The Bazaar

Who say's cheesesteaks can't be fancy?

Sometimes, you just have to treat yourself to a really nice meal. And as Maria says, "Why work so hard if I can't eat some expensive ass food?" Maria, Chris and I decided to go the The Bazaar at the SLS Hotel to have their version of a cheesesteak. I have been to The Bazaar once before, and was excited for them to experience it.

When you first walk in, there is a lot to take in. There are a number of different rooms to sit in; one room is designated for desserts only. We were seated in a big room that I had not seen before, and there were chefs right behind our table!

The Bazaar serves tapas, and I always think the best way is to get a bunch of things and share. We had too many things for me to go into great detail about every single one, but know this: every single dish is extraordinary and packed with flavor.

Here are some of the delicious cocktails we enjoyed:

And here are some of the scrumptious dishes we had:

Sweet potato chips with a yogurt tamarind dipping sauce.

Eggplant Tempura with a foam dipping sauce.

Gazpacho made out of tomato, cucumber, sherry vinegar, and topped with little croutons. This is one of my favorite things at The Bazaar. I would go back just for this gazpacho! It is flavorful and refreshing.

Cauliflower "couscous" made out of cauliflower puree with crispy quinoa and pomegranate seeds.

Seared scallops. This was the one thing that we all agreed wasn't worth the price, and we wouldn't order again. There wasn't anything special about this dish, and one of the scallops actually seemed a bit raw.

Salty potatoes with a yummy green dipping sauce.

This is pork sausage with white means and mushrooms. I thought it was very good, but also surprisingly salty. Almost a bit too salty.

Grilled beef hanger steak with piquillo pepper confit. Chris and Maria said this was one of their favorites.

And now for the main course...

Their "Philly cheesesteak" is made out of air bread with Wagyu beef carpaccio on top. I also ordered a "hilly cheesesteak" which has thinly sliced mushrooms instead of beef.

The air bread is hollow, and when you bite into it, out rushes hot, melty cheddar cheese, which gives you a surprising burst of flavor.

The beef was tender and seasoned perfectly, and I have to say, the hilly cheesesteak was just as satisfying, I was really impressed!

Dessert time!! Our waitress escorted us to the dessert room, which is really quite beautiful. There is a whole area where you can walk up and pick out cookies and candies and order desserts to go.

Here is what we had:

Hot chocolate mousse with hazelnuts and pear sorbet.

I honestly can't remember what this is...Chris thinks its basically an expensive twinkie.

Salted caramels.

Chocolate pop rocks.

Chocolate pop rocks to go. I was nice and took them home to my roomie.

We ended up doing some serious damage:

If we decided to go back, I think we would really stick to the things we loved. For me, the gazpacho, for Chris and Maria the steak and pepper. And of course the cheesesteaks! We all agreed we could have done without any dessert, but we enjoyed having the full experience. I do think its hard not to spend a fortune on the first visit. It is easy to get caught up in all of it and keep ordering, but once you know what you really like, its definitely possible to get out of there without going broke. I think everyone should go at least once...and definitely order the cheesesteak!

Many thanks to my buddy Chris for the lovely pictures!

The Bazaar by José Andrés
465 S. La Cienega Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90048
Cross Street: San Vicente Blvd.
310-246-5555