Chef Perfecto Rocher Paella Pop-Up: A Pictorial Essay

Americas - USA West Los Angeles
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A new dining program called the “Travel-Inspired Guest Chef Dinner Series” has taken over the kitchen at Hinoki & the Bird on Sunday and Monday nights this October, featuring the paella wizardry of Catalonian guest chef Perfecto Rocher (formerly at Lazy Ox Canteen & smoke.oil.salt).

Let’s check it out…

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Paella pre-dinner cocktails created by mixologist Jeremy Lake: Carnation (dry vermouth, yellow charreuse, absinthe, orange essence) and Amario Lopez (dry gin, amontillado sherry, campari, sweet vermouth, lemon essence)…

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Gaspatxo de Carlota: Heirloom carrot gaspatxo, serrano ham, micro greens…

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Amanida de Moniato: Watercress, sweet potato, yogurt, chestnut honey, beet puree…

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Broquil amb Rab: Caramelized broccoli rabe and broccoli, nyora chili, garlic, walnuts…

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Fesols de Bajoqueta: Spicy crispy green beans with chorizo, salbitxada, fried egg…

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Paella d’Albufera: Duck, chicken, bomba rice, mushrooms, romano beans, rosemary…

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Citrus Crema Catalana: Cream custard with navel orange, crispy caramel, whipped vanilla cream…

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Chef Perfecto’s flavorful paella is worth the price of admission alone (which, by the way, is $55 per person, food only).

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I’m going next weekend (I think). Looks marvelous! :slight_smile:

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Nice JL! :smile:

So did the paella have your beloved soccorat(sp)? legit? Thanks!

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Socarrat (see spelling hehehe) was indeed there - Chef Perfecto is a 3rd generation paellero, so it’s not surprising. His paellas are the best restaurant-made paellas in L.A. (that is, when he feels like cooking them).

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which isn’t really saying much

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A fair point, but nonetheless having traveled extensively in Spain and especially in the Valencia region myself, I dare say that Chef Perfecto’s paella & fideua are authentic and typical of what one would find in Spain.

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Did they up the damn lighting? This was my meal experience there their first night: http://theoffalo.com/2015/10/travel-inspired-paella-night-with-perfecto-rocher/. I had the fideua, which I liked, but no crusting to the noodles, which didn’t seem as warm as I was expecting.

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(Semi-)pro tip: Check the Farmer’s Almanac (or interweb - whatever method is fine) and find out at what hour the sunset will occur on the night you will be dining. Then, reserve your seat to just before that time. That way, ambient light will help you for at least the first portion of your meal. After that, you let your food padawan bring a softlight and backlight the food. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Or alternatively, you could get a Gorillapod for stability, and shoot steadier at a lower ISO.

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What in fucks name is a soccaratt ???

Translation. PleSe

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Ever get that strange feeling of deja vu, kevin?

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groundhog day…

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More like “Memento” or Dora from “Finding Nemo”

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some strange continuous loop…maybe I should cue up some steve reich music to go along…mallets or something…

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Hmmmm. Deja va ???

Sometimes.

And that ain’t no fucking joke.

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Ohmigod, I was about to write, “Are you even f*cking kidding me???” :wink:

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I actually do that. If I recall correctly, sunset was quarter of 7pm that day and I booked the earliest seating at 6pm and it was still too dark by the time the paella course came out. But in my blog post, I said people were using their flashlights on their phones not to take pictures but rather just to see their dishes.

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Suunto clinometer will do quite nicely.

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They let me book 5:30PM on the first Sunday (October 4th), so the earth’s tilt would help me take better photos. I feel so powerful. Not.

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Just use a Suunto clinometer in conjunction with a solid compass and you’ll know within a fucking millimeter of where that fucking sunlight is landing and of course when.

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Partner and I went tonight. SO delicious. We had each of the 4 apps. For me, the apps were expertly prepared, impeccably plated, but made more of a cerebral (vs. gastronomic) impression on me (can food be too technically perfect for its own good?).

But the paella, ohmigod, that was SO delicious. The first bite was almost TOO rich, but you quickly get over that. So intense, so flavorful, and the meat was simply perfectly cooked. @theoffalo: we did receive specific instructions to stir the paella tonight.

Our dessert was a custard over strawberries. Wonderfully light and a great way to end the meal.

Thanks for the info, @J_L_! What a wonderful anniversary dinner for us!

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