Maude - the Continuum

Maude

Beverly Hills

Final days of Maude before they close (again).

Outside.

Seated at the bar.

Green apple, wood sorrel, grand fir popsicle.

11 day aged butter. Inside.

Inside.

2022 Petillant Naturel, Stolpman Vineyards, "So Fresh", Chenin Blanc, Ballard Canyon.

Green garlic pillow, pai tee, duck confit tetela. Last (right) was on blue corn tortilla.

Green garlic pillow.

Pai tee.

Duck confit tetela (blue corn tortilla).

Baja bay scallops, yellowfin tuna bone marrow, jicama, purple tomatillo aguachile.

The garnish kind of overwhelmed the scallops. But it was pretty.

Victor Munak tomatoes, boqueron, pipian, seaweed tartlet. (anchovy)

Stylish.

All about presentation.

Plain bread, rosemary/pumpkin/polenta bread, and 11 day aged butter.

Details.

Washington state manila clam, trout roe, labneh, pil pil.

General manager and sommelier Jessica Taylor.

Shinkei lime halibut, Khorasan, Escabeche mussels, swarnadwipa. $Jimenez Family corn, creme frache, vin jaune, Golden Kaluga caviar (Sacramento).$
Jimenez Family corn, creme frache, vin jaune, Golden Kaluga caviar (Sacramento).

Perhaps the best dish of the night.

Wolfe Ranch quail, carrot, Pattypan squash, turnip.

Stuffing quail with itself.

Upstairs to the wine room for dessert. Menu.

Menu.

Many wines.

Munak Ranch melon (sugar cube, rock sweet, supreme), tepache, finger lime, house made tajin.

Tenerelli Orchards stone fruit (peach with honey), apricot sherbert, lavender brulee, brown butter crumble.

Presentation of the final bites.

Berry Chantilly tart..

Sugar-crusted gooseberry, salted caramel macaroon.

Everyone is given blankets because they keep the wine room decidedly cool.

Upstairs to the wine room. Menu.

Menu.

Final visit to Maude before they closed (and revert back to Pie Room by Gwen for a second time).

Chef Curtis Stone has elevated Maude considerably since my last visit, with ample skill and style to show why they have had a Michelin star the past few years. Few dishes actually are particularly excellent, with most being best described as very good. The delicate bay scallops, as an example, are a bit overwhelmed by their jalapano garnish, while the stuffed quail is more brilliant in theory than in reality. The tomato tartlet is beautiful but again not quite tops in terms of a must-have dish, and both the halibut and the green garlic pillow did not quite elevate the meal as much as one might have hopeed.

Fortunately a few things are unexpectedly amazing, particularly the Jimenez Family corn buried under caviar, the bread could be an entire meal in itself, and the wine list is particularly good. Upstairs in the freezing wine room, the desserts are also done with style, with the sugar-crusted gooseberry being particularly unique.

As sad as I am to see Maude go, they were a place I had a hard time making time for; only one dish blew me away, the rest were best described as solid. I actually look forward more to the return of Pie Room by Gwen, which had some absolutely amazing pies during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.