This is the second week in a month that Miss S. Irene Virbila stepped out of Los Angeles to find what she deems a three-star meal, this time heading down to San Diego County for a look at Addison, the new restaurant at the not-yet-open Grand Del Mar Resort. While the place sounds positively country club, with its gold-leaf ceilings and "well-heeled" patrons, she offers high praise for the 30-year-old chef, William Bradley:
Bradley's dishes don't read or taste like anybody else's. Even a chicken breast seems interesting from his hands?There may be a lot going on, occasionally too much, but Bradley's cooking typically has such balance and grace that he keeps each element separate and clean. The experience is more about contrasts, like a work from a painter who doesn't do a lot of blending and keeps colors vivid and distinct.This review begs the question: Do Angelenos really need to travel to find three-star meals these days? So far this year, Miss Irene's given such praise to one LA restaurant, and it's a casual pizza joint. The second time went to a Patina Group resto in the O.C. Last year, she only handed out two: One to Cut, the other to Stonehill Tavern? in the O.C. Perhaps it's the whole idea of travel that wows the critic, so today, the "S." stands for "seduced."
ELSEWEHERE: LA.com finds hospitality at All' Angelo; Eating L.A. tries breakfast at Blair's> in Silverlake; Mike and Maria finally seek Pie N Burger; and celebrating Chinese New Year and Peking duck at Lu Din Gee.
