Los Angeles
By
Carol & Joe Davis
Dining Detectives
We
took a short trip to Los Angeles and decided to stay at The Omni
Hotel on Bunker Hill, as it is in the heart of Downtown. We were
also interested in dining at their restaurant, Noe,
which features California Cuisine with French techniques and Japanese
influences. We like to dine where we stay as it adds to our enjoyment
of the hotel and is also very convenient and extremely relaxing.
The Omni Hotel was recently renovated to perfection! As we entered
the lobby, we were impressed by stunning floral arrangements and
a very friendly staff. You could tell they were very proud of
their hotel!
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The
décor at Noe includes pleasing blue and yellow bamboo glass
art panels and an Eiffel tower theme. There are also fabulous
views of downtown Los Angeles from both the Bar, Dinning Room
and outdoor Patio. There was a lively Bar scene this evening with
many business people meeting after work to enjoy cocktails and
or appetizers. We chose to sit in the Dining Room surrounded by
glass and overlooking the Patio and View. We started by ordering
cocktails from our server Lauren, who was very professional and
perky! We loved the Grey Goose Cosmopolitan and their
house Margarita made with Don Julio Tequila, fresh squeezed
lime juice, agaves syrup, cointreau and orange juice. The "Cosmo"
was very generous!
The
starters that were our favorites included the Fuji Apple Fennel
Shrimp with Kumquat preserves with fabulous herbaceous blackened
prawns and The Yellow Fin Tuna with grapefruit and fresh wasabi
which was light, fresh and absolutely perfect! We loved the entrees
which were also right sized portions. The Maple Leaf Duck
Breast and Foie Gras with peach carpaccio was decadent and
delicious! We also enjoyed the Braised Short Ribs with
truffle polenta and rapini as they were very tender. Noe's Fish
is the freshest as it is flown in daily, so both the New Zealand
King Salmon with braised leaks and orange gastrique and Alaskan
Halibut with spring pea ragout, lemon preserves and a white
wine finish were excellent and perfectly prepared!
The
wine list features wines from around the world , however we are
drawn to California vintages. We enjoyed the Cambria "Katherine's"
Santa Maria Chardonnay and our house wine the Ferrari-Carano
Sonoma Fume Blanc. The desserts were stellar! The Brownie
was subtle and the Caramel bread pudding was ultra light. We ended
our meal with very special Coffee, Kopi Luwak. Chef Glen
was very proud to serve this rare coffee and when he told us how
it was processed, we admit we were surprised but enjoyed the entire
pot of French Press. Kopi Luwak is one of the world's
most expensive and low-production coffees. It is made from beans
that have been eaten and digested by the Asian Palm Civet! The
coffee was served with amazing cookies which included lemon and
true treat with Peanut Butter & Jelly.
We
were pleased to tour their roof top vegetable garden and chat
with Noe's talented and charming Executive Chef Glen Ishii.
Glen is a native of Los Angeles who honed his culinary
skills at his family's restaurant in Los Angeles's Little Tokyo.
He also worked in restaurants in Japan prior to coming to Noe
in 2005. He takes great pride in his food with only the freshest
ingredients including his own herbs & vegetables from their
garden. His creativity and attention to detail definitely shine
at Noe! We really enjoyed our dining experience
as Noe delivers the quality Cuisine and Service you would expect!
Noe
Restaurant
Omni Los Angeles Hotel
251 South Olive Street
Los Angeles, CA. 90012
213-356-4100
www.NoeRestaurant.com
