restaurant review: maude in los angeles

The unassuming entrance.

I am lucky that Mr. Sazy Rock's job (and my work with him) require us to be up to date with food trends, restaurants and all other manners of deliciousness. When Curtis Stone opened his restaurant in Los Angeles, which he called Maude, Mr. SR and I were traveling. We were pleased to have finally secured a reservation. 


The Scene

When Mr. SR and I dined at Maude, we walked past the restaurant twice because we weren't paying any attention. It is tiny - it seats about 25 people. It felt very cozy and intimate. It felt like a grown up restaurant, which was very refreshing. Diners were dressed up a bit better. We heard no loud voices or loud music or loud clanging of pots and pans despite it having an open kitchen. It made for an enjoyable dining experience.

Small Place.

The Food

First off, let me apologize for the quality of the pictures. I was using a camera phone and I did not use flash because I did not want to disturb the other diners.

Maude's prix fixe menu changes every month and the dishes served always include one seasonal item. When we went in December, the item was "winter squash." After eating the food, I'd rather that they dispensed with these "themed" menus. Except for one or two dishes, all the dishes were wonderful even if they did not include winter squash. In fact, I think a better theme for Maude every month should be "texture" because they did it so well. Let me explain.

• Pumpkin Lardo - A pumpkin puree wrapped in lardo and topped with a crunchy ingredient (which currently escapes me). It was a perfect amuse bouche that tasted fresh and felt soft and crunchy at the same time.

Pumpkin Lardo.

• Pumpkin Packet Seeds - Another amuse consisting of sweet pumpkin seeds wrapped in a crunchy thin wrapper. Again, I enjoyed the crunchiness of the wrapper and the soft, liquidy seeds while chewing. 

Pumpkin Seed Packets.

• Squash Salad - Served with duck pastrami, crunchy puffed farro (i loved that texture), slightly bitter watercress, and topped with a foam squash. All the flavors went perfectly together (although the foam could have just as easily been replaced with a light dressing).

Duck Pastrami and Squash Salad.

• Hiramasa Crudo - I enjoyed the freshness of the amberjack and the brininess of the roe as it exploded in my mouth. By the way, the Chef cured the roe in pumpkin (although to be honest, the rest of the ingredients were the star and not the pumpkin). The shaved bottarga provided texture and a bit of horseradish provided just a touch of spice.

Hiramasa Crudo.

• Striped Bass - The fish was perfectly flaky, and I loved that it was topped with crisp chicken crumble (yes, that's texture). The side dishes included pickled squash, dill, anchovy pesto and braised lettuce. A well thought out dish (although, again, the star ingredient was the fish).

Striped Bass.

• Consomme - I enjoy table side preparations when done properly. And, I enjoyed Maude's table side preparation of the consomme. The star of this dish was the squash, which was the flavor for the consomme. It was poured over thinly sliced squid with dessicated enoki (yep, more texture).

Table Side Preparation of the Consomme.

Consomme.

• Oxtail Raviolo - The pasta was al dente and the oxtail was rich. They were topped with truffle cream, shaved truffles and a pumpkin crumble (for the texture). 

Oxtail Raviolo.

• Pheasant - It was so refreshing to see something other than cow, pig, chicken, and fish products on my dish. This game bird was served two ways: the breast was poached (did they sous vide? I don't know) and was so juicy, while the leg confit was full of flavor. The pickled squash and baby shallots were crunchy (more texture) and sharp, which complemented the flavors of the pheasant.

Pheasant.

• Pork Jowl - By this time, I was about to explode and could barely eat a bite. But I soldiered on so you don't have to. The pork was rich and seasoned well. It was crunchy on the outside and fatty inside. The richness of the jowl was tempered by the delicious puffed tendon (like a chicharron and therefore, nice and crunchy). The roasted crosnes tasted like an artichoke. The pureed squash, while good, was almost unnecessary. 

Pork Jowl.

• Vacherin - This dish was a take on caviar and blini. Except the caviar was pumpkin seeds and the blini was stuffed with vacherin cheese. Although I really should not have eaten anymore, I continued on. I am a sucker for cheese and the baked cheese in the blini was perfectly salty and chewy. If the dish did not come with the pumpkin caviar, I would have been just as happy.

"Caviar" and "Blini."

The delightfully delicious Vacherin.

• Marshmallow with Chocolate and Squash Gelato - I felt uncomfortably full by this time. But, I still tried the marshmallow. Its base was a smoky chocolate. I couldn't try the squash gelato. 

Marshmallow and Gelato.

• Kuri Squash Beignet - I finally gave up by the time this dish came. Although, when I say "gave up", I had a tiny bite of the spiced squash beignet, which was rich.

Kuri Squash Beignet.

• Squash Macarons, Curry Squash Profiterole, Pumpkin Gelee - These petit fours came with the check. Suddenly, my stomach found room for the macarons, which had that nice chewy outer layer. My stomach completely gave up after that.

Petit Fours.

Our meal at Maude was outstanding. I loved that the food had many different layers of flavor but also had a lot of texture. 

Before I end, I'd like to note that Chef Stone was working the line, which was a pleasant surprise. I don't know whether that made the difference. Mr. SR - who first ate Chef's Stone's food when he was working as Marco Pierre White's Chef de Cuisine - and I were very impressed with the Chef's culinary chops. 

The Service

The staff - starting with the reservationists to the servers - were all friendly and efficient. Because the whole place seats so few people, the staff serves everyone. In US sports terms, they don't do "man-to-man" but "zone" service. They also did not pre-bus the table, which we appreciated. (Pre-bussing means taking away the dishes of a diner even though a companion may still be eating. By pre-bussing the table, the diner still eating may feel rushed to eat faster.)

Just a quick note: if you do no get a menu when you first sit down, do not fret. They will give you one at the end of the meal, which you get to keep if you want to.

The Price

It was relatively affordable for a fantastic meal. The tasting menu was $85 per person (excluding tax and tip). But, beware that if you order wine, it will set you back a whole lot more. I should note that the bill automatically included gratuity. Unlike most restaurants that automatically add tips, however, the servers at Maude made it a point to inform us that the bill already included gratuity, which I appreciated. (You may also add additional tip, if you wish.) It was also a nice touch that the restaurant sent us off with two cakes (that include the seasonal ingredient).

Menu and Give Away Pumpkin Cakes.

The Verdict

I loved my meal at Maude and can't wait to go back. 

Right now, you can only make reservations by calling them at (310) 859-3418. Because it is a tiny restaurant, they will require holding your reservation with a credit card. 

Have you dined at Maude? What did you think?