Marino Ristorante

6001 Melrose Ave.

Hollywood, CA 90038

Tel. +1 (323) 466-8812

 BY ANTONIO GALLONI | JUNE 15, 2018

Food:

Raw cauliflower mushroom salad; toasted pistachio and pistachio oil

Tartare and belly of Copper River salmon; sliced purple and yellow favas

Razor clam; olive oil, garlic, lemon, parsley served in shell with leaf of spicy watercress from my garden

Grilled octopus; fennel salad, roasted fennel/white carrot purée, pepperoncino aioli

English pea soup

Gnocchi Mare; shrimp, smoked and sundried tomatoes, morels, chanterelles

Copper River salmon 

Wines:

1988 Krug	97
2007 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet	97
1978 Andre Ramonet Bâtard-Montrachet	90
1973 Bouchard Père et Fils Montrachet	92
1934 Patriarche Montrachet	94
1952 Bouchard Père et Fils Musigny	91
1985 Giuseppe Mascarello & Figlio Barolo Monprivato	94

This intimate dinner with a small group of close friends came together literally at the last minute. Getting a reservation for six on a Saturday night in LA with no notice is not exactly the easiest thing to do, but I was thrilled we were able to get in at Marino. I have had Sal Marino’s food before, but only at private events, so I was very much looking forward to my first visit to his restaurant. By the time the evening was over, we had sampled a number of house specialties and also enjoyed few nice wines.

 

Tartare and belly of Copper River salmon; sliced purple and yellow favas 

Given my non-stop travel schedule, I try to eat mostly fish and vegetables, these days. This tasting menu is full of simple yet brilliant dishes. The razor clam with olive oil, garlic, lemon and parsley resonates with flavors of the sea. It is utterly sublime. Close your eyes for a second, and you could very well think you are somewhere on the Amalfi Coast. One of my friends smartly grabs seconds, but I am a bit late noticing. Bright fennel add freshness to the charred notes in the perfectly cooked, moist grilled octopus. English pea soup is another absolutely exquisite dish. Made with no cream, butter or stock, the soup delivers incredible intensity with no excess weight. The purity of the flavors here is simply remarkable. A combination of bold shrimp, mushroom and tomato give the Gnocchi Mare fabulous richness and more than enough layers of earthy nuance to play off the red wines nicely. 

 

Razor clam; olive oil, garlic, lemon, parsley served in shell with leaf of spicy watercress from my garden 

The 1988 Krug makes for a fabulous start. Tasted from a perfect bottle, the 1988 remains bright and focused, with all of the energy of this great vintage very much on display. Time has naturally softened some of the contours and added a good bit of nuance, but the 1988 Krug remains a Champagne of crystalline precision. I loved it. The 2007 Montrachet from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is a positively stellar. Memories of the exotic, botrytis-inflected 2008 tasted a few hours prior offer a fascinating contrast to the suaveness and silkiness of the 2007, a wine that gives everything it has to offer from the moment it is served. Understated, airy and wonderfully fresh, the 2007 Montrachet is sublime. So often wines like these are reserved for large tastings. What a pleasure it is to share this bottle with a small group. Even so, the 2007 disappears pretty quickly.

 

English pea soup

Andre Ramonet’s 1978 Bâtard-Montrachet has matured beyond the point where I personally find the most pleasure in wine. Burly and a bit disjointed, the 1978 is not especially elegant nor refined. Even so, it still has something to offer, especially for readers who enjoy fully mature white Burgundy. Moreover, I wonder how many white Burgundies made today will make to age forty at all. The 1973 Montrachet from Bouchard is aromatically expansive and layered. It, too, is fully mature and yet there is more than enough persistence to extend the orange peel, dried flower and hazelnut flavors nicely. All things considered, the 1973 remains quite vivid for a wine of its age, which is great to see given the reputation of the vintage. The 1934 Patriarche Montrachet is incredibly intriguing. Naturally, the wine is fully mature, and yet I am shocked by its length and textural viscosity. The flavor profile is replete with hints of candied orange peel, hazelnut, dried flowers and roasted nuts, but it is the wine’s richness that truly stands out. This is another treat in a day in which we tasted a truly staggering number of fabulous wines.

 

Gnocchi Mare; shrimp, smoked and sundried tomatoes, morels, chanterelles

The 1952 Bouchard Père et Fils Musigny, from a bottled reconditioned and re-corked at the maison, is not my cup of tea. The unnaturally dark color and similarly deep flavors speak of neither Musigny nor the 1952 vintage, although the wine in the bottle, taken on its own, is a good Burgundy. Mascarello’s 1985 Barolo Monprivato is a bit more forward in its aromatics than it is on the palate, where the wine still offers remarkable power and breadth, both signatures of the 1985 vintage. This is a good, but not remarkable, example of a Barolo that can be a real show-stopper.

  

After a long day of eating and drinking, a final taste of the 1988 Krug and 2007 DRC Montrachet offer a terrific palate cleanser. I would like to thank my friends for sharing such special bottles and conversation, and Sal Marino for preparing a fabulous dinner that paired with the wines perfectly.