amuse bouche
One of the great pleasures of the summer is enjoying a night out at LACMA (the Los Angeles County Museum of Art). On Fridays, there’s live jazz in the courtyard and with the current Tim Burton exhibition, the museum is hopping. On top of that, the new Ray’s and Stark Bar with Chef Kris Morningstar (most recently from Mercantile and District) brings a new dining experience for museum goers.
I went last month to check out the on-going film series at LACMA. Before the film, we enjoyed dinner at Ray’s and then headed back to Stark Bar afterward for drinks.
Owl & Pussycat
I enjoyed one cocktail at dinner, the Owl & Pussycat (rum, lemon, simple syrup, strawberries, chilis) . The cocktail list is by “barsmith” Michel Dozois whom I know from his Neve Ice company.
Owl & Pussycat - view of the ice
I just love the big block of ice. It kept the drink nice and cool without watering it down so much. The picture is as is- no tweaking, that color is brilliant! And the taste? Sweet like summer.
funghi agnolotti
squid with padron peppers
The menu at Ray’s constantly changes with what’s available. Quite a lot is grown on the premises. I would say the menu is Mediterranean influenced. We started with two appetizers to share. I immediately knew I wanted the squid with the padron peppers. My friend was persuaded by me to try the funghi agnolotti. The squid was so tender and went well with the vibrant peppers. It was instantly my favorite. Then I had the agnolotti and changed my mind that this was my favorite appetizer. The skin of the agnolotti was so thin and supple. I thought the hazelnuts in the dish were also great.
sea bream with mussels
halibut
I really liked eating with my friend because she chose all the things I would have ordered- seafood and more seafood. The mussels in her sea bream dish were beautiful. Such glossy shells.
My own halibut dish with mushrooms and sun chokes was just amazing with the rich buttery sauce. I was really happy with my dinner. I’d been before for lunch and thought it was fine (I had a salad and a sandwich then). Now I think this is where you should go when you have more time to linger. But we had to run to make our film.
house-made oreos
We were given the house-made oreos with our check. Ah! This is one of the reasons why I love Chef Kris! I adored those damn cookies at Mercantile and was so bummed when they stopped making them. I suppose the chef found his source for the chocolate again.
mint daiquiri
Presbyterian
Italian Stallion
After the show, plopped ourselves down at Stark Bar. They were offering cocktails from the special Jazz menu.
Mint Daiquiri- rum, lime, simple syrup, mint
Presbyterian-rye, ginger, lime
Italian Stallion- Scotch, Carpano Antica vermouth, Cynar
I liked all of them but my fave was the Italian Stallion. The daiquiri was very nice though on the patio.
I see myself cocktailing and arting it up here more often.
Ray’s & Stark Bar at LACMA
5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 – (323) 857-6180
August 12, 2011 at 3:09 PM
Wow. On the basis of this review, Ray’s & Stark Bar just shot to the top of my list of places to try. I would gladly order every single one of the dishes you had, but that squid is absolutely calling my name.
August 12, 2011 at 3:14 PM
I was pretty surprised how much I liked my dinner. When I had lunch here, it was fine. There was nothing to write home about the salad and sandwich. But yeah, dinner was really good. I hope they have the squid when you go! The menu changes somewhat frequently.
August 24, 2011 at 8:26 AM
[...] MT: I look for passion, charisma, and willingness to work hard. Three drinks every bartender should know are the Manhattan, Old-Fashioned, and Daiquiri. [...]
September 20, 2011 at 5:14 PM
[...] Ray’s & Stark Bar presented scallops and meatballs in the morning. We headed back in the afternoon to try the lamb. lamb from Ray's & Stark Bar [...]
January 26, 2012 at 4:32 PM
[...] Ray’s and Stark Bar recently launched their new Winter cocktails. I was recently invited to check some of them out. Please note the pictured photos do not represent full-sized cocktails. These were taster samples. G-Funk Era [...]