Bastide

Bastide is one of the hidden gems in west hollywood. Located at a tiny street off from La Cienega near Melrose. Bastide is hidden from the very busy street, yet, close enough to all the big Hollywood scenes. This place is a bit small, yet, it has this friendly ambiance to it. Dining at Bastide is like Dining at a friend's house. 

Executive chef Joseph Mahon, after having trained in New York, France and the OC, now he's bringing his food to LA for us to savor.

Malpeque Oysters with Watermelon Mignonette
The fresh oyster combined with cucumber and melon creates a very nice balanced flavor. Definitely a great way to start off the night.

Charcuterie - Chicken liver mousse, Duck Rillette & Smoked Suckling Pork
 - The chicken liver mousse is creamy, rich and flavorful, with a hint of saltiness to go with it.
 - The Duck Rillette was light and savory, extremely well made.
 - The Smoked Suckling Pork was juicy and well balanced with the mixed greens.

Inside the Duck Rillette.

Chestnut Apple Soup with pomegranate puree 
The soup is mildy rich with chestnut flavor and is a little bit sour. Yet, with the lightly cooked apple, it mixes the sourness of the soup with the sweetness of the apple, creating a nice combination of sweet and sour.

Mushroom Tart 

With fresh buff pastry on top with the mildly creamy mushroom underneath it, this mushroom tart is a very unique dish. The mushroom was a bit creamy and the puff pastry is definitely a nice mix to go along with the mushroom.

Fresh Shrimp with Arugula and fresh Avocado

Although this dish seems simple and the flavor is what you expect it to be. This is actually a very fun dish to eat because who would've thought the rich texture of avocado would actually create this nice "meaty" texture for you.     

Grilled Octopus with Chorizo and parsley Purée with fennel
This nearly perfectly grilled Octopus is juicy, a perfect chewy texture and with the combination of chroizo, brings in the nice saltiness to the dish.

Leek Risotto with Poached Egg and Prosciutto
This Risotto brings in the mild creaminess of a classic risotto, combined with the poached egg and prosciutto creates a nice blend of rich, yet not overwhelming. Though the risotto is a bit salted, the prosciutto brings in the little extra salt into the risotto, making it a really well balanced dish...and you wouldn't want to pass out after eating it since it's actually quite mild for a risotto dish.

Baked Salmon with Beluga Lentils and wine sauce
This perfectly cooked salmon with the great complementary of wine sauce. The wine sauce is a bit sweet and salty, which brings in the needed flavor for the salmon. This dish is light, cute and definitely a great bite.

Beef Duet - Prime New York Strip & Shortrib
This is actually the most interesting dish of the night. Having a nice juicy new york strip placed next to a juicy shortrib, it creates a huge difference of texture in my head. The New York Strip is juicy, tender and the wine sauce brings in a nice flavor to the meat. And although the shortrib is also very juicy and nice, however, since the memory of the juicy steak in imprinted in my head, it made the shortrib "appeared" to be less juicy than what it's supposed to be. (I playfully called this "cute vs hot cheerleader" effect). Both meat were great. However, for Chef Mahon to mess with my head like that is definitely fun, yet, not fun.Overall, a very successful dish.

Chocolate Soufflé, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream & Plum Sorbet

The Soufflé is mildly chocolate rich, with a nice sponge texture. With the combination of Vanilla Bean ice cream and cleaning our taste bud with the Plum Sorbet. This combination definitely give my sweet tooth its night.

Overall

Bastide has developed some of the best chef known, such as Alain Giraud, Ludovic Lefebvre, Walter Manzke, Paul Shoemaker, Well now, we have Joseph Mahon. I definitely enjoyed my night here, especially the mushroom tart and chicken liver mousse and I will, hopefully, return soon for another tasty night.