Hatchi 8 Series with Brian Redzikowski

During my visit at Bond/St.Thompson Hotel, Chef Brian Redzikowski informed me that he would be doing his very own Hatchi 8 series at Breadbar. I was excited for him since Bond St. left Thompson Hotel there has been a lot of changes going on and it was something he could do on his own and separate from the hotel. I was joined by Christina of food, je t'aime whom I haven't seen since our Fooddigger dinner. Always having our main objective in mind (blogging, of course), Christina made 6 p.m. reservations for optimal lighting for our pictures. Excited to eat and practically starving, we decided to order one of everything and share.

tuna, watermelon, tomato, pistachio, soy

Our first course was a tuna and watermelon dish that was made to resemble eachother. A small trick for the eyes, Chef Brian wanted to "surprise" the diners by preparing the two compoments in similar cubed fashion. A refreshing dish, there was a sweetness to this dish that came from the watermelon and the cherry tomato water film on top. The tuna fell a little flat for me, but I did appreciate the slight salty notes I got from the soy dots.

squash blossom, uni, salsa verde

Our next dish was a squash blossom tempura with uni and salsa verde on the side. The heat from the salsa was a nice change from the previous course, but I thought the uni flavor was lacking and a bit lost in the heavy batter.

langoustine, rancho gordo beans, chives

The langoustine was quite tender and delicious. The bacon added another dimension of flavor to the dish while the beans added heartiness. I thought that the beans were a bit distracting from the langoustine, but overall thought this dish was tasty.

unagi, fuji apple, foie gras, potato

Next up was the unagi with a little bit of shaved foie gras on top. I wanted to tell our waiter to just leave that whole block of foie gras at our table, but I kept silent. Hey, I'm a lady. The unagi had a nice sweetness that wasn't overpowering which paired really well with the creamy potatoes. The fuji apples were nice and crisp, great contrast to the velvety potatoes.

halibut, artichoke, hojiblanca

Having previously experienced Chef Brian's olive oil three ways at Bond St./Thompson Hotel, I was excited to see it again on the menu. While the halibut was a bit underseasoned, it was cooked beautifully. The powder form out of the three lacked the most flavor while the pudding was our favorite of the trio. In my previous experience, the olive oil had a specific flavor profile in each of the three different ways that I absolutely adored. However, in this case, the flavors did not come through. Although the dish was good, it was not the best I've had from Chef Brian.

wagyu, carrot sphere, morel, pearl onion, garlic, baby asparagus, spring garnish

Our sixth and final savory course was Chef Brian's wagyu and spring garnish dish. The wagyu, obviously, was all things heavenly: fatty, buttery, soft, luscious, etc. While I don't want to take anything away from the main compoment of the dish, I have to say I really loved the caramelized onions underneath the beef. The sweetness of the onions were amazing when eaten together with the beef. The sweet flavor was echoed in the carrot sphere and along with the chip of french onion, it was the most interesting compoment of the dish.

asahi float, acacia honey ice cream

Another repeat dish for me, it was just as fabulous as I remember. The acacia honey ice cream always does a wonderful job of tempering the bitterness of the beer.

caramel popcorn, perserved cherries

The last course was one of my favorite dishes of the night. In my opinion, the panna cotta tasted like cereal milk - and i LOVE cereal milk! The chewey caramel popcorn gave nice crunchy texture and I enjoyed the fruity tartness of the cherries. It was as if I was eating my favorite breakfast cereal, but upgraded! Delicious.

Even though there were some hits and misses, I thought the menu cleary reflected Chef Brian Redzikowski's point of view and style of cooking. While many of the dishes were similar and reminiscent of the dishes I had at my meal at Bond St.Thompson Hotel, I personally thought this hatchi series did not live up to my previous meal. Nonetheless, I am still a huge fan of Chef Brian Redzikowski and will continue to support him. Dinner at Thompson Hotel sometime soon? Anyone?

Hatchi 8 Series @ Breadbar

10250 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90067
310 277 3770