The dining room at the RH restaurant inside the Andaz Hotel on WeHo's Sunset Strip.

This week marked my first experience with RH at Andaz, West Hollywood for one of the simplest of meals I could have anticipated.  But, as simple doesn't necessarily mean bare, I will also say it was one of the more satisfying dinners I recall eating; I wholeheartedly consumed it with gusto.

Chef Jorge Chicas has fresh on his mind starting with a new menu.  "We're moving into more modern, popular ways of eating. The regular customers who dine at RH are real foodie,” he told me.

“They come for the local fruits and vegetables and other ingredients we use, supplied from farms close to LA."

With a great many of his normal patrons being, either Andaz Hotel guests or entertainment executives arriving daily for a simple but posh lunch, Chef Chicas is hoping these days to attract and invite a more local West Hollywood crowd. 

In the next couple of weeks and months, a tapas menu design will be presented so that friends and larger groups can spontaneously stop in and sample from much more than a single dish while enjoying an in-house DJ, a cool ambiance and creative drink highlights from the RH Bar.  

Marinated Ceregniola Olives.

For now, it is a menu truly in development and continuously evolving, where the tastes are a combination of the traditional and the au courant, hovering between appealing  and surprising.

A banquette fit for at least six greeted us, facing the steaming pots, pans and grills nearby. 

Immediately relaxed and comfortable in a truly easy, California Casual style atmosphere, I  suddenly bubbled aloud, "Oh, what's that fish?  It smells delicious!"  I really couldn't help but remark right away. 

The staff was uber accommodating in every way, allowing me to taste a little something from across the menu, as well as being gracious and fun. And, as I learned, the food itself resembled the bright personality of the chef.

The menu for the evening, beginning with salad and appetizers:

Charcuterie with Saucission, Prosciutto, Chorizo and Marcona Almonds.  Particularly perfect in taste and presentation, the Chorizo, thinly sliced was slow to register on the tongue but eventually evoked a very smoky flavor in contrast to the sweeter, brighter tasting Saucission salami. 

Italian Parma Prosciutto being more meaty and with less fat than most American versions offered a balanced flavor that was altogether divine.  The plate was finished with typical Cornichons (baby pickled cucumbers) and crisp almonds.

Truffle Risotto featuring local wild mushrooms, creamy risotto, parmesan0 cheese, petite basil was as true to risotto as can be.

Gloria's Farm Baby Beets Salad.  Roasted baby beets, Frisee lettuce, baby Arugula, walnuts, and a hint of Bermuda blue cheese mixed with sherry vinaigrette showcased a well-blended mélange without the distraction of heavy goat cheeses or a complete 'fusion' which allowed each vegetable to retain its own distinct and delectable flavor.

Heirloom Tomatoes and Burrata Salad. Gloria's Farm baby arugula, aged balsamic reduction, extra virgin olive oil amplified the perfectly ripened tomatoes and a firm, (although not overly creamy) Burrata cheese.

Marinated Ceregniola Olives.  A new highlight for the appetizer course,  marinated in herbs, sherry vinegar, pimento and California extra virgin olive oil, were large, meaty and aromatic.

The main courses included:

Truffle Risotto featuring local wild mushrooms, creamy risotto, parmesan0 cheese, petite basil was as true to risotto as can be.  Delicate and savory, added to this dish was the ambrosial delight of foamed rose water.

All Natural Creekstone Farm Ribeye.  Served with large sized pomme frites that were more like steak potatoes with a very cripsy skin and Bearnaise sauce, the steak, although could have offered a bit more impact for my own personal taste, was well prepared and tender.

Bouillabaisse. Maine lobster, sea scallops, shrimp, tomato broth, pearl onions, potatoes composed a subtle brothy sauce without a lot of spice or other accoutrement.

Bouillabaisse. Maine lobster, sea scallops, shrimp, tomato broth, pearl onions, potatoes composed a subtle brothy sauce without a lot of spice or other accoutrement, but the each piece of fish was cooked leaving the large sea scallops and the more often than not hard to get right mussels astoundingly creamy.

Agnolotti Pasta: Homemade tomato-garlic sauce with petite basil.  Absolutely authentic.  I had this dish in my focus before I arrived at the restaurant and I was not disappointed. 

The small square ravioli although un-traditionally prepared with a Parmigiano Reggiano filling instead of a meat and vegetable stuffing, tops the list of 'must sample' on the currant menu. 

The sauce, a puree of tomatoes lightly (red, ground) peppered and salted by additional slivers of parmigiano cheese, topped with micro basil, was distinctively on the sharp, spicy side and contrasted the flavor of the dish rather than blended without notice.

For dessert I had Chocolate Hazenut with Rasberry and Mint and Salty Caramel ice cream.

Huachinango ala Veracruzana (Red Snapper) in an olive, caper, pearl onions and tomato stew.  Very often served as either a customary Mediterranean style or Latin style dish by nature of the olives and capers, I found this particular heavily flavored preparation a bit more on the conventional side. 

It is a new item on the menu and yet it harkens much more to where this menu has been rather than where it is going.  That being said, the fish itself was excellent and grilled to perfection, seared at the edges, leaving the center moist and sweet.

For dessert I tried:

Chocolate Hazenut with Rasberry and Mint. To describe this dessert as decadent would be an understatement and yet it still managed to be light enough to finish to the last crumb.

And the coup de gras of the evening, Salty Caramel Ice cream, so good it made my eyes cross!  The juxtaposition of salt and sweet accorded all the pleasure of a salt water taffy in the milky, lusciousness of a homemade ice cream.

Space doesn’t allow me to wax rhapsodic about the aperitifs and wines chosen for me by the wait staff, so let me just encourage you to put yourself in their hands when you dine at RH at Andaz on West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip - you'll be delighted at the pairings they suggest.