Lamon is a great guy. Hopefully, he will be coming back once he comes back from Germany. Sorry, bad picture.JM

A vintage dish of mine. It is a Sunflower Crusted Tofu/ Pickled Shallots/ Ponzu Emulsion. Works best with house made tofu. Great item for all those beautiful, healthy angelinos out there. JM

Once again, a rooted combination in the heart of a French man. Here my Sous Chef Gavin made a beautiful Fennel-Pork Sausage. Served with Beluga Lentils/ Whole Grain Mustard/ Pickled Beet- Frisee Salad. JM

This is a daily inspiration. Roasted Scallop/ Fig Marmalade/ Chorizo Vinaigrette/ Mache. People loved this. JM

A Modern Classic. A timeless combination of of Short Ribs/ Dry Aged Beef/ Celery Root Puree/ Winter Root Vegetables/ Pomme Pont Neuf/Pickled Beet Greens. Just a nice polish on an great staple. JM

Also known as Butter Fish or Sable Fish. This dish is a winner. Roasted Black Cod/ Coco Bean Stew/ Clams/ Wilted Bibb Lettuce/ Pancetta Viniagrette. Perfect for winter. JM

How we have these awesome out of season mushrooms from Oregon......who knows? I don't care, look at them. It is almost to pretty to cook, almost. These guys will be paired up with our red wine risotto moving forward.JM

Amuses and Canapes are the most exciting part of the meal for me as a Chef.
They become a chance to "take a chance". Creativity is paramount when getting a chance/ opportunity to capture a moment, season or theme all in one bite.
-Pork Dumplings/ Whole Grain Mustard.
-Tomato Bread.
-Blue Fin Tuna/ Soy Bean Hummus. JM

It was a true pleasure meeting the queen of Californian Cuisine. Her influence over 4 decades has been instrumental in the way Americans view and cook food. I know her cookbooks and slow food movements have definitely make an impact on how I run my kitchen. JM

This week has been all about Bastide. When will it reopen, what's going on inside, and of course, who will be the chef. According to LA Weekly, ourRumormongering speculation on Jerome Voltat wasn't too far off because he was considered as chef, however now LAW has confirmed that the next chef up will be Joseph Mahon (interestinglywe heard yesterday that the next chef would be Joseph something), a man with quite the resume. Mahon has cooked under Daniel Boulud and Andrew Carmellini at Cafe Boulud (NYC), and was Chef de Partie at Bouley (NYC), at which point he decided to head West and was hired by David Myers at Sona. Most recently he was the executive chef at 208 Rodeo, though now his new home will be Bastide.