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8 course vegan tasting menu at xiv
13October 26th, 2009LA restaurants, xivxiv restaurant in west hollywood is probably the only place in los angeles where vegans can get a true high end dining experience. created in partnership with celebrity chef michael mina, and with a modern interior designed by philippe starck, the swanky sbe restaurant is the epitome of gourmet fanciness. unlike most high rollin’ eateries though, xiv offers an entirely separate vegan menu with many entree items and the option of an 8, 11, or 14 course tasting. naturally, dining at xiv is not cheap—even for vegans the average price of meal with alcohol is around 100 bucks per head. but hey, what the hell, sometimes you just gotta treat yourself. and that’s exactly what we did last week.
after mr. meaner took a short business trip out of town, we decided to celebrate his return by doing it up classy style with dinner at xiv. fortunately, this happened to coincide with dineLA restaurant week, when xiv was offering the 8 course vegan tasting menu for $44 instead of $64. despite the fact that xiv had been tweeting about their vegan dineLA special and other bloggers had enjoyed it before us, our waitress said she didn’t know anything about it but would honor the discount anyway. obviously there was a lack of communication on the restaurant’s part about the offer…but at least we got the dineLA price in the end.
japanese mountain caviar, sliced radish, dill syrup
we opted to select our own courses (rather than leave it up to the chef), our first one being japanese mountain caviar. the dish is made from a seed called tonburi, and has a very similar texture to caviar without all the gross sliminess.
beet carpaccio, heart of romaine, cherry tomatoes, horseradish
next up, we had the beet carpaccio served with romaine and cherry tomatoes. carpaccio usually refers to raw meat sliced super thin and served as an appetizer…what a clever idea to do it with beets instead! although this course was ultra-simple, it was one of our favorites.
cauliflower tempura, edamame, passion fruit, almonds
course # 3 was cauliflower tempura fried up with passion fruit and almonds. we also had this dish on our first visit to xiv, and all these months later it’s still just as good. this is the best vegetable tempura i’ve ever tasted, and it is a MUST for vegan diners at xiv.
mustard greens, cantaloupe melon, baby basil, tomato broth
we also had the mustard greens with cantaloupe, basil and tomato broth. the broth was outstanding and the delicate greens were perfectly seasoned. this was also one of the more simple dishes, but quite tasty nonetheless.
king trumpets mushrooms, arugula, figs, hazelnuts
the king trumpets mushrooms with arugula and hazelnuts was outstanding. super succulent mushrooms, leafy greens and sweet crunchy nuts—there were so many great flavors in this thing. my only complaint is that it was drenched in a balsamic sauce that was a tad overwhelming. good…just a little saucy.
charred broccoli rabe, sushi rice cake, white soy vinaigrette
next up, we have the charred broccoli rabe served on a sushi rice cake. the rice was fried and perfectly crispy, while the broccoli was soft and delicate. a+!
vegetarian falafel burger, michael's mother's recipe, tahini
for course 7, we ordered the vegetarian falafel burger which came with tahini and a small glass of fries with ketchup (not pictured). this course was a bit more substantial than the others and we both loved it. the falafel was slightly softer than the ones i’m used to and was packed with delicious seasoning. it didn’t have an overwhelmingly fried taste, so all the flavors could really shine. this is another dish i would highly recommend that all xiv vegan diners try.
coconut sorbet, peanut butter crunch, basil syrup
for our final and dessert course, we opted for the coconut sorbet with peanut butter crunch and basil syrup. man, if you like peanut butter you are gonna love this thing. extra sugary and crispy, the little pb nuggets went down great with the cool ice cream and flavorful syrup.
overall, our tasting menu was wonderful. so many distinct and interesting flavors, so beautifully presented. but don’t go to xiv JUST for the food—the restaurant also offers a delicious selection of cocktails, our favorite being the scottish mule. this thing is so refreshing with hendrick’s gin, cucumber and fresh lime.
scottish mule: hendrick's cucumber, fresh lime, ginger beer. $13
even after the $40 dineLA discount, our check with the tasting menu, cocktails, and a bottle of wine came to over $200. and unlike on our last visit, the service this time left a little to be desired. first off the chick was kinda weird about honoring the dineLA price, then a waiter kept bumping into my chair as he was chatting it up with the table next to us. that being said, we had a lovely time and i will definitely be back to xiv. the prices are high, but the food is incredible and the fine-dinging experience is unmatched. every los angeles vegan owes it to themselves to try xiv at least once.
xiv
Tags: alcohol, cocktails, tasting menu, west hollywood
8117 Sunset Blvd. at Crescent Heights
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323-656-1414
11 responses to “8 course vegan tasting menu at xiv” 
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I’m so glad you got a chance to go back to XIV! We overlapped on 4 dishes (thank you for the link!), but the other 4 you ordered look amazing. What a cool idea to use a grain in place of caviar!
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excellent review! i have been wanting to try their tasting menu forevah. i need to go.
next time use the flash, QG! 😉 J/K
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ugh, i’ve been wanting to go there since you first posted about it. i want that falafel and tempura!!
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Hi Miss Anthrope,
Thanks for the great review. 🙂 To clarify, I’m guessing you had no aftereffects of potential cross-contamination (since XIV also serves meat-based dishes)? The Vegan Tasting Menu looks delicious. 🙂
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camara October 26th, 2009 at 12:26
I’ve eaten vegan at XIV twice, and the first time the chef explained they have a separate area and utensils etc. for vegan food. in fact, most high-end restaurants thoroughly clean before every dish is prepared anyway so as to avoid taste contamination. The XIV kitchen is amazingly clean (go peek over the counter and take a look) with the vegan area set off to the right at the very back.
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I have to second Camara, the time I went to XIV they were very specific that vegan dishes are cooked completely separately. Different dishes, oils, utensils, etc. That only makes me love XIV even more.
I ended up getting just the falafel burger as an entree, and it was so yummy.
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Wow, your portions look twice or 3 times the size of Whitney’s and mine when we went. We left unsatisfied. But, lots of hot eye candy working there!
Here’s our video review for anyone interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aFKM6LBHOs -
duh squared October 26th, 2009 at 13:15
Christy, your video is already linked in the post. No one gives a crap.
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XIV is excellent. This is definitely the place to take a date you want to impress. Expensive, but well worth it!
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Thanks for the link! My waiter didn’t know about dineLA either, but we managed to make it work like you. I’m still dreaming about that cauliflower and sorbet peanut crunch dessert! I would go back just for those!
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Ha, I didn’t even notice you linked it because I was so distracted by the food! Thanks Quarrygirl! When are Whitney and I going to actually meet you in person??!! We should take Whitney to Stuff I Eat. She hasn’t been to SO many yummy places 🙂
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