Born & Raised, Little Italy, San Diego CA, June 2018

On June 11, 2018June 11, 2018 By ludovicdebrissacIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

© Copyright 2018 REVVIZE, All Rights Reserved

Born & Raised in Little Italy, San Diego, also known as BAR, is near flawless. Let’s explore together the various reasons why.

This relatively new property in the heart of Little Italy (San Diego) is one of several owned and operated by CH Projects. Their other properties, such as Ironside, Craft & Commerce and Underbelly, among others, will be revvized individually, so that each score stands on its own.

Unlike other recently opened establishments that still have that new car smell, Born & Raised looks and feels like it’s always been there.

Born & Raised is a fascinating combination of modern cuisine and retro classic steakhouse bringing us back to a bygone era of good taste, class, civility and opulence that might have been enjoyed by a privileged few on a luxury liner in the early 20th century. Such is the visual and sensory appeal that it’s virtually impossible to resist snapping pictures of the interior of this tastefully crafted dining room – or the whole building for that matter.

The textures and tones chosen for the dining room are in pure symbiosis. The warm tone and comfort of the leather banquettes, the walnut wood lining the ceilings, and the discreet glimmer of golden light immediately set the mood as you enter the restaurant. The tables, rather than being covered with white linen as you might expect in a formal dining room, are simple dark marble and copper-lined, imparting the dining room with the feel of a turn of the century classic Brasserie in the heart of Paris.

Diners can be seen enjoying their dinner experience vicariously through their mobile device, capturing every aspect of their meal in selfies or videos. After seeing this phenomenon a few times throughout the evening in various parts of the dining room, the only logical conclusion is that Born & Raised is creating a new breed of immersive dining experience that guests feel the urge to document meticulously. It’s not just about the beauty of the environment or the richness of the flavors. Each of these elements in and of itself is worth memorializing. However, it’s the combination of visual and gustatory stimuli that make every minute of the experience memorable.

Sure it took a little while for the bar cart to make its way to our table, but we didn’t mind the wait, there is so much else to look at and enjoy. I equate it to the long and winding wait for the Pandora ride at Disney World: it’s so well conceived and immersive that you don’t really have time to get bored as you wait for the ride.

The inviting club ambience puts you in the mood to have a drink before dinner. You can of course order a drink at the bar, but the floating bar station weaving its way between the tables, is an entertaining alternative for diners, who get treated to a fun show as the bartender expertly chills the glasses with dry ice before pouring the drinks.

I indulged in a classic Knob Creek Manhattan that was among the best I’ve enjoyed. The small dark red griottine cherries, slightly acidic and not overly sweet are a welcome upgrade from the usual candy-red maraschino cherries typically found in your average Manhattan. The (very) dirty gin martini with blue cheese olives somehow managed to come out crystal clear.

The service is discreet and efficient throughout. Striking a balance between judicious interaction with guests and leaving them alone to enjoy their experience is all at once an art and a science. All staff, from busser and food runner all the way to floor manager and waiters have studied the science, and mastered the art. They know how to pace your dinner experience based on reading your overall demeanor: are you on a rush? Are you there to enjoy a leisurely and long dinner? They just somehow know. It’s nice to feel like you can let go of the steering wheel because you know you’re in good hands.

I’ve visited Born & Raised multiple times over the past few months, curious to see if I would notice any variance in the quality of service; I’m delighted to report that our various waiters actually recall our preferences and are very good at anticipating our desires based on previous experience. This personal touch for repeat customers makes the experience all the more special.

BAR’s corkage policy is exactly what it should be: it’s reasonably priced. As you may have read in our previous revvizion, some restaurants don’t allow any outside wines and force you to buy their own overpriced wines. BAR doesn’t have that kind of ego, and they don’t place any undue restrictions on your desire to bring in your own special bottle. In those situations I’ll typically reserve a glass for our server or sommelier, which makes for a much more convivial experience.

For this June revvizion I brought a venerable bottle of 1982 Eberle Cab (Paso Robles, Central Coast of California) that showed impressive body and tannins after 36 years in the bottle. The sommelier was well enough educated about this wine that he knew not to decant it. The bottle was opened 45 minutes before we began to enjoy it. Whenever bringing an older vintage to a restaurant, it’s always with some palpitations that I relinquish custody of the bottle – I’ve had to intervene many times to save a brittle cork from the fumbling hands of a novice server.

The wine was a festival of wild berries and tannins. We could have easily kept it in the cellar another 5 years. The year this wine was bottled, the band Chicago wrote “Hard to Say I’m Sorry,” which is exactly what I felt like singing for opening such an amazing time capsule.

Now, about the piece de resistance: food. Let’s not kid ourselves, steak is why you want to go to Born & Raised. If you’re vegan, you will be horrified. If you are carnivorous, you will be in dry-age heaven.

Although I’ve tried all their appetizers, I’ve settled on the Caesar salad as my standard go-to. Prepared table-side in an oversized unfinished wooden bowl, the classic Caesar dressing elements gradually join each other into an unctuous mustard-colored mixture. If you’re lucky, your Caesar dressing alchemist will tell you the true and surprising origin of the Caesar salad – I won’t spoil the surprise.

Bread service is not free, but when this warm and fragrant sculpture hits your table, it becomes very clear why. The whipped butter is good, but from a flavor perspective I recommend requesting fresh un-whipped butter. The brioche-like sections break off easily – careful, it can be steaming hot to the touch when served. Candidly speaking, the bread was probably superfluous considering the explosion of flavors packed in our chosen steaks.

I chose their signature dry-aged Tomahawk ribeye, 33 ounces of perfectly dry-aged, nutty flavored steak with discreet hints of blue cheese aftertaste. Depending on the cuts available, the Tomahawk will range between 32 and 40 ounces. Dry-aged steaks are an acquired taste. I typically would order my steak charred medium rare, also known as Pittsburgh medium rare, mostly because I like a juicy steak. Dry-aged steak can be ordered medium rare, but will not come out juicy like a normal steak.

The ribeye in this picture was ordered Pittsburgh medium rare – notice the plate is nearly dry. This is possibly one of the most satisfying first steak bites I’ve ever taken. It’s the kind of addictive flavor that keeps you coming back. Of course nobody in their right mind would finish a 33 ounce steak without some help, or at least a doggy bag… Nonetheless, centuries of deep-seated caveman instincts could not be repressed when I reluctantly shared part of this work of art with others in my party. I felt a tinge of selfishness and wished I could just growl to protect my property.

Needless to say, I did not let anyone else gnaw on the bone, leaving all traces of education and civility behind. Perhaps you’ve seen on Shark Week how sharks roll their eyes back into their sockets when they bite? I think I may have emulated that behavior.

The marrow bone you see in the background was a completely gratuitous and superfluous bonus – the steak should have been plenty. However, as any self-respecting Frenchman will attest, marrow bones are irresistible, especially when served with toasted brioche and coarse sea salt.

Let’s talk about Wagyu beef from Kobe, Japan.

I’ve heard naysayers criticize the exorbitant price that typically accompanies real Wagyu steak from Kobe. American Wagyu is pretty good, but when you compare them side by side, there is no doubt my vote goes to the Japanese provenance. Yes, the price is exorbitant, yes it’s really bad for you and no, you shouldn’t have this more than once a month. Is it worth it? Absolutely. At BAR, you will pay $18 per ounce but once you take that first perfectly juicy bite, you will develop a sort of temporary price amnesia.

What you see in the picture below is an 8 ounce serving (that’s right, $144). With a tiny pinch of sea salt, every bite – no joke – melts like butter on contact with your tongue and palate. Your cardiologist would definitely disapprove, but then again he or she is likely to be sitting in the booth next to yours, enjoying their own heart-stopping Wagyu or Tomahawk.

Which brings us to dessert. When the time was right, our waiter wheeled over a festive looking dessert cart with some American classics like carrot cake and cheesecake. One of our guests chose the carrot cake, which was expertly done – not so heavy on the cream and not overly sweet, still letting the carrot flavor shine through.

However, the star among our desserts was the Chocolate verrine with coffee marshmallow, cacao nib crumble, marzipan cake, and raspberries. Much like everything else we were served, presentation was flawless and flavors did not disappoint. Each flavor stood on its own, yet complementing the other ingredients.

Each meal we share is somehow memorable for one reason or another, and it’s a very personal experience that nobody can ever completely understand – we all experience food from our own unique perspective and heritage.

Born & Raised is one of those restaurants that can command your attention from your first step inside, until the last bite. You will find your conversation veer toward the food and ambience, which has the unique advantage of bringing you and your friends solidly into the present moment, temporarily forgetting about yesterday or tomorrow. Any restaurant that has the power to snap me into the present time is a restaurant that will keep me coming back.

Ludovic Le Fort, June 8, 2018

Giorgio Baldi, Santa Monica, CA, May 2018

On May 29, 2018May 29, 2018 By ludovicdebrissacIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

giorgio_baldi_header

Having dined at Giorgio Baldi several times over the past few years, I always look forward to the next time I get to sit down in this wonderfully authentic Italian gem in Santa Monica.

With an overall score of 68.96, this revvizion may seem harsh to some. This analysis is rooted in actionable input for the restaurant. The input given is meant to serve as a genuine attempt to help this great restaurant rectify some simple yet important quality control issues that are sure to have been experienced by other diners along the way. Given that Giorgio Baldi is a high-end dining establishment in Santa Monica, expectations for quality of service are commensurate with the prices we pay. As diners who are willing to pay a premium for a premium experience, we expect the establishment to execute flawlessly and pay attention to all aspects of the customer experience.

GIORGIO_BALDI_SCORE_MAY_2018

About the revvize score model: every star in the revvize model is associated with a unique score, and can be traced back to a set of analytics that, in the aggregate, roll up into the overall score. In order to be fair and objective, the score is computed according to a proprietary algorithm that combines dozens of granular, qualitative and quantitative elements covering four general areas: wine program, food, service and ambience/cleanliness.

First, let’s give credit where credit is due: the ambience and cleanliness at Giorgio Baldi are near flawless. Although the lighting could be slightly brighter (some of our older guests needed the help of their iPhone’s flashlight to read the menu and see the contents of their plates), the environment is well suited for an intimate dining experience. This accounts for the score of 98.57 assigned to the ambience/cleanliness category.

The heart of the experience, which is food, was excellent. The food category score of 80.00 is not revealing of past experiences I’ve had at Giorgio Baldi; based on prior expectations, food should have scored in the high 90s. This relatively low score is revealing of several elements that could have been executed better.

May 2018 experience:

The bread was decent but not memorable. However, the dipping olive oil was first rate.

We ordered two appetizers: burrata and truffled carpaccio di manzo. Both appetizers were flawless.

The burrata was perfectly creamy, yet delivering that pleasing elastic firmness that’s irresistible on the tongue and palate, especially coupled with the tomato, basil and olive oil combination in which no flavor was overwhelmingly dominant, showcasing the delicacy of the burrata’s flavor.

burrata_GB

The beef carpaccio literally melts in your mouth, and leaves a lingering truffled creamy flavor along with a discrete amount of melted fontina, olive oil and lemon juice.

carpaccio_GB

We ordered lamb chops that were decently flavorful, but not prepared to the correct temperature. The serving was a little bit stingy for the price, and the mint paste that accompanied the lamb was dry. The potatoes served with the lamb were scrumptious, roasted perfectly.

One of our guests ordered ravioli with ricotta and asparagus as an entrée. Flavors were well executed, but the serving size was disappointing (our guest qualified it as a kid’s portion). If it had been ordered as an appetizer, the size would have been acceptable, but definitely not as an entrée.

For dessert, the Nutella crespelle were a satisfying choice, and were actually a bigger serving than the ravioli!

Conversely, $14 for two small scoops of average flavor pistachio gelato was surprisingly overpriced, even if it had been the best gelato available.

Let’s talk about the wine program. GB’s wine list definitely doesn’t lack in variety, but the price points seem arbitrarily high. Having our own Napa Valley family label, we often bring some rare bottles and older vintages to share with friends and family.

We never mind the corkage fee, and we typically find that a restaurant will waive the corkage if we buy at least one bottle from their wine list. That is typical, but not at Giorgio Baldi, where you either buy from their wine list or drink water. Along with a handful of other equally presumptuous restaurants, GB’s policy is: no outside wine allowed. As a winemaker, it isn’t difficult to comprehend how I would take that personally.

Pairing our wines with a great Italian meal would have been a perfect experience. Instead, we overpaid for an average Amarone.

Last but not least, let’s talk about the service quality score which, in the final analysis, was the most disappointing element, and cost the most number of points in this revvizion.

Our party was assigned one of the “terrace” tables, which is a super-narrow area directly behind the restaurant entrance. We can’t really fault the restaurant for how narrow that area is, but the constant flux of incoming and outgoing patrons parking themselves next to our table was a bit distracting.

We immediately started feeling rushed. Our waiter introduced himself hastily; most of the actual service was provided by the busser. He answered our question distractedly, rushing to provide monosyllabic answers so he could switch his attention to other matters. He never once stopped looking elsewhere as we asked questions, and getting his attention during dinner was an exercise in futility. I understand it was a busy weekend, but when a server can’t handle many tables, it’s a manager’s job to make sure he or she is assigned a manageable number of tables in order to provide first rate attention and service to diners.

We requested a group picture, but our server dismissively delegated the task to another server, who obliged us (thankfully!). We weren’t sure how taking a picture on an iPhone was somehow beneath him, but we moved on to other conversation.

One of our guests ordered a delicious linguine con langostine in a lightly spicy tomato sauce – the size of which met expectations for an entrée. Flavors were wonderful, with well balanced acidity and sweetness in the tomato sauce. Our guest decided she wished to add some freshly grated parmesan to this symphony of flavors. When she requested parmesan from our server, he recommended against it in a disapproving tone, making our guest feel needlessly rejected. She was ultimately given parmesan, but only after we insisted.

We realize that Italians, like many other cultures in Europe, are food purists. As a Frenchman I can relate to this – the French have their well-deserved reputation for being very particular and, sometimes, outright rude about their food preferences; if Italians frown upon adding cheese to a pasta dish, they probably have a decent rationale for it. I’ve heard diners order diet coke with their well-done steak, a revolting thought for my own palate. However, it is that diner’s right, no matter how misguided, to drink and eat whatever they wish. After all, they are on the hook for paying their bill, whether or not they are satisfied with their meal.

So why even argue with a guest about a simple request for parmesan on a pasta dish? Why not simply make sure the guest comes away from their dining experience wanting to come back, versus feeling rejection for such a benign request?

Another broken rule, which also contributed to our feeling rushed, was plates being removed from the table prior to all guests having finished their dinners.

Finally, the finishing touch that motivated this review, was being presented with the bill before we requested it. Oddly enough, the check was presented by the hostess, not the waiter, making it very clear she needed our table for the next party. This final detail, cumulative with all the other elements that made us feel rushed, made this experience far less enjoyable than it should have been. I would tolerate this on Mother’s Day brunch, when quickly turning tables over is a must, but definitely not for a leisurely dinner.

Adding insult to injury, because we were a party of six, the restaurant pre-computed a 20% gratuity into our bill. It was our intention to leave a maximum of 15% gratuity considering how frustrating the service experience was; however, because the gratuity was presumptuously pre-computed, we were denied the basic ability to express our disappointment with the quality of service.

In summary:

Great food, awesome flavors
Great environment, flawless cleanliness
Inconsistent price/quality of experience
Unable to bring our own wine bottle to enjoy with dinner
Flippant, dismissive and argumentative server
Rushed experience throughout dinner
presented check before asking for it
presumptuous pre-computed gratuity

This brings us to the most basic thing on every diner’s mind when leaving an establishment, a simple binary choice: do I want to go back to this restaurant? I choose to call this a binary choice because psychologically, it is that simple in our mind: a 1 or a 0. The experience was either an irreversible “never again,” or a yes.

In the case of Giorgio Baldi, we will undoubtedly overlook all the service shortcomings in order to recognize the true soul of the restaurant: glorious, authentic Italian flavors. One rude server should not have the power to damage the reputation of a restaurant, especially one that serves great food. Had the food element been inferior in any way, the score would have been lower yet, and the answer to that binary question would have been an unequivocal “no.”

The point is, a dining experience, no matter if the establishment is high-end or a food truck, comes with expectations. Our expectations are often governed by how much of our hard-earned cash we have to part with. Clearly our expectations of a food truck are simplified in comparison to the likes of a Giorgio Baldi – we only care that the food truck be clean, and that the food be tasty.

High-end dining establishments don’t become successful overnight; for some, their reputations are built over decades. Complacency is a dangerous trait for any of them. Some of the best restaurants shut down for unrelated reasons like losing their lease, or a star-chef being accused of inappropriate behavior. Some others gradually lose their touch by taking their eyes off the important details. Reputation is made one diner at a time.

So we encourage our readers to definitely give Giorgio Baldi a try, because their team in the kitchen is first rate. If it’s a busy night, be patient with your waiter.

Ludovic Le Fort, May 29, 2018

Revvize: fair, thoughtful and transparent consumer hospitality quality reviews

On May 25, 2018May 28, 2018 By ludovicdebrissacIn Consumer quality reviews, Hospitality Quality Control, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Welcome to Revvize, the next generation of Restaurant & Hospitality quality consumer reviews!

The intent of Revvize is to give a new kind of voice to millions of my fellow consumers who would like to express their feelings about a hospitality experience, whether forgettable or memorable.

Note: Ludovic Le Fort is a nom de plume (alias). As author of Revvize blog posts, I will remain anonymous in order to avoid my real identity becoming a factor whenever visiting an establishment. In other words, Ludovic is a fictitious person…

The reviews, also called revvizions, are intended to make the hospitality transaction more equitable: if we’re satisfied, we gladly pay the bill. However, if we’re dissatisfied, there is little recourse to express our opinion, and we’re certainly expected to pay our bill even though we feel shortchanged.

Essentially, it’s time to make this a two-way street, but with fairness, thoughtfulness and objectivity for all involved.

In the age of Social Media and Yelping, everyone fancies themselves a restaurant critic.

Yelp is to real restaurant review as Twitter is to real journalism: it empowers the masses with a self-righteous, misguided sense of entitlement to a broadcast-worthy opinion. – Anonymous

Broadcasting an opinion about a hospitality experience is a form of power, and like all forms of power, it must be wielded with responsibility and deliberation. Just because we have an opinion doesn’t mean it should be indiscriminately shared with the whole world. Some professional restaurant critics wield so much power that they can make or break a restaurant with one review. Tweets or Yelp reviews, no matter how well intentioned, have also shown the ability to backfire.

Because our lives are so saturated with constant digital input from all directions, it is all too easy to take the path of least resistance and choose or dismiss a restaurant based on skimming the first two or three Yelp reviews.

Some of the crowd-sourced content on Yelp is helpful, at times, as a generic guide if unsure about where to have dinner in an unfamiliar place. More often than not, Yelp content is inaccurate because the author of the post is marginally eloquent, or outright incapable of articulating a cogent review.

Today’s popular scoring systems lack transparency. Without context, a score is meaningless, as well as highly subjective. Unless the scoring system provides pricing justification and context, its usefulness and relevance are marginal at best.

In wine review magazines, have you ever tried to make sense of the distinction between a fantastic cabernet you enjoyed that got an 87-point score, vs. an average cabernet you tasted that received a score of 93? Does it really matter, other than to justify a higher price point, whether a bottle got a score of 97 or a 94? Would people typically be able to tell the difference? Whose “objective” palate decided that score to be fair and accurate? Certainly it can’t be qualified as objective.

So let’s focus on hospitality: what is it about a dinner experience, good and bad, or somewhere in between, that motivates us to broadcast our opinion at the top of our lungs? Is it that we care so much about our contemporaries that we can’t wait to share a good thing, or make sure they stay away from a bad thing? Is it perhaps our inner pioneer that wants to plant a flag in the ground and lay claim to an undiscovered culinary gem? Is it simply a desire to be heard in the noisy universe of social media? All of these motivators are more or less subjectively relevant from one person to another.

The truth is that our motive as amateur restaurant critics is slightly more selfish and materialistic in nature. Altruism has little place in the world of restaurant reviews. Ultimately, it is about money, pure and simple. And not just any money: our money. The motivation to review is about our hard-earned cash that we are expected to fork over at the end (or beginning) of a meal, whether or not we enjoyed the experience. It is this rather prosaic, unglamorous motive that sparked the creation of Revvize.

Our palate is a very personal and unique part of us. Like fingerprints, there are none that are exactly alike. A restaurant that our friends find charming may leave us completely unimpressed; conversely, our passion for an establishment may be mystifying to others. Does that make them wrong? Does that make us wrong? Absolutely not; it only makes us different. A scoring system should be capable of accounting for these differences without making one person right and the other wrong.

At best we may share a limited spectrum of cultural flavor profiles with someone and, in a limited fashion, find someone else’s description of their experience relatable. For example, this is true of curry flavor. To someone from India, curry is the most natural flavor in the world. Conversely, feed curry for the first time to an Iowa native who has never traveled to a big city, their reaction to this new flavor will be far different and unpredictable. Within the context of dining experience, cultural and ethnic heritage matter tremendously. A scoring system should be capable of accounting for these cultural and geographical differences.

For some of us, flavor will be the top element that makes a dining experience memorable or forgettable. If we crave that sensation we felt when first biting into the best BBQ ribs we’ve ever had, we will most likely go back and bring friends, even if service was sub-par, or hygiene was marginal. For others it may be the atmosphere, the décor, quality of service, cleanliness, or even how quickly the restaurant can serve the food.

For years now, having accumulated thousands of dining experiences all over the world, Revvize feels it is time to create a restaurant review model that provides context, transparency, real depth of review, and maintains fairness (objectivity) to the establishment being reviewed, all in a format that remains user-friendly for the masses.

Consciously or subconsciously, regardless of age, culture or ethnicity, every diner will ask himself or herself in a binary fashion: do I want to come back to this place, or do I not. Far too many times, customers are left feeling that they had great food, but the experience was cheapened by flippant, nonchalant or inexistent service – and the reverse is also true. How do you account for this experiential discrepancy? How do you review with fairness a restaurant that you wish had done better, in a way that makes it possible for them to improve their overall customer experience?

Restaurateurs work hard to create a dining experience, and diners work hard to earn the money they spend. Isn’t it time that both sides of this equation had a review forum based on fairness, objectivity and transparency?

No restaurant owner ever wakes up in the morning thinking to themselves “today, I’m going to instruct my staff to do a bad job; I’m planning on disappointing as many customers as possible.” Restaurant owners and operators have a fundamental incentive and desire to do a good job for their customers, especially because the Internet has leveled the playing field. Every flaw is now highly visible in a fiercely competitive marketplace, especially in large urban areas. A wide variety of unfortunate and random circumstances, few of which can be controlled, routinely get in the way of the most passionate business owners’ success.

The next blog post will be our first actual restaurant review, based on the principles presented in this introductory piece.

A phenomenal customer experience isn’t difficult to achieve, you just need to genuinely care about your customer’s experience. — Unknown

© Copyright 2018 REVVIZE, All Rights Reserved

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