Shogun, Mammoth Lakes

A first for me in Mammoth, sushi in the Mountains; perhaps risky business. I was calculated though, I went on a Saturday night with the assumption that a weekend would bring people from LA and a fresh delivery of fish. I’ll tell you what, a pleasant surprise. I dined at the sushi bar among a full house of hungry diners.

None of the rolls were elaborate, no real showmanship behind the counter either, just efficiency. The spicy tuna was a highlight, made without mayonnaise, rather with Japanese hot pepper; a nice touch. A simple ahi tuna and cucumber salad, while heavy handed with the soy, was flavorful once the tuna was removed from the bath of dressing. A yellowtail and green onion roll was another solid offering. The unagi sushi was simply glazed, rather than dredged in the sweet sauce...bravo.

I was happiest with a sashimi plate of yellowtail and albacore, both with clean flavors. I love albacore to finish. Delicious fish, creamy, and with just a hint of soy and green onion is a favorite of mine. Add one 22oz Kirin to this meal and I walked away a happy man.

If you're craving sushi, there aren't many choices in Mammoth, so who knows when the delivery days are in the middle of summer or what type of volume they do during the week, but on a Saturday in the middle of winter, it's probably a good bet your getting fresh fish and they're busy doing volume.

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Whiskey Creek, Mammoth Lakes

Normally, I eat upstairs at Whiskey Creek for simpler fare, fish tacos or a burger, but I felt like a steak and salad. So downstairs it was for The Whiskey Wedge and the Friday night Prime Rib. The metaphor for my dining experience is appropriate for the season in which I'm dining, a 16 year old youth snowboarding with buddies on the slopes of Mammoth for the first time. Fast, somewhat haphazard, and the youthful urge to get down the hill without much style or grace but proclaim to all that he just carved up another killer run.

 

The Wedge was uninspired, as though they didn’t try. Sure the lettuce was cold and generous, but the bleu cheese dressing was loose and underseasoned. The candied walnuts, an afterthought simply put on the side of the salad. There was also some other reddish dressing put over the top of the bleu cheese dressing, to what end I don’t know. Nothing special really, although it came out very quickly from the kitchen.

 

As for the prime rib, it looked perfect and medium rare, but was missing a roasted crust around the outside. Secondly, a brown sauce was poured all over the meat, for what reason I have no idea. The prime rib was cooked properly, so why add some canned or bottled sauce to it? The sauce was horrible and tasted like Campbell’s reduced beef broth combined with pureed mushroom soup, desecrating the prime rib. I took the mashed potatoes and created a dam around my prime rib mitigating some of the damage wrought by the foul sauce.

Another worry I have, the wine list is dated, which may indicate problems with buying habits of both consumers and the staff. There seems to be plenty of wine and plenty of choices, almost too many when it comes to the offerings by the glass, all indicative of confusion rather than vision for what Whiskey Creek should be, a premier dining property in town with clear direction other than speed and tons of offerings. When I see 02, 03, 04 Cabs on the list, that have had recent releases, it begins to worry me. I'm all for having verticals of wine but it's un-necessary at a place like this. They should have recent vintages of the most popular wines in the LA and San Diego area.

As I opened with my reckless snowboarder metaphor, one thing about downstairs at Whiskey Creek that I couldn’t complain too much about…they’re fast; but if I had to do it over again, I’d eat upstairs in the bar. I think this place could be a real gem in Mammoth if they only took a step back, re-evaluated what they were doing, slow down, and think about what they want to do as a professional snowboarder, just go fast and board or step up their game and board the half-pipe with style.

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The Lakefront Restaurant, Mammoth Lakes

As many of you know, I’ve been coming to Mammoth Lakes for many years, but have never dined at Tamarack. A well regarded establishment and rooted in classical cuisine, I’ve heard from backpacker and seasoned diner alike, this is probably the best place in town. In the winter, the cross-country ski area at Mammoth is located next to the lodge.

It was my first night in Mammoth, so I generally don’t drink alcohol due to the elevation, so I had Sauvignon Blanc with dinner.

I started with the duck confit salad in a truffled dressing, with foie gras medallion and toasted bread. The duck was picked off the bone with no skin and served on the side on the salad. The duck was moist and seasoned. The lettuce mix was simple mixed greens with frisee and matchstick cut pear or apple (I didn’t ask). The bread was a little over grilled and awfully dry, but it didn’t affect the salad’s overall taste. I prefer having the whole duck leg with the skin to pick at when I order confit, but I’ll be honest, it was a good salad.

 

My main course was a cold smoked salmon, finished in the pan to form a crust before service. The salmon was accompanied by a medley of starch and vegetables, polenta cake with peppers, grilled bok choy, creamy potato, roasted beet root, and snap peas. While I have a personal preference for a simple unadulterated polenta cake, each and every garnish was done right. I don’t have a single issue with anything and it’s tough to bat 1000. Each garnish was seasoned, cooked properly, and presented with precision.

 

The salmon was a well-crafted piece of protein. The salmon was quickly cured, then cold smoked briefly to impart the flavor of smoke but not to cook. The salmon was then finished in a sauté pan until the top was golden and crispy. The salmon was well seasoned, hinted of smoke, moist and just plain good. Good use of technique from curing, to smoking, to sauté in order to achieve the finished product. Well done, very well done.

Service was pleasant and relaxed, despite a full dining room. I noticed proper wine service and wine glasses to go with it. Servers smiled, moved around the room hustling, and all the service staff touched my table throughout the evening.  

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Burgers Restaurant, Mammoth Lakes

 

What was I thinking not coming to this place 5 years ago? I popped in for lunch and had a bacon cheeseburger with grilled onions and a salad with bleu cheese dressing (I had the option of fries as well). The salad was cold and the lettuce mix was fresh, but it certainly wasn't the main attraction.

Maybe there’s simply nostalgia for thousand island dressing or “special sauce”, but burgers seem to taste better with some form of thousand island dressing. The bun is thick, fresh and grilled and maintains its shape with each bite, high marks for the bun. The bacon was still crispy and was meaty and thick. The patty is a quarter pounder, cooked medium. As you know, I prefer medium-rare on all burgers because I don’t like a dry patty. However, Burgers Restaurant seems to have avoided the dry patty trap with the addition of special sauce, lettuce, tomato, pickles, grilled onions and whatever their doing to their patties to keep them moist. I still would like medium-rare, but the rest of the burger was so damn good, I’m letting it slide. Look at how photogenic that burger is. It's beautiful. 

Service was efficient and ticket times at lunch were under 10 minutes. I would easily come back for a burger at Burgers. And I'll ask next time if they can cook my patty medium-rare; if so, it should rate as one of the best burgers I've eaten.

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Perry's Italian, Mammoth Lakes

A meatball sandwich and a cup of clam chowder doesn’t get any more simple or hearty for lunch. Perry’s did both items justice. Was it a life changing meatball sandwich experience? No, but the sandwich was hot, the meatballs moist, the tomato sauce wasn’t too tangy or sweet, the cheese was melted, and the bread didn’t disintegrate upon my second bite. As for the clam chowder, it was creamy, hot, and well seasoned. This gut-buster of a meal came to just under $11.

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