Last night, I had the chance to eat at Spago in Beverly Hills, and my respect for the Puck empire has grown a thousandfold.
Rated two stars by the Michelin 2008 Guide, Spago didn’t disappoint anyone in my dining party – 
from salad to dessert, it was the perfect dining experience throughout. My salad of shaved apples and blue cheese was exactly what I wanted, while my companion had a roasted beet salad and practically licked his plate clean! My main course, chicken with mashed potatoes, may sound prosaic – but in the hands of Wolfgang Puck, mere chicken and mashed potatoes is raised to a level of excellence that, frankly, makes me never want to attempt to roast a chicken again. There was just enough garlic accentuate the other flavors, without overwhelming the palate (or leading to the embarrassment of Garlic Breath). On either side of me, both people had a salmon with root vegetables and again – not a crumb left behind.
Then, what I was (secretly) anticipating the most, came the dessert course. There was coffee ice cream, there was strawberries with chocolate and cream, and there was the piece de resistance, the chocolate souffle. Who can resist poking a hot souffle, to watch the rich dark chocolate ooze its way onto one’s plate? Not I, that’s for certain. My dining party, to a one, rolled out of Spago in Beverly Hills, full and content. For a foodie traveler like myself, it was a meal to remember.
