Confessions: Maison Akira
Written: Sep 12 '05 (Updated Sep 13 '05)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Food and Presentation: |
 |
|
| Ambiance and Decor: |
 |
|
| Quality of Service: |
|
|
|
Pros: My favorite restaurant in Pasadena is Maison Akira.
Cons: Maison Akira has some haters.
The Bottom Line: Maison Akira is my favorite French restaurant.
|
|
|
| megugrrrl's Full Review: Maison Akira |
I sometimes feel like I have a secret love affair with Maison Akira.
You see, I have very fond memories of le festival gastrique - I sometimes like to think about the prix fixe I get (from the very beginning to the sweet end) and those exquisite French pastries. I like thinking about the food - and I'd be happier talking about it and describing it to others - but alas, noone I know in the Bay Area has any real business being down in Pasadena, so I keep it inside, like some kind of forbidden tryst, so as to not alienate and bore my friends more than usual.
Thankfully there's the epinions restaurant review/confession.
L'Skinny
Japanese/French food.
Rated Excellent at one time by Zagat.
Various "Best Chef" type awards given to Akira Hirose & his restaurant.
Hype.
L'Food
Starters, entrees and desserts are clearly Japanese-inspired French offerings, with long descriptive names. ("Mosaic of Ahi & Albacore Tuna in a Wasabi Soy Vinaigrette" instead of "Tuna Appetizer.") Fancy names sound better, you can usually charge more, and for some reason taste better.
The starters are tuna and lobster/langoustine heavy, with a few duck and salad players familiar to French cuisine. The seared tuna ($12) drizzled with a garlicky sesame ponzu-like sauce is a must (ponzu is a sweet/sour soy), as is the foie gras with truffle sauce (around $15), although the daikon radish bit it was plated with seemed a little out of place. Starters average $14, and aren't of the deep-fried Titanic Blossoming Onion size, so you can safely enjoy one without wrecking your appetite.
Dinner salads include your ubiquitous Caesar and a variety of mixed green salads (with enticing add-ons such as caramelized hazelnuts, pears or Fuji apples.) And soups include an onion soup (the bubbly cheese one) and a spectacular lobster bisque. As with everything else, the quality ingredients are fresh, and the final products are delicious. Lots of good combinations of flavors in the soups and salads. (Around $9.)
You'll also find familiar entrees - grilled fish, beef, lamb and duck. Chef Akira's signature dish is the miso marinated Chilean Sea Bass, which he served to the Japanese royal family while they visited LA. It's plated with some grilled veggie medley, and lives up to the hype. Every time I've had the sea bass, it has been cooked perfectly, and the miso fully envelops the sea bass without hampering the delicate flavor of the fish. ($25) Other fish dishes worth trying are the salmon (either grilled or pan prepared Scottish Salmon) and the peppercorn beef - I can vouch for all. They also have stuffed quail, duck, and a layered phyllo vegetable dish, which I probably will never try, but thought I'd mention.
At around $25, the entrees can be a little pricey, and the way to go if you want to experience the real deal is the prix-fixe (in the neighborhood of $50.) I realize $50 is twice as much as $25, but you get to sample a wider range of food (appetizer, salad, entree, and dessert) and experience a few things not featured on the menu.
Prix Fixe
The first time I went, I indulged in the epicurean/glutton 6 course option as follows:
1. Amuse-Bouche - the mouth amuser/pallate player - Hiyayako tofu (chilled 'n raw) with a light ponzu, and a mini melange of tangy apple bits, red peppercorns and seaweed. The small piece of tofu was creamy and chilled just right...
2. Aspic! - I had a cute portion of chilled lobster on top of an avocado aspic. I'm not a big fan of aspic (the name alone is quite scary), but the cumin-flavored avocado aspic was quite all right.
3. Obligatory foie gras - served with the seared ahi that I mentioned earlier. I think this might have been what ignited my passion for the buttery extravagance of sauteed foie gras. And paired with the seared tuna made it genious. It was served with a small pile of whipped wasabi potatoes.
4. Fish of the day - which happened to be a halibut - which was (like all the fish I've experienced here) good, enough so I would make everyone at my table try it, but not quite as good as the sea bass.
5. The tender, buttery lamb - pan roasted and served with this heavenly olive sauce - this was really tasty - a little buttery, but good. I think you can opt for Kobe beef at this point, but you'd have to dish out more money.
6. Dessert! It's frequently some lavender creme brulee or flourless chocolate cake, which everyone should at one time try, but once, for fun, I tried the jam and cheese - which was the best dessert I've tried on a whim. The salty Ardee Gasna (sp?) cheese is paired with a dark berry (blackberry?) marmalade, and the combination of sweet and salty is divine.
Somewhere in the mean you get some plum sorbet to cleanse that pallette. I never feel the need to cleanse my pallatte, only when things are gross I suppose, but happily ate the sorbet.
The prix fixe menu changes occasionally, and there are smaller ($45-$50) ones, with some gems. The best thing about the prix fixe (other than how good everything was) is that you aren't left with an over-stuffed buttery coma. As much food as there is, it's really not enough to make you feel like you're going to burst or need to lie down - but you feel content, almost peaceful.
Ambiance
Maison Akira reminds me of a yellow spring garden cottage. It's a homey and elegant at the same time (although I would never-ever live in a yellow garden cottage.) I'm not sure what the restaurant used to be prior, but there is no big open space. The tables are postioned where they can fit, promising a different feel each time you go. While the initial feeling you get inside screams "cottage", you'll discover small Japanese accents, like the antique coins hanging like beads.
You'll find a lot of jeans and even shorts here. As fancy as the menu can be, the crowd isn't as pretentious (well, by LA standards.) Chef Akira makes his rounds in between seatings, often greeting regulars and friends.
Service
Stellar - particularly with the prix fixe - everything comes out with perfect timing and choreography. Occasionally there's a little rush, but the servers are competent and confident. I can't remember for sure, but I think they even have the food sweeper guy who comes and sweeps crumbs off your table with a cute little brush. Who needs table sweepers?
Etc.
I heard you can hire Chef Akira to come to your house to make something.
Try the Sunday Brunch.
Try the bento boxes.
The catering is affordable.
They have a parking lot closeby.
Wine.
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: No
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Best Suited For: Friends
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
megugrrrl
|
 - Top 500 |
|
Location: Oakland
Reviews written: 147
Trusted by: 317 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.