TL;DR – Lazy Bear is worth the money and very deserving of its Michelin star. This post captures meal is documented its entirety and in a detailed fashion.
I got schooled at Lazy Bear and I loved it. With notebooks and a pencil in hand – in fact, they give you these tools – all the chefs at Lazy Bear gave us one big tasty lesson. The “syllabus” includes talking about about what produce was in season, how to make the beautiful looking things on the plate (e.g. soak this in beef fat, soude vide that, etc.), and showcasing what is possible with thoughtful preparation. TEACH ME YOUR WAYS SENSEIS!
Naturally, you may ask how much does this “schooling” cost? Similar to a private university, it’s expensive; at anywhere between $145-$175 / person, it excludes tip and drinks. Wine pairings? Add another $85. Some old timers complain; yeah I know it used to cost something significantly less, reservations came easily, blah blah, but here we are today. It’s popular, hip, and oh-so-very delicious.
With my great note-taking skills still intact – it helps that I have occasional nightmares of getting a B in any class, thank you mom – get ready for a thorough journey through my meal.
Snacks
As a preview to the main dinner – or a great way to buy time as the next seating finishes up – they bring you to an upstairs area where you’re able to hang out, enjoy their delicious drinks, AND eat.
This started off the meal, and boy was it a strong start - whipped scramble eggs with Tennessee smoked bacon, maple and house made hot sauce. This is one of the night’s highlights; eaten with a spoon so you mix all the elements thoroughly, the eggs had a completely new texture on top of smoky and spicy taste.
The albacore tuna with a gel sheet of white grape and verjus, fresh crushed peanuts, and black olive was a small bite, refreshing and light.
On the light spectrum, the strawberry meringue is topped with with strawberry jelly, foie gras, and sorel packed a smooth yet flavorful bite.
They also handed over a plum and kuwat soda, fermented in-house with shiso which was awfully delicious, and I easily could have drank two of these.
The potato cannoli was a take on “sour cream and onion chip”; served with creme fraiche, whipped potatoes, caviar and chives it totally hit the mark.
Dinner
We broke bread together, and more specifically, with a spelt and rye dinner roll served with house-made cultured butter. Not only was the dinner roll served warm (plus points)  but the butter was silky and melded into the roll - slightly sour and soft (plus more points).
If you want to win over a crowd, bring in ribeye, avocado and tomatoes; the tomato panzanella with a carpaccio of Miyazaki ribeye covering avocado, padron conserva, and seaweed focaccia was a great bite. The focaccia was soaked in beef fat and olive oil; tomatoes were soaked in red wine vinegar to help with making this dish bright; the ribeye…well, that just speaks for itself.
Making vegetables taste good and somewhat interesting takes great skill, and in this case what a success – the legumes included summer squash (cooked in chicken stock, lemon juice from a trusted juicing business), snap peas, bell pepper, fennel and saffron nage (made from fish, spices, and added chicken stock).
Ever thought about making a dish centered on one vegetable? Oh they did, and chose a vegetable I’ve never heard of - celtuce (used commonly in Chinese cuisine, a mesh between romaine and celery). Its stem was braised in butter and garlic, stalk pureed with almond milk, oil, and butter, and leaves dehydrated to take away bitter notes, along with chicken skin bits, and toasted almond.
Transform an American staple? Check box on that too; they took corn and made fresh corn grits, which were very sweet, and topped it with smoked ham. Yes sir, I’d want some more!
The grilled berkshire pork shoulder (glazed and finished with peach juice) was served with grilled peach, turnip, succulents (e.g. sea lettuce, beans, New Zealand spinach), and stone fruit tare. Sweet, savory, soft, and juicy, what more can you ask for?
This was their take on “beef and tomatoes” – sous vide Miyazaki ribeye cap, seared tomato, black garlic, and pureed eggplant. Nicely marbled and meat juices flowed in your mouth as you chomped down, with the addition of the sweet and tart tomatoes. Heavenly.
Dessert
White sesame “gomatofu”, iced green melon, sake lees, rose geranium was light, and a perfect palate cleanser.
Blue corn ice cream with blueberry whiskey puree, blueberry spongecake, and whiskey pudding was the perfect representation for what was in season at the time; not to mention, it was texturally interesting (spongecake, pudding, and ice cream!) and easy to devour.
Treats
The semifreddo vietnamese cookie was light and sweet, with bits of chocolate and pate de fruits.
Another sweet bite – the caramelized apricot with hazelnut and milk chocolate truffle melted in the mouth and was a delicious treat.
Last of them, the red velvet with red berries was my favorite. Moist, sweet and tart in one whole bite; easily wanted two or three of these after every meal.
I am on the Lazy Bear bandwagon; I absolutely love this place. Everything is well thought-out – from the interior design, the food/drinks and even the chefs (they actually come up and talk to you when you’re waiting for your seating). This is the kind of schooling I’m willing to pay for.
2 responses to “Lazy Bear: Listen and Learn”
Great recap post!! Loved my meal at Lazy Bear, and love even more that we barely shared any of the same dishes, meaning you can prob go every season and have the menu be completely different!
Mmmmm when shall I go back? hehe
2016? Let’s totally do it!
-Terry