ingredient, a bit of gelatinous thai basil, was barely detectable on the tongue yet impressively notable on the finish.

For the second of the pairing, “Rhubarb / mahlab cremeux, hibiscus, gentian, aromatic willow” seemed a bit out of season to a Midwesterner but season be damned whit was one interesting dessert. Familiar with rhubarb – the poached fruit present at the center of the aromatic hibiscus meringue and the dehydrated paper forms atop – I was much less knowledgeable of mahlab, an ingredient my server had to return to the kitchen to ask about and apparently a spice made from the seeds of the St Lucie Cherry that imparted a slightly bitter but distinctively sweet taste to the smooth cream sitting atop the meringue. Finishing the dessert with more exotic leaves and flowers – not only as garnish but also in lending a slightly herbal lemon tone – this was precisely the sort of dessert I expected walking into Red Medicine and while not the best of the night certainly the sort of risk taking exploration of flavors I expected given Kahn’s pedigree.

For the final dessert of the evening, another mainstay since the early days of Red Medicine but reportedly updated seasonally, “Bitter Chocolate / kecap manis, oats, parsnip, brown butter, soy milk sorbet” would send off the evening with a bang. Beginning first with a light yet potent dark chocolate mousse and then pairing this with even darker crumbles of 86% cocoa this dessert progressed in a circular manner to include a noodle of sweet soy sauce, dollops of parsnip crème, chunks of brown butter cake, and finally oats plus the lightly flavored sorbet which seemed to tame everything just enough to keep any one flavor from overshadowing the rest. A brilliant dessert both sweet and savory, light and dense, smooth and crunchy the only thing that could have been a better send off would have been a sweet rice pudding comparable to that congee.

With the restaurant and bar now in full swing and the bill requested just as the time reached 10:30pm I was honestly surprised how long we had been at Red Medicine but what surprised me even more was how much I had loved the experience. Sure some have panned Kahn for calling this “Vietnamese” food and having never really looked into authentic cuisine of the nation I really cannot render a verdict in that regard but what I can say is that on a trip that included Los Angeles dining mainstays like Animal and Providence as well as up-and-comers such as ink plus a $350 white truffle tasting menu at LQ@SK the food at Red Medicine is the food I remember most fondly from the trip – food that was novel without being gimmicky, upscale yet honest, and above all else absolutely delicious leaving me with no doubt that I’ll be back.