Navigating Netflix Bites
Despite being decidedly ‘anti-scene,’ the Cheap Girls love an LTO, or limited time offer. Why does just the knowledge that something won’t always be available make us want it that much more?
We just can’t resist an exclusivity factor!
So, when we heard about a pop-up restaurant featuring the chef’s - and dishes - on Netflix cooking shows, we quickly secured the res.
Netflix Bites is a little bit of a scene, however reservations were easy and there was no wait, so we’ll take it.
And the lineup of dishes? A who’s who of the streaming screen: Curtis Stone, Ming Tsai, and Andrew Zimmern to name just a few.
What we ordered:
Lady Zaza Pizza, by Chef Ann Kim (and featured on Chef’s Table: Pizza)
There was something very LA feeling about this dish - the fusion we never knew we needed. This pizza was topped with kimchi, Sakura pork, scallions, and sesame oil. The sour, fermented kimchi with the charred pizza dough, fatty pork, and scent of sesame were perfectly paired in this pie.
Aussie Truffle-Shiitake Mingbings, by Chef Ming Tsai
Most of the Cheap Girls friendship centers around our love of fungi, so this was a no-brainer. While the mingbing’s were fun to say, and pleasant enough to eat, we felt that both the mushroom and truffle flavor felt pretty muted.
Hushpuppies w/ Honey Butter, by Chef Rodney Scott
The Cheap Girls grew up on Southern cuisine, and these hushpuppies were some of the best we’ve ever had. If you’re picturing the dry, flavorless ‘puppies of yore think again - these were moist on the inside, crispy on the outside, and we’re currently adding plans for a honey butter lazy river to our dream homes.
Steak Tartare, by Chef Curtis Stone
We were impressed with this steak tartare, but it’s always ends up being a bummer when the best dish of the night comes out first. Curtis Stone’s version of this classic dish really spoke to us - topped with grated cured egg yolk, and served ‘protein style’ with shiso leaf wrappers instead of the standard bread, this was a top-tier tartare.
Dessert Kit 1 - ‘You Plate it, you Nailed it!’ by Chef Jacques Torres and
Honey Cake w/ Salted Hazelnuts, by Chef Nadiya Hussain
Alright, we’ll admit, we fell for a gimmick. Netflix Bites offered two ‘dessert kit’ options where you were given dish components, but got to decorate and construct your own creation. There wasn’t much to decorate and the dessert was just okay. Unless you have kids in tow, better to skip this one.
Honey Cake w/ Salted Hazelnuts, by Chef Nadiya Hussain
A beautiful bookend to the meal, this honey cake tasted as good as it looked. The 15 layer high cake was filled with a sweet cream cheese frosting, and the salted nutty topping balanced the sugar overload perfectly.
Cost $200 for 2 people
(includes 1 cocktail each, which were delicious)
Concluding thoughts
As far as we’re concerned, Netflix Bites is bordering on being a scene. I mean, my cocktail had an ingredient called ‘green grass air’ and cost over $20.
The food is good, but not great, the aesthetic is fun, but the service was bad, and overall spending this kind of dinero on a weekday dinner just isn’t in our Cheap Girls DNA. While a fun photo opp, you probably won’t find us back anytime soon.
