Laurie and I recently had dinner at Melisse in Los Angeles with some friends who live in Los Angeles and dine there regularly. We all brought special wines to accompany our meal. In my mind there is no question that chef/owner Josiah Citrin is simply an amazing chef whose food is creative, unique, and really delicious.

Melisse opened in 1999 and was a huge hit right off of the bat.  Michelin had never rated Los Angeles restaurants until 2008 and Melisse was awarded 2 stars in their first Los Angeles dining guide.  Melisse also was awarded 2 stars in 2009.  After 2009, Michelin left California and did not return until 2019.  In late 2018,  Josiah decided that he wanted to create something special and split Melisse into 2 separate restaurants:  a new 14 seat Melisse with its own entrance, open kitchen, and serving a tasting menu that is constantly evolving; and Citrin which utilizes the previous Melisse kitchen, has a dining room with a L shaped bar that seats can seat a total of 90 people, and a menu featuring some of classic dishes from the old Melisse menu, seasonal new dishes, and a 4 course tasting menu.
Our menu is shown below and as you can see it is really unique and every dish was really special and delicious.

As for the wines we had at Melisse, Ed Lazarus brought a 1985 Cos d’Estournal, Steve and Jennie Weiner brought a 2011 Ramonet Bienvenue Batard and a magnum of 1990 Dom Perignon, Randy and Patsy Sultan brought a 2012 Ramonet Bienvenue Batard, and Laurie and I brought 1978 Clare Dau Musigny. The Bordeaux was lovely, the Champagne was at a peak of perfection and absolutely stunning, the two White Burgundies were both delicious and at peak maturity with great complexity and the Musigny was simply off the charts great.

Without question this was a memorable meal with food and wine that was simply amazing. It will linger in my memory for a very long time. And, I can hardly wait to go back for an encore performance of more great food and wine. Also, for those of you who love great food and wine you must put Melisse on your bucket list and take your best wines to accompany the superb food. You will be very happy you did! (To read more about Josiah Citrin and Melisse click here).)