REVIEW CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

The sun went down and my image quality began to degrade, but the food only got better. Duck Confit could have had crisper skin, but the flavor was in full effect thanks to pull-apart duck meat, broccoli rabe tossed with orange segments, broccoli puree and slivered almonds.

Plenty of L.A. restaurants feature pork belly at this stage, but The Foundry’s Mexican-inspired version is one of the best, featuring a meaty square of mole-glazed pork served on creamy avocado puree. With the pork, we received a fried masa “wonton” and salad of epazote, cotija cheese and tangy, thin-shaved pickled vegetables: cauliflower and carrot. The duck was good, but pork belly reigned supreme in the third course showdown.

Our final savory course centered on thin-sliced New York steak that was pink at the center and cooked-through at the edges. Still, I prefer a more pronounced sear. My accompaniments were fairly classic: fat asparagus spears, fingerling potatoes and whole red wine-soaked shallots. One nice touch: a chewy cheese tuile.

For the third straight course, the plate across the table was victorious. The brown butter whipped potatoes were rich but not cloying, and they came with a refreshing salad of sliced caper berries, onions and roasted pepper strips.

Pastry Chef Mario Ortiz, previously with Bastide, has been at The Foundry for over a year. He makes sure to change the menu on a monthly basis, at least.

Unfortunately, Ortiz’s first dessert didn’t work for me. The slabs of Mango Flan were almost gelatinous. The thin, crispy Italian cookies were a nice textural contrast, but the passion fruit marmalade was overly sweet. The accompanying frozen yogurt had good consistency and an intense curry flavor.

Once again, the straight-from-the-menu dish prevailed. The strawberry shortcake was terrific, featuring roasted strawberries, flaky cake-like pastry and a scoop of aromatic lavender ice cream.

The only soft spot in The Foundry’s arsenal was their cocktails. Plenty of their signature cocktails sounded good on paper, including the Fuzzy Wuzzy ($9) with Cazadores Anejo tequila, ginger, honey and peach; and the Consigliere ($13) with Woodford’s Bourbon, Amaretto and fresh grapefruit. Unfortunately, the grapefruit flavor was nowhere to be found in the Consigliere and both cocktails suffered from fast-melting ice.

With so many dishes, some are bound to be better than others, but Greenspan left an overall positive impression. It was interesting to contrast the tasting menu with the regular menu. If you’re thinking of eating at The Foundry, it’s probably better to stick with the core menu.