 Joachim Splichal and Patina Restaurant Group are behind Ray's & Stark Bar, located at LACMA next to the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Exhibition Pavilion. (Like the museum, the restaurant and bar are also closed Wednesdays.) Architect Renzo Piano's sleek environment is artfully exhilarating and the patio offers views of the Urban Light exhibit outside the museum. Executive chef Kris Morningstar crafts the Mediterranean-inspired, farm-to-table menu. Dinner starters might include hamachi sashimi with aji amarillo vinaigrette, followed by hanger steak served atop carrot-caraway purée and cabbage, or grilled sawara (Spanish mackerel) with beet purée, chanterelle mushrooms, boudin noir, kale and lime brown butter. An herb garden behind the restaurant supplies ingredients for both cocktails and dishes, as in the opal basil in the signature squid ink pasta. For dessert, you might find dark chocolate mousse with caramel sauce, chocolate sorbet and hazelnut brittle. Organic and sustainable wineries appear on the simple, crisp wine list organized by sommelier Paul Sanguinetti. The serious bar program features seasonal cocktails such as Mike's Medicine (Tariquet Armagnac, Licor 43, lime and egg white) and Bobbin' for Bourbon (housemade apple-infused bourbon, raspberry rooibos tea, lemon and spiced simple syrup). The entire experience exceeds what most museum-goers expect, and we hope the talented Morningstar, who never seems to stay in one kitchen very long, enjoys art.
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Ray's & Stark Bar Restaurant is one of our 2012
| Top 10 LA Craft Cocktail Bars & Restaurants
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Go behind the scenes of Ray's & Stark Bar restaurant! Watch our exclusive interview with chef Kris Morningstar.
Visit the photo gallery of Ray's & Stark Bar restaurant.
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