A dark, nondescript strip of Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood is probably not where you would expect to go for a gourmet 12-course meal from a Michelin-Star Chef. INTRO Art Gallery & Chef’s Table, which recently opened in December, is a supper club that only operates on Fridays and Saturdays.
Patrons sit at a 24-foot chef’s table while enjoying a specially curated menu from chef Paul Shoemaker and drink wine while checking out an ever-changing art gallery exhibition. Enter in the address to the GPS and you will be led to an inconspicuous black door with no sign. After you knock, you are greeted with a tray of sparkling wine, and welcomed to a candlelit private dining space.
A rotating curation of artists is part of this unique feast. Every month will feature a new artist. Their art will stay up throughout the month for all our guests to view and purchase. January’s artist is Artist Oscar Meza. So what does a 12-course meal cooked by Michelin-Star Chef Paul Shoemaker look like? Flip through the gallery above to find out.
Kristie Hang is a jet setting freelance food and travel journalist featured in LA Weekly, LAist, Gothamist, MSNBC etc. She has a Masters in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Journalism and a B.A. from UCLA. Find her online on Instagram @kristiehang.
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Patrons sit at a 24-foot chef's table while enjoying a specially curated menu from chef Paul Shoemaker and drink wines while checking out an ever-changing art gallery exhibition. Every month will feature a new fine artist, and their art will stay up throughout the month for all our guests to view and purchase. January's artist will be Oscar Meza.
Photo: Acuna-Hansen
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INTRO is the creation of Rob Ciancimino, who acts as the evening's curator, host, Master of Ceremonies and DJ Executive Chef Paul Shoemaker, and Manny Marroquin, multi Grammy Award winning mixer/engineer.
Photo: Acuna-Hansen
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Patrons start out with a Black Olive Focaccia with Brown Butter to prepare their palette. The evening's Wine Director gives a brief rundown of the three wines chosen for the meal: a white to enjoy during the first half of the meal, a red for the latter half, and a port to imbibe in after the conclusion of the dinner. Each wine is chosen to complement Executive Chef Paul Shoemaker's menu for the night.
Photo: Kristie Hang
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The first course is a three-part edible cocktail: Bourbon Cider Liquid Rav, Cold Fever, a Gin and Tonic with silver and gold fizz and Passion Fruit Fizz, featuring an oyster, champagne and beet juice caviar. The dainty aperitif serves to stimulate the appetite and to kick off the experience.
Photo: Kristie Hang
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The second course called the Pre-Amuse was the most inventive of the night – a Dime Bag and a Foie Gras, Truffle Mac-Daddy bite. The Nickel Bag dissolves in your mouth while also acting as a palette cleanser. The bag is made of Japanese rice paper and melts to reveal a flavor explosion of foie gras dust, pine nuts, candy cocoa nibs and Cocoa Puffs.
Photo: Acuna-Hansen
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Part two of the second course was the Foie Gras, Truffle Mac-Daddy bite. Since truffles are in season, they were a great addition to the foie gras macaron and caramelized apple butter.
Photo: Acuna-Hansen
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The next course, the Amuse, featured a layered complexity within two small bites; the first comprised of salmon skin topped with citrus cured salmon, and Meyer lemon, while the other stars Smoked Steelhead Roe on a rice cracker with whipped honey and Togarashi.
Photo: Acura-Hansen
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The Bone Marrow Ravioli/Truffle Ravioli was served with one simple instruction: Do not bite. Place the entire thing in your mouth so that the braised meat, bone marrow, and truffle flavors explode all at once.
Photo: Acuna-Hansen
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The first of two seafood dishes was the scallop baked avocado, yuzu ponzu, caviar and smoked sesame. The scallop dish ended up being one of the biggest crowd pleasers of the night.
Photo: Kristie Hang
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The second seafood dish of the night was the Butter Poached Maine Lobster with Coral Nage and Basil Soil. The lobster was perfectly succulent and undercooked, which gave it an extremely buttery taste that melted in my mouth.
Photo: Kristie Hang