For about a decade, Maple Drive was one of the premier power dining spots in Beverly Hills, fueled by comfort food classics like meatloaf and “kick ass” chili. In 2007, mega-restaurateur Joachim Splichal from Patina Restaurant Group transformed the space into Paperfish, a cutting-edge seafood restaurant. Opening chef Yianni Koufodontis’ rustic Greek style didn’t meld with Splichal’s vision for oceanic fine dining, and Executive Chef Kevin Meehan promptly replaced him. Based on the five dishes Meehan prepared for this evening’s media dinner, the Long Island native and former Patina sous chef has righted Splichal’s ship.
The space itself, designed by Clive Wilkinson, is much more modern and interesting than Maple Drive, primarily due to its sweeping curves. The ceiling and walls are white, the tables white and the seating (both chairs and booths) are red.
The assembled mass of writers and editors started out at the curved white bar.
Our waiter tong-ed two different warm rolls onto our bread plates. The dark anise roll was similar to pumpernickel. A Parmesan roll incorporated salty cheese shavings. With the rolls, we received a butter confetti dish.
Our second pour of wine was of 2005 Clos Blanc de Vougeot.
The short rib square was lacquered with jus and fall-apart tender. The croquette featured a crisp coating and tender oxtail meat that was similarly rich to the short rib. The tenderloin was perfectly cooked, a little rosy in the middle, with a nice outer char. The meat was so tender that it could have been mistaken for filet mignon, but had more flavor. The roasted cipollini onion was caramelized on the outside. The potato fondant was basically a roasted potato tower. Spinach was simple but good. The mass of meat hosted a sprig of fresh thyme.
Our third and final wine was Renteria Napa Pinot Noir.
After dessert, our waiter brought a big glass platter of Mignardises: fleur de sel caramels, shortbread squares, moist coconut macaroons, pates de fruits (vanilla and Harry’s Berries strawberry) and white chocolates filled with mango cream. Everything was pretty good, but the moist macaroons stood out as being terrific.
Whatever problems Paperfish had with their opening chef appear to have been smoothed out under Chef Meehan. Media dinners aren’t natural dining experiences, but certainly reveal what’s possible. Given that, I’d return on my own dime.
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February 18, 2009 at 10:15 AM
[…] – bookmarked by 6 members originally found by starydawn on 2009-01-23 Paperfish – Beverly Hills, CA – Monday, June 23, 2008 http://www.foodgps.com/review/paperfish-beverly-hills-ca-monday-june-23-2008/ – bookmarked by 2 […]