Last night Angelina and Brad were dining with Penelope and Javiar at Sona. No, I was not there, but I do read the gossip columns every day. I have been there three times in the past six weeks to look anew at this startling good restaurant. It hardly seems possible that seven years have passed since David Myers opened his extraordinary fine-dining restaurant, SONA (401 N. La Cienega Blvd., 310-659-7708, south of Melrose at Westmount).
Some months ago there was a management change in the parent company and rumors surfaced that the restaurant was closing, but fortunately it was untrue and all remains as before... in fact, even better! David is one of the original subjects of my "Follow the Chef" memo, where you find a truly talented young chef, follow their career and support him or her in their endeavors. I first encountered the 35-year old wunderkind when he was Executive Sous Chef at Patina, knowing that he had been forged in the crucible of Charlie Trotter and Daniel Boulud. My initial reviews of David's food were at the Jaan Restaurant at the Raffles L'Ermitage Hotel on Burton Way, and in late 2001 I wrote that my meal there was "as good as it ever gets."
When Sona first opened (the name comes from the same Latin root as the musical term, sonata), my editor and I - having just returned from a dinner at The French Laundry - looked at each other in pleased surprise after our meal and commented, "This may be as close to that incredible Napa experience as we'll find in LA."
Much water has flowed under the bridge since that evening, and ambitious David has created something of a restaurant empire, with the opening of the very successful Comme Ca on Melrose and Pizzeria Ortica in Orange County, as well as opening and closing Boule bakeries hereabouts. To commemorate his seventh anniversary, David is offering a seven course, $77 menu of his classic dishes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for the next few weeks. Considering that his six course Découverte tasting menu runs $95, there is no better time to try Sona than now.
The elegant white-and-gray dining room remains stark, sublime and subtle, featuring that massive six ton granite stone in the center of the room, from an Escondido quarry. It is both decorative and serviceable, holding bottles of wine atop it. At a recent dinner, my companions all remarked on the youthful vibe of his dining audience. Beautiful people dressed casually, all intent on experiencing a fabulous culinary journey. As someone said, "This is far from a stuffy environment, which is consistent with Myers' reputation as a bit of a maverick."
After serving yard-long cheesy breadsticks, Pastry Chef Ramon Perez sent out endless baskets of warm, house-baked bread. I even took home a bag of the delicious black tea rolls. A recent anniversary meal began with rosy morsels of Hiramasa sashimi topped with spicy grapefruit confit and sprinkled with a green pepper powder. Silky streaks of edamame puree were finished with a deep red preserved tumeric. Tahitian Squash Soup had a chai foam and a carmelized morsel of freshwater eel, anago. Tapioca pearls finished the dish. The next dish was one winner of the night, Maine Lobster Risotto, chunks of sweet lobster meat mixed into the crunchy grains of rice in an intense shellfish emulsion, all sprinkled with minced kaffir lime leaf. My personal favorite of the seven course menu followed: Roasted Duck, slices of rare, rosy fowl with a crispy finish. A streak of intense smoky eggplant puree and small eggplant discs set beside a celery root-shiso salad completed it.
Chef de Cuisine Kuniko Yagi came out before the next entrée course was served and smilingly commented, "The best is yet to come." Which meant the Short Ribs braised in red wine, served as a square which fell apart at the touch of the fork. The rib was plated on cardamon-infused boniato puree. I asked Yagi about the topping to the meat; he said it was crispy braised maitake mushrooms garnished with mitsusba, a peppery Japanese herb. Short ribs are ubiquitous in this town, but these were memorable.
The sweet courses followed, and pastry chef Perez proved to be a more than adequate successor to the chef's ex-wife, Michelle, who had supplied them upon opening. Baba came with diced quince, pear, grains of Paradise sabayon, with an intense Greek yogurt sorbet. More interesting than exciting. Much preferred the Chocolate Beignets, with pumpkin confit, Birch bark ice cream; the pastry oozed molten chocolate when pierced with my fork. A caramelized carrot stick stood up tall atop the pastry. A long dish of tiny, tasty Mignardises followed: tempered white chocolate filled with grapefruit sauce, a fleur de sel caramel, a salt-and-pepper macaron, fennel pate de fruit, dehydrated chocolate mousse, a hazelnut crostaillant and a 'raspberry cherry.' (Yes, that's what Ramon said!) Surfeited, but not stuffed, the able waitress then brought out a basket of warm madeleines to enjoy with our strong coffee; they were, as someone said, just addictive.
I think that you should immediately plan on a visit next Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening...for this may be the best $77 value you will ever experience in your gastronomic career! Enjoy!
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