Sunday Supper at Lucques
Two years ago, I raved about a meal at Chef-owner Suzanne Goin’s other restaurant, AOC. Perhaps it is the curse of the second visit or that I often cook from Goin’s book Sunday Supper’s at Lucques and so am fond of Goin’s approach to ingredients and cooking. Familiarity breeds discontent, no? When you sit down for Sunday Supper, the menu is extremely limited and there are no substitutes. Choose one of three mains prepared by the kitchen, the appetizer and dessert of the evening are selected for you for prix fixe $40.
There was no overwhelming flaw with Lucques. Goin’s exacting style was evident in every detail of the restaurant: simple but elegant tableware, casual Christmas lights strung from the trees on the patio, dark wood chairs, attentive but discreet service. The branzino of the evening was well-cooked albeit buried under a mountain of bland parsley charmoula, the salad greens were fresh and peppery, and the wine for the evening was a Chambertin, one of my favorite terroirs within Burgundy. And yet, I left Lucques that evening with a sense of dissatisfaction. I missed the “Chef’s touch” that I experienced at AOC and in Sunday Suppers. On my next visit to LA, I will skip Sunday Suppers and try the regular menu. I am sure to find Goin’s charm once again.
Sunday Supper at Lucques
http://www.lucques.com/sunday_supper.html
8474 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90069
T: 323.655.6277Labels: LA, los angeles, lucques, restaurant