Dining Review: Citrin

1104 Wilshire Boulevard
Santa Monica 90401
310-395-0881
citrinandmelisse.com

By MERV HECHT | Restaurant Critic

I worked on and off in Paris for 19 years, a couple of weeks every quarter. When I was there, I had one favorite restaurant, even though I didn’t get there very often.

It was La Grande Cascade, located in a huge park on the west side of Paris called the Bois de Boulogne. It was built in the 1930s, next to a hiking trail around a waterfall, in the style of that period, and remains with the same look today.

It came to mind recently because, before it became a famous restaurant, the Michelin guide wouldn’t give a star to a restaurant that seated people outside on a patio. But the patio at La Grande Cascade is so beautiful, and the cuisine so fantastic, that eventually Michelin gave in and awarded them a star—the first restaurant with outside seating to be so awarded.

On my eldest son’s 60th birthday, we had a family dinner for nine at Citrin, part of Mélisse. Mélisse has a Michelin star and they have an outside patio, which they designate as part of their sister restaurant in the same building, called Citrin.

We were seated on the outside patio, with no other tables there, and plenty of heaters. We had a spectacular dinner.

The White Asparagus with Morel mushrooms is as good as any restaurant in Paris. The Hamachi Collar was well spiced and as good as any Japanese restaurant, although I wouldn’t order a typical Japanese dish in a non-Japanese restaurant.

The Egg Caviar was flavorful, but it was a small portion. The Lobster Bolognese was delicious, with a flavorful sauce infused with the taste of the lobster. The black cod with green and white asparagus was just as expected, but a bit dated by its foamed sauce.

For main courses we shared a 16 Oz Prime Beef Ribeye, which came with both roasted potato and mashed potato and some veggies on the side. (You don’t have to go to Citrin for that dish because it’s available at the chef’s restaurant called Charcoal, in the Marina del Rey area.) The Dirty Chicken for Two was a big hit with its flavorful spices.

But it was all topped by the Chocolate and Grand Marniere souffles for dessert, which arrived in record time and were as good as I’ve ever had.

The chef, Josiah Citrin, was on hand to say hello, so I took his picture. It was a delightful evening in a comfortable, quiet space with excellent service.

And, like the Michelin people, I generally don’t like eating fine cuisine outside. The service was much improved from the last time I was there, a few weeks ago, when the waitress brought us the wrong appetizer, the service (inside) was slow, the veal too thin and the room too loud.

With fine dining now rare and almost impossible to find in Los Angeles, this was an exceptional evening—“worth the trip,” as the Michelin people would say.

And while the dessert was a great finish, the bill when it arrived was very reasonable for such a dinner, at about $100 per person. It would be a lot more at La Grande Cascade!

Merv Hecht, like many Harvard Law School graduates, went into the wine business after law. In 1988, he began writing restaurant reviews and books. His latest book, “The Instant Wine Connoisseur, 3d edition,” is available on Amazon. He currently works for several companies that source and distribute food and wine products internationally. Send your comments to mervynhecht@yahoo.com.