These lights are an urban icon and are a very recognizable sight of LACMA (los angeles county museum of arts)
I recently had the opportunity to be introduced to another unique aspect of LACMA:
LA's Water Sommelier!!!
Martin Riese is the general manager of Patina Group's restaurant Ray's and Stark Bar. He is also a fine expert in something very important that we partake in everyday. Drinking water!!! I have heard of wine sommeliers but a water sommelier was very unusual to me, as i'm sure it is to many LA natives. But it is quite common in Europe, where one can find water pairings on a restaurant menu.
My guest and i were treated to 3 different types of water. Martin gave a us a brief introduction on growing up in Germany and how traveling influenced his love of finding different types of water and how differently water can taste from the next glass.
The first water served was Voss, which is pretty common now in LA as an "expensive, fancy" water
next to the average bottled purified water. Next was Iskilde from Denmark which turned out to be our favorite- it was light, and refreshing and had a slightly sweet after taste. The last was a carbonated water from Spain called Vichy Catalan. This one was very "strong" in that, it was very very bubbly with a strong oceanic taste- salty. For a more extensive look at their water menu :
Their bread and butter was lovely. The bread having a crunchy exterior and soft delicious interior.
We had a sampling of their asparagus soup, which was so tasty with a hazelnut topping!
Their fried oyster appetizer was delectable as well, served with a spicy, tangy sauce and lemony frisee.
For my main dish, i had their Anglonotti del Plin, which was a truffle rice stuffed pasta with hazelnuts and arugula. The hazelnuts offered a nice crunch. It was a heavier dish, but a good portion.
My guest was looking forward to trying their pork belly, but they had just run out . So at the recommendation from our lovely waitress, he got the lamb belly dish which was very good. The yogurt sauce paired perfectly with the spicy sauce on the lamb. The cucumbers and pomegranate were a nice refreshing side to the heavy meat. The pita bread was nice, but perhaps could have even been served plain.
There were about 5 different options for dessert, including a warm butter rum cake i was eyeing. We opted to share the Chocolate dish, which came with three pieces of chocolate encased passion fruit mousse, served over cookie crumbles and passion fruit coulis.
The staff is exceptional and the food is delicious. With indoor and outdoor seating, Ray's is a lively place to have a relaxing meal after a day exploring LACMA, checking out the nearby GroveLA or a nice wind down after work. :)
