ink. - Los Angles

ink.

ink.http://mvink.com/menu/ opened up several years ago with great anticipation after Michael Voltaggio left the Langham hotel in Pasadena.  As Season 6 winner of Top Chef, in which he competed alongside his brother Bryan it was a close fight to the finish with the younger Voltaggio coming out on top.

Voltaggio has had some impressive stints along the way, including Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen, and Jose Andres’ The Bazaar.

Menu

I was somewhat surprised to see Voltaggio working on the night I went.  Most “named chefs” don’t actually cook that often and the run of the house is usually left to the Chef de Cuisine.

Lollipop Kale

The Lollipop Kale ($14) comes with deep fried pig ears, crème fraiche and togarashi.  The kale is both crunchy and a little chewy at the same time.  The pig ears, a scary proposition for most people, is sort of a “beginner” dish in that it is deep fried.  Who isn’t willing to try anything deep fried, right?  Much to my dismay, the pig ears were underseasoned and was lacking in flavor.  Although crunchy, it had a “meaty” essence with no real distinction.  The kale was overpoweringly sour in my opinion, but my dining companions thoroughly enjoyed the dish.

Octopus

The Octopus ($22) comes with squid ink pasta and fennel.  The octopus was cooked nicely, and was tender and meaty.  It also had a nice char to it to impart a slightly smoky flavor.  The pasta was slightly overcooked and was slightly mushy.  The fennel added a flavor contrast with its anise flavor.

Fried Chicken Oatmeal

The Fried Chicken Oatmeal ($14) comes with peas and a sunny side up egg.  The name of the dish is somewhat misleading, as this is really fried chicken skin with no meat whatsoever.  The skin was nicely crisp and light.  The oatmeal added some body to the dish while the peas added a subtle sweetness.  The sunny side up egg just added more confusion to the age old question, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”

Lamb Belly

The Lamb Belly ($26) came with braised lettuce, mushroom hay and yogurt curds.  The lamb was nice and tender, while being unctuously fatty at the same time.  It was not gamey and paired nicely with the slightly funky lettuce.

Salt & Charcoal Potatoes

The Salt and Charcoal Potatoes ($) with house made sour cream and black vinegar looks very intimidating at first glance.  They look like rough river rocks or 1,000 year old ages covered in dust.  The black vinegar comes in a small atomizer and adds some sweetness and acidity to the dish.  It pairs perfectly with the expertly cooked potatoes which are firm on the outside, and slightly creamy on the inside.

Beef Cheek

The Wagyu Beef Cheek ($26) came with eggplant, golden raisins and schwarma spice.  The beef was very tender and flavorful.  The eggplant was both firm and giving at the same time.  This was one of the better dishes of the night.

Beef Short Rib

Seaweed Mashed Potatoes

The Beef Short Rib ($32) came with puffed tendon, seaweed mashed potatoes and concentrated carrots.  The short rib was very tender, but was lacking in flavor.  It could have used a touch of salt to bring out more of the beef flavor.  The puffed tendon tasted like a flavorless chicharone but was greasy in flavor and texture.  Although the mashed potatoes may have been flavored with seaweed, there were tapiko fish eggs in the dish.  The mashed potatoes had a distinct briny and fishy taste that was not off putting.  The fish eggs added a little “pop” to the dish.

Chocolate Dessert

The Chocolate dessert was a mixture of many different flavors and textures including ice cream, chocolate “soil”, a chocolate cigar and a chocolate crisp type dessert.  For chocolate lovers this is a great variety of chocolate goodies.

The Apple

The Apple is ink.’s signature dessert and is a deconstructed apple pie.  There are bits of salty pie crust, balls of apples, a caramel disk, and a frozen ball of whipped cream that was supposed to “crack and crumble” upon breaking it with a fork or spoon.

Overall, the meal had its hits and misses.  The Salt and Charcoal Potatoes, Lamb Belly and Wagyu Beef Cheek were my favorites.  Service was good overall, but there were instances where dishes sat for lengthy periods of time.  Tables are situated fairly close together so don’t be surprised if you get bumped into throughout the night.

Would I return?  Not in the near future as there are other places I’d like to try before giving ink. another shot.