About our rating systemIf a few days of big, brassy L.A. have you longing for the refinement of Paris, hie thee to quietly sophisticated Petrossian, the restaurant offshoot of the West Coast outpost of the New York-by-way-of-France caviar shop. Shagreen-covered walls, abstract paintings and vintage photos create a very Left Bank ambience, and you can talk over a meal without getting hoarse trying to outdo thumping house music. Their impeccable fish roe, naturally, appears in many of the best dishes, such as the deceptively simple Egg Royale, a soft scrambled egg served in a hollowed-out eggshell with vodka whipped cream and a dollop of caviar, or the smoked trout with asparagus, lemon, crème fraîche and rainbow trout roe. But caviar certainly is not a requirement; the roast chicken with eggplant, currants, capers and piquillo peppers is every bit as lively, and there’s a fairly straightforward New York steak (although it doesn’t rise to the level of most other dishes). The wonder is that Petrossian isn’t more expensive than it is.
-Christine Delsol
