Crispy Rice And Lamb Add To Complex Menu At Kismet
• A Culinary Journey.
From German to Armenian food, Los Angeles has every cuisine imaginable. Today, there are many authentic restaurants, but there are also many restaurants that take a cuisine and modernize it. French cuisine modernized at Petit Trois. Italian cuisine modernized at Rossoblu. Mexican cuisine modernized at Guerilla Tacos. I have tried every cuisine modernized in Los Angeles except Middle Eastern, until now.
I am the kind of person that always has to look at the menu before going to the restaurant. I kid you not, I did not know nor could not pronounce at least half of the ingredients listed on the menu. Honestly, not knowing most of the ingredients made the dining experience that much more exciting. Kismet serves their dishes family style. Family style is always great because that means trying more dishes. On the other hand, it is called “family” style, which implies sharing. When it comes to food, sharing doesn’t apply to me.
The first dish we tried was fried cauliflower with a caper yogurt. It is a well-known fact that fried food can make anything taste good. I love cauliflower, regardless, but frying it makes me never want to eat roasted cauliflower again. The caper yogurt was the best part of the dish by far. The tangy, creamy, briny yogurt was such an amazing complement to the fried cauliflower. This dish was definitely one of the best dishes I tried at Kismet. I love how simple the dish is, but also how much flavor is packed in. You cannot go to Kismet and not order this. It will be your biggest regret in life…trust me.
The next dish we tried was the bay scallop crudo with stone fruit, lemon cucumber, green coriander, and pistachio oil. I was very hesitant to try this dish because I don’t like cucumbers, raw seafood, nor scallops even when they are cooked. I loved this dish though! There was something so floral and refreshing about the dish. The scallops were so buttery and tender and paired so nicely with all the other components. This dish was so perfect for a warm summer night.
I always want to try a vegetable dish at a new restaurant, so I had to get the broccolini with labneh (yogurt), macadamia nuts, scallop, and urfa pepper. I could eat a bowl of broccolini cooked with no seasonings and I would love it. Eating broccolini with labneh and all the other seasonings at Kismet has given me a new found appreciation for broccolini. I would never think of eating broccolini with yogurt, but I loved the tangy note and a spicy kick from the urfa pepper. If you are like me and always have to get a vegetable dish, you have to get this and the fried cauliflower.
The next dish we ordered was probably my least favorite. The butter lettuce salad with kohlrabi, basil, and a bergamot vinaigrette was very refreshing, but I also found it very acidic and salty. I would still recommend this dish because there was a lot of flavor, but I would consider getting a fatty or sweet dish to eat with it.
To cut out the saltiness of the salad, we ordered the lamb belly with little gem lettuce, carob, and meyer lemon. This dish reminded me of Korean barbeque and lamb mixed together. The meat was so tender and juicy, but also had a sweet, caramelized outside similar to that of Korean barbeque. This dish complemented the salad really nicely because it was sweet and fatty. You cannot pass this dish up.
I am Asian, so anytime I see rice on a menu, you best believe that I will order it. I love any type of rice, but Persian crispy rice with pepitas, currents, and an egg yolk… yes, please, I will take two of those. The outside is crispy and then you get the creamy egg yolk with the rice, sweet currants, and salty pepitas. I went with three other people, but if you go with more people, you need multiple Persian crispy rices. 
If I haven’t convinced you to order the Persian crispy rice there is something wrong with you as every single table at Kismet had a crispy rice. If you don’t order it, you will regret it when everyone around you is eating it and you feel left out.
I loved every aspect of Kismet. From the décor to all the amazing dishes, all my senses were beyond satisfied. Kismet is so unique and innovative in every way. If you are a foodie like me, add this restaurant to your summer food bucket list or even lifetime bucket list and you can thank me later.
