Top Chef Michael Voltaggio has recently relocated his restaurant ink location on Melrose Avenue to ink.well on La Cienega in West Hollywood. (ink is closed now, I’m sorry to say). The larger space caters to his avant garde style in both his food and restaurant. In other words, his experimental tapas feature a unique fusion of food ingredients with presentation.
The atmosphere is very spacy with a mix of casual and trendy yet comforting like a modern home at the same time. There was good music with a full bar serving very creative and experimental drinks, giving into his avant garde style.
The lighting ornaments was very unique and special. It’ll draw in those with curious eyes to explore even more.
I love how they label the water. Attention to detail. 🙂
I think I’m ready to eat?! Check out the long, slender utensils given and the sleek black plate.
complimentary fried shrimp chips seasoned with cayenne pepper. Each table gets one of these little bowels of shrimp chips. Nothing special to the Asian eye, but I guess to the outside, this is a foreign and interesting dish to snack on. Although very light and airy, the chips still give a firm crunch with each bite.
Disclaimer: After perusing the menu extensively for a good 15-20 minutes, Marian and I have decided to order all small dishes/appetizers/tapas because those were the only ones that were:
- popularly talked about on Yelp (Sorry, giving into the Yelp hype and for good reason)
- representative of strange experimentation
- unique
- the main dishes didn’t sound special?? We can get those anywhere! Let’s try Chef Michael Voltaggio’s experiments 😉
dill pickled shrimp, leeks vinaigrette, shrimp crackers, old bay. This dish was very interesting to eat. First off, I have never had shrimp presented to me already largely diced (sliced into pieces) for me. It’s a plus if they peel the shrimp skin for me and it’s acceptable if the head is kept on for presentation. However, these shrimps were peeled, seasoned and sliced into easy bite-sizes for me. I am wowed! Full of tangy and citrus-y flavors makes this dish a refreshing bite to eat.
egg yolk gnocchi, mushroom brown butter, hen of the woods. Oh my, may I be honest and claim that my favorite dish of the night was already the second dish presented to me? These were meant to eat with a spoon. Just scoop one piece as a whole and eat it. The egg yolk internally felt like a very smooth firm egg yolk that’s ready to ooze in my mouth. That delicate line between being firm and staying solid yet so soft and yolky on the inside must have been hard to master. Delicious, deliciously flavored with that mushroom butter. Savory in all of its glory! I would come back for this.
salt and charcoal potatoes, house-made sour cream, black vinegar. Everyone on Yelp loved this dish and I’m sorry to say this didn’t live up to the hype for me! It most likely is from my personal preference though because my everyday diet has evolved to a lot less salt. These potatoes tasted very salty! Maybe just to me though.. Otherwise, the potatoes were perfectly cooked and coated with charcoal powder. The sour cream is as smooth as ever.
calamari, masa-potato crust, curry emulsion, coriander. Hmm, where is the curry emulsion in all of this? This tasted like the typical calamari on a bed of “tartar sauce.” The blackness drew in my curiosity, but the taste didn’t bring me to any special place. Otherwise, it is good though! Just not special enough.
semolina gnocchetti pasta, nasturtium pesto, pecorino. Yummmm. For some reason, I was digging this presentation the most out of all the dishes. Just the simplicity of the smooth cream colored pasta bedded on top of the minimal green lake and then topped with the green leaves. This is such a soft yet pretty presentation. And tasted just as good as it looked to me!
street corn, cool ranch “foritos,” cotija cheese. And last but not least, the street corn! In all its glory, the doritos was very thin and fragile, easily broken into crunchy pieces yet firm enough to use as a scooper for the corn. The corn was evenly spread out and seasoned with plenty of cheese! Lots of cheese! Creamed corn but being cheesed instead. Hehe.
The main seafood and meat dishes consisted of a variety of shrimp, crab, lobster, scallops, prime rib, beef, chicken, etc. that were cooked in a variety of flavors that sounded like almost any other restaurant’s menu. Hence, we did not order. But even so, we were overly stuffed from the small dishes alone and even had to take some home with us!
I personally am sad I didn’t get to dine at ink before it closed, but grateful that Chef Michael Voltaggio opened up this restaurant’s ink.well location thereafter. For future’s sake, this place makes a good spot for a big friendly gathering for any occasion. 😉
