Message: | I've been to Lucques for several meals since it has opened, and my experiences have been consistently high quality. The building is an old carriage house and I've been most comfortable in the booths lining the wall opposite the bar in the front room.
The menu changes seasonally with a California/Mediterranean sensibility and an emphasis on fresh and environmentally conscious ingredients. By way of example, at a recent dinner I had a duck confit salad (w/ arugala, walnuts, pomegranate seeds and persimmon bits) and a lamb loin (w/ date chutney, cauliflower florettes and what seemed like fried chickpea souflee nuggets) from the new fall menu. Both were nicely complimented by red Burgundy.
Apart from the trendy clientele, the (celebrity) chef is hardworking and actually in the kitchen as opposed to walking around and working the room. She also has a talent for combining flavors so that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Parenthetically, I think she worked in Boston early in her career.
So to answer your question, I think Lucques is definitely among the best restaurants in Los Angeles.
Oh yeah ........ to quote Jonathan Richman, "can you feel it out in Needham?" |