Voltaggio’s Monte Cristo Umami Burger

OH YES I DID.

Michael Voltaggio‘s Monte Cristo Burger is made with a beef patty, gruyere fondue, prosciutto and placed on, wait for it… a CUSTARD-SOAKED, DEEP-FRIED BUN. Then it’s topped with powdered sugar and served with a side of maple syrup. Too sweet? Actually, no. I found myself going back to the syrup again and again. The best part? $1 from each burger will go to the Los Angeles Mission!

NOTE: It’s available for a limited time only at Umami Burger (as of 1/28/14) so DON’T MISS IT!

From the press release:
“Michael Voltaggio is one of the best chefs in the nation,” said Adam Fleischman, Founder and Chairman of Umami Restaurant Group. “He’s changed the rules of fine dining in Los Angeles, making it pretty bad-ass.”

The winner of Bravo’s Top Chef Season 6, Michael Voltaggio was named one of Food and Wine Magazine’s Best New Chefs in 2013. His flagship restaurant, ink., was named GQ Magazine’s Best New Restaurant in America in 2012. Additionally, Voltaggio’s sandwich shop ink.sack has received widespread acclaim, most recently opening its second outlet inside Los Angeles International Airport’s Tom Bradley International Terminal.

Michael Voltaggio, Chef/Owner ink. & ink.sack said, “I wanted to make a burger that would hit the spot no matter if you’re craving something sweet or savory. This was a fun collaboration with Umami Burger and even better since $1 from every burger sold will benefit the LA Mission. They do a ton of good for people in need and this is a great way to give back.”

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L.A. Chefs Volunteering at L.A. Food Bank!

Read all about it over at L.A. Bites Hunger!

Spring @ ink

Favorite spring dishes at Michael Voltaggio’s ink:

Egg Yolk Gnocchi (super creamy in the middle), Bay Scallops from Mexico, Accents of Spring

Octopus (the broth was fantastic), Young Fennel, Pimenton.

Pork Belly (of course I loved this), Charcoal Oil, BBQ Oil, Corn.

Lamb Shoulder, Lamb’s Tongue, Lamb’s Quarters, Vadouvan, Yogurt (I usually HATE lamb, but had to fight Peter to get my share).

Greek Yogurt, Strawberry, Rhubarb, Coconut, Granola Crunch (refreshing and not too sweet).

Dining date: 4/25/12

About Chef Michael Voltaggio & ink.

ink restaurant
8360 melrose ave.
los angeles, ca 90069
323.651.5866
website

Many more ink photos on flickr

All my Michael Voltaggio photos on flickr

ink sack

BEST SANDWICHES IN TOWN (ok, so these are my favorite sandwiches in town)…

Michael Voltaggio’s ink sack:

spicy tuna miso-cured albacore, sriracha mayo

cold fried chicken house-made ranch cheese, gindo’s spice of life

banh mi pork butt, pork belly, chicharrónes, pickled vegetables

the Jose Andres aka “the spanish godfather” serrano, chorizo, lomo, manchego

c.l.t. chicken liver mousse, curried chicken skin, lettuce, tomato

maple-pepper turkey melt camembert, mustarda, arugula

“reuben” corned beef tongue, appenzeller cheese, kraut, russian dressing

maryland crab chips

Checking on the ink sack kitchen on opening day! AJ Ramirez on the line, Animal’s Jon Shook on far right.

Water melon sriracha, lime & pineapple chile y lemon. Great as a side… or take home for cocktails later!

All my photos from ink sack

ink sack
8360 melrose avenue #107
los angeles, california 90069

MENU 

Jonathan Gold on ink sack

All my Michael Voltaggio Photos on Flickr

Follow Michael Voltaggio on Twitter

ink.

My First Bites at Michael Voltaggio’s ink.

Fish Sticks, Smelt, Dill Pickles, Black Olive Mayo

Octopus Popcorn, Piquillo Pepper, Spinach

Carrots Baked in Salt, Nasturtium, Yogurt, Vadouvan, Spiced Soil

Corned Beef Tongue, Appenzeller Churro, Red Onion, Pastrami Syrup

Blue Prawns, Green Papaya, Ginger Lime

Seaweed Mashed Potatoes

Dungeness Crab Toast, Smoked Mayo, House Made Hot Sauce, Celery

Chicken Oysters, Oyster Mushrooms, Oyster Plant, Tomato Coconut

Bay Scallops, Cream of Dehydrated Potato, Potato Skins, Buttermilk Shellfish Broth

Giant Squid Spaghetti, Squash, Hazelnut-ink Pesto, Piment d’espilette

Sea Bass, Scrambled Cauliflower, Egg Yolk, Caper

Hamachi, Parsnip Cream, Grapefruit, Jalapeno, Sesame Cake

Veal Sweetbreads, Corn Dumplings, Baby Corn, BBQ Caramel

Iberico de Belotta Pork Loin, Romesco Almond “beans”, Mushroom Chicharron

Quail, Charred Orange & Onion, Sorrel Cream

Veal Cheek, Red Curry, Nante Carrots Baked in Salt, Fried Sticky Rice

Grapefruit Curd Avocado, Lime, Cilantro, Sorbet

Apple Caramel, Burnt Wood Ice Cream

Chocolate, Coffee, Spice

Goat Cheese Ash, Concord Grape Sorbet, Walnut Pralines

On the line

Cole & AJ

Tight Ship = Smooth Service (Whitney & Josh on the right)

About Chef Michael Voltaggio & ink.

ink restaurant
8360 melrose ave.
los angeles, ca 90069
323.651.5866
website

Many more ink photos on flickr

All my Michael Voltaggio photos on flickr

Dining Dates:
9/16/11 (with Peter, Sharon & Bob Mangine)
9/22/11 (with Peter)

“Jonathan Gold Recommends Ink” 

Check out photos from ink sack (Voltaggio’s sandwich shop!)

Photos below from from Oct 16, 2011 (dinner with Peter, my brother Greg and our friend Lien)

Hiramasa, Parsnip Sesame Cream, Grapefruit

Dungeness Crab, Broccoli Mayo, Broccoli “Kimchi”

Skate Wing, Red Pepper Dashi, Shishito Peppers, Kelp Pasta, Fennes

Veal Cheek, Red Curry, Nante Carrots Baked In Salt, Fried Sticky Rice

Wagyu Hanger Steak, Ras El Hanout Yogurt, Black Garlic, Mushroom Chicharron

Apple Creme Caramel, Burnt Wood Sabayon, Charred Maple Lime

Dewazakura Sparkling Sake

GUN PLAY

Last week I attended a private cooking demonstration at Williams-Sonoma in Beverly Hills. Chef Michael Voltaggio and his awesome crew were on hand to whip up some delicious bites using modern cooking equipment, including a few devices I’ve only dreamt about having in my own kitchen.

Back in March 2009, during yet another exquisite meal at the Bazaar, Michael motioned me back to the open kitchen so I could watch him plate a new menu dish. On the counter sat a heavy slate plate with salmon (& cucumber “noodles”) under a clear glass dome. As I eagerly watched, Michael grabbed what looked like a laser price scanner and lifted the dome just a bit, then slipped in a small tube which filled the dome with smoke.

Back at my table, the server lifted the dome and a gentle puff of smoke wafted under the lights. The flavors in the salmon were fantastic (yet subtle), especially since the fish was smoked just minutes before being served. That was my first experience with the handheld food smoker aka the “Smoking Gun”, which is made by PolyScience Innovative Culinary Technology.

At the Williams-Sonoma demo, Michael and his team touted the Smoking Gun as well as PolyScience’s Sous Vide Thermal Circulator. I didn’t see the Anti-Griddle (which quickly freezes items) on hand, but was thrilled to see that the Smoking Gun was for sale! After a few glasses of bubbly, Peter gladly bought me one… as well as the additional set of flavored wood chips. My niece and nephew had a BLAST smoking our entire dinner last week, and we were surprised how easy and well the gun worked.

Voltaggio and crew at Williams-Sonoma

Foie Gras and Wagyu Shortrib Bahn Mi: Foie gras terrine with shortrib cooked sous vide, pickled daikon and carrot, fresh cilantro and jalapeno on mini french roll.

Chef Michael Voltaggio cutting the Wagyu Shortrib

Bacon, Egg and Cheese: Slow poached egg with bacon puree and aged white cheddar foam, garnished with mini chives

Chef Cole Dickinson making the Bacon, Egg and Cheese (note the Thermal Circulator filled with eggs).

Coconut Shrimp (Tom Kha): Poached and smoked shrimp skewered with pipettes filled with tom kha consomme, garnished with puffed wild rice and mini thai basil, lime zest

Chef Klein De Bow making the Coconut Shrimp

Lox, Bagel and Cream Cheese: Salmon smoked and cooked sous vide, cream cheese snow, red onion puree, bagel struesel, tomato heart, caper powder

Chefs Klein De Bow and Adam Cole making the Lox, Bagel and Cream Cheese

Love these “tomato hearts” for the Lox, Bagel and Cream Cheese

Peaches and Burrata: Fresh market peaches with smoked burrata, wild arugula and aged balsamic air

Chef Alexander J. Ramirez making the peaches and burrata

The Smoking Gun!

Unpacking the Smoking Gun (cooking dinner with my niece & nephew). I used my old steamer set for the smoking.

After reading directions

Lighting the Smoking Gun

Getting ready to test on tofu

Smoking Tofu: We (my niece Kindal above) tried all four wood chip flavors on the tofu (Cherrywood, Applewood, Hickory and Mesquite).

My nephew Chace, preparing to smoke grilled vegetables

Hickory and Mesquite for the grilled flank steak. The Smoking Gun was so easy to set up, and most of all… it was FUN!

All Photos Here

Williams-Sonoma
339 North Beverly Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 274-9127
WebSite

Williams-Sonoma Event Date: Wed, 9/1/10

Purchase the Smoking Gun at Williams-Sonoma

Chef Voltaggio’s WebSite

Polyscience WebSite

The Anti-Griddle

The Thermal Immersion Circulator (for Sous Vide Cooking)

Follow Michael Voltaggio on Twitter

Follow Williams-Sonoma on Twitter

Follow PolyScience on Twitter

Video: Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie: Inventors (Philip Preston)

The Bazaar by José Andrés

Modern Cookery aka Molecular Gastronomy on MyLastBite

Tat for Taste

Yet another reason why I adore Chef Michael Voltaggio? Because when he commits to a cause… he makes it permanent! He definitely went above and BEYOND by getting the Taste of the Nation, Share Our Strength logo TATTOOED on his leg last week!

“Hey Jo… come meet me… I’m getting a new tattoo this morning.” (be right there Michael!)

The filling-in looked PAINFUL!

Tattoo Artist Jesse Exquivel

“Tattoos are permanent… and if we’re not careful, childhood hunger could be a permanent thing too” ~ Chef Michael Voltaggio

Check out the video on E!

Taste of the Nation L.A.

Photos by Jo Stougaard 6/5/10 More on Flickr

More about Michael

TOP CHEF Michael Voltaggio!

Congratulations Top Chef!
Peter & I were so honored to be with you
and celebrate your win last night!

Photo taken at Michael’s viewing party
Top Chef Season 6 Finale 12/9/09
The Langham in Pasadena

http://VoltaggioBrothers.com

Top Chef

The Dining Room At Langham

Michael Voltaggio

BREADBAR’s Hatchi Series: 8 for $8

What is Hatchi?

A little background (by LA Weekly):
“The Hatchi series, a collaboration between Breadbar and chef Noriyuki Sugie, began this past June and showcases a guest chef the last Thursday of each month. The series menu features 8 small plate courses at $8 a dish–“hatchi” means 8 in Japanese–and guests order a minimum of three dishes. The chefs, who are picked for their rising-star talent, are given a budget and must stick within it; Sugie is on hand to mentor, watch, and (one hopes) taste a few dishes. The previous chefs to run the floor were Debbie Lee (The Next Food Network Star, now at Gyenari), Michael Voltaggio (now chef de cuisine at The Langham) and Santa Barbara-based private chef Roberto Cortez.”

I love these “guest chef” dinners, and do my best to attend each one. So far I’ve been to three (links below), and highly recommend it! It’s just a really comfortable and inexpensive way to try out a chef’s new menu.

Michael Voltaggio at Hatchi

Robert Cortez at Hatchi

Remi Lauvand at Hatchi

Waylynn Lucas at Hatchi

Marcel Vigneron at Hatchi

Upcoming Events: 1/28/10 Ricardo Zarate
Chef at Mo Chica
Hatchi Theme: Peru Much Gusto

voltaggio top chef

BreadBar Century City
10250 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90067
(310) 277 3770
WebSite (check for upcoming Hatchi dinners)

Follow BreadBar on Twitter @BreadBar_LA

Mentioned above:

LA Weekly

Chef Noriyuki Sugie

BreadBar

Chef Voltaggio – Dining Room at the Langham

Chef Lauvand – Cafe Pierre

Chef Roberto Cortez

Chef Debbie Lee – Gyenari

voltaggio married wife girlfriend michael voltaggio’s top chef

Michael Voltaggio – Hatchi Dinner

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Chef Michael Voltaggio. Luckily for me, I also get to call him a friend.

Ever since I first tasted Michael’s food at the Bazaar by José Andrés last year, I made sure to keep an eye on the man that chef Andrés selected to open (as Esquire Magazine recently coined), the “Restaurant of the Year”.

The L.A. Times even gave the Bazaar a rare FOUR STAR review, and yes… I understand that the restaurant, menu and concept belong to the great José Andrés (I adore him too). But it was primarily Michael Voltaggio I saw in the kitchen each time I sat down for dinner in the Bazaar’s Roja room.

Michael now runs the kitchen at the Dining Room in Pasadena, which is located in the Langham Hotel. Before starting this most recent gig, he took some “time off” to compete in Bravo’s Top Chef – Season 6 (which is currently airing). He even squeezed in time to helm a one-night-only Hatchi guest chef event at BreadBar Restaurant in Century City, and it was there that I got to taste creations that were finally, truly his own.

BreadBar describes the Hatchi Series as a “unique venture featuring a different guest chef every month preparing an original, one-night-only suite of eight plates, including six ‘savory’ dishes and two ‘sweet’ creations”. Hatchi means number eight in Japanese: 8 Plates offered at $8 each. I love the Hatchi dinners, and do my best to attend each one!

The best part about Michael Voltaggio’s Hatchi dinner, surprisingly, wasn’t about the food. OF COURSE the food was STELLAR, it’s Michael Voltaggio for goodness sakes, but my favorite part was meeting and getting to know Michael’s mother, Sharon and his stepdad, Bob.

Top Chef 6 hadn’t started airing yet, and there was a lot excitement and anticipation at the restaurant that night. Sharon and I now email each other every Wednesday night after the show has aired, so we can dish about how her TWO sons are doing on the show. In case you don’t watch Top Chef, Bryan Voltaggio (Michael’s equally talented big brother) is also competing for the title this year. Sharon is certainly one proud mom, that’s for sure!

Michael Voltaggio’s incredible Hatchi menu:
An Experience of Texture and Flavor

Artichokes “Barigoule” Salmon Belly, Philadelphia Cheese, Smoked Salmon Roe

Japanese Tomato Tartare: Green Almonds, Parmesan “Overeasy”, Tapenade

Hamachi Crudo: Smoked Egg Yolk, Sea Sponge, Watermelon and Wild Rice

Veal Sweetbread, Poached Egg, Coffee Cardamom Soil (before adding Pea Consomme)

Veal Sweetbread, Poached Egg, Pea Consomme, Coffee Cardamom Soil

Crispy Chicken Thigh: Cuttlefish, Green Garlic, Sweet and Sour Mushrooms

Wagyu Beef: Short Rib, Saul’s Pastrami, Tamarind, Broccoli Textures, Horseradish “Styrofoam”

Miso Cake: Jasmine “Rice Cream”, Strawberry, Yuzu

Fool’s Gold: Hazelnut Praline, Salty Caramel, Nitro Coffee Mousse.
Sommelier Matthew Lathan paired each dish beautifully with wines, sherry and beer!

Chefs Michael Voltaggio and Marcel Vigneron (Top Chef Season 2)

BreadBar Century City
10250 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90067
310 277 3770
WebSite 

Dining Date: 7/30/09
With friends Afaf & Ray.

Hatchi Dinner: 8 Plates for $8
See website (link above) for upcoming Hatchi dinners!

The Dining Room at the Langham

Michael Voltaggio’s Top Chef Bio

Bryan Voltaggio’s Top Chef Bio

Esquire Magazine (Bazaar)

L.A. Times (Bazaar)

All my Michael Voltaggio photos on Flickr

More awesome Voltaggio tattoos (posted with permission)!

on his hand

on his arm

for his mother

More about Hatchi

More about Michael Voltaggio

Voltaggio, Voltaggio, Michael Volaggio, Bryan, Top Chef Las Vegas, Voltaggio Brothers Voltaggio, Voltaggio, Michael Volaggio, Bryan, Top Chef Las Vegas, Voltaggio Brothers