Phenakite by Porridge and Puffs

really? how does that work?

i guess people only get hired on short contracts, and she has to find new people every season? the entire staff are listed on the menu, and in practice this seems to be partially true - it looks like 4/10 people for the current season are new from the summer?

i found it to be a very different version of a tasting menu restaurant than e.g. providence., very much an extension of porridge and puffs

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It could be some sort of internship or work program where the restaurant is giving new folks to the industry work experience so they can find a job after their time at Phenakite.

image

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For $330pp all-in (presumably not including the wine pairings) I’d be hella pissed.

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yeesh had heard rumblings of badness at phenakite but that is next level.

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Couldn’t agree more, I’ve said it on here many times. We need to get back to starred reviews with a professional reviewer who does 3+ dinners before publishing in the style of SIV. Then if you want to supplement that with a more editorial review like J.Gold then that’s fine.

Love Gold but he was completely wrong to get rid of starred reviews and the LA restaurant scene is worse off for it. It’s like a self study course with no grades and little accountability.

Get off my lawn. shakes fist

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I do have one question regarding the shapiro review but is bill addison really that inexperienced or non-discerning of a food reviewer? He really seemed to flame addison just as hard as phenakite.

Isn’t that the general state of the world?

::running and ducking::

Back to the topic…

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One of the reasons Max hates Bill is that Bill is clueless when it comes to wine. For Max wine is almost as important to a meal as the food and Bill can’t speak with any authority on wine. Since Bill is regularly reviewing Michelin starred restaurants that do pairings and have DRC on the wine list it’s not great that he’s uneducated in regards to the grapes.

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I mean I think that’s fair enough, a large portion of fine dining is having at least some knowledge of wine and how the flavor profiles of wine intermingle with the food preparation. Otherwise rubes like myself that have just eaten at a million restaurants should be qualified to write for the LA times.

the whole situation with phenakite was sort of dubious from the start - they got restaurant of the year more or less without having been really open as a public restaurant, just having done a very limited number of popup events. my understanding was that they got the award moreso for the overall values of the restaurant/chef in relation to the middle of 2021 and the state of the world in the preceding year…

when i went, the price was something like $160 a head, which allowed a diner that really liked porridge and puffs to be generous in their appraisal of phenakite, and even then, the (lack of) attention to detail was at times concerning… but 330!!! there’s too many aspects of the operation which are experimental (especially if she’s still hiring a completely new crew for each season’s menu) for it to live up to that price point. you basically have to not have been to any other restaurant above the $200 pricepoint to come out of phenakite not majorly disappointed

personally, i think porridge and puffs was a far better restaurant…

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Slightly inflated because it’s all inclusive. It works out to be about $250pp pre T&T. That pricing still warrants huge expectations though.

For comparison pre T&T:
Kato - $225
Providence - $295
Hayato - $350?
Melisse - $295
Kali - $195
Maude - $215
N/naka - $310
Shunji - $280

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kinn at ~$72

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Bell’s $90 (after a not-insignificant recent increase)

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I can’t remember the last major food critic that was also a wine connoisseur. I don’t agree with the criticism of lacking knowledge of composing food and beverage means you can’t properly judge fine dining.

If that’s the case, someone that abstains from alcohol can not have a valid opinion on food? Most wine pairings at restaurants (even the best in the world) are absolutely terrible because they are almost all universally high profit centers for the restaurant.

I find the idea of food and wine pairings as enhancers as absolute BS. To me, the true goal of a “pairing” is to not interfere. I think enhancing is so incredibly rare that maybe four times in my 15+ years of fine wine/dining where I thought “fuck that really works together” and that might be an exaggeration cause gun to my head I can only remember one right now.

Bill is a knowledgeable guy. Max is also a knowledgeable guy. Every “top” list is going to have issues as everyone has an agenda when building these lists.

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I mean NYT gave Here’s looking at you “favorite restaurant in LA” in their “favorite restaurants in USA” so people just talk to talk.

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I think you bring up fair points but I will quibble with you on this

Unless they are smelling sipping tasting and spitting out I would say that their opinion really isn’t very valid.

That’s like asking a vegan about meat. Of course that vegan might have an opinion but no sane meat eater would be taking tasting notes from that person let alone read the articles that they might publish regarding such opinions.

I feel like this is a set up since you’re a vegetarian aren’t you? Do you also not drink wine but only review?

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Just realized I had a very major typo

I meant to write

“If that’s the case, someone that abstains from alcohol can not have a valid opinion on food”

Not

“ If that’s the case, someone that abstains from alcohol can not have a valid opinion on wine?”

as we were discussing Bill’s lack of wine knowledge and how it supposedly impacts his criticism

:joy:

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