I stopped in here for lunch, arriving at 11:30 just as they were opening. The staff was still putting the finishing touches to the place and I asked them if I could take pictures, as I was writing a magazine review. They said yes so I snapped away, and was able to capture the look of the place without it being sullied by the common homo sapiens, this place being a museum to high design.

Handsome and stylish, its 300 person seating capacity exerts a gravitational pull that goes far beyond the Century City office corridor it graces and the legal eagles and super agents who work within it. Bentel and Bentel, the NY architectural firm that designed it, craft a unique style that complements the existing structure yet adds an LA flair. And ‘craft’ is the operational word, for owner Tom Colicchio’s focus in everything, from the food he creates to the space he serves it in, is on detail, meticulousness, pride and quality. The indoor-outdoor flavor is enhanced by floor to ceiling windows, the feeling of space is emphasized yet made personal with booths, free standing tables, warm wood tones, the signature hanging filament bulbs, discreet partitioning effects of woven gilded wire constructs, while the 80 seat outdoor lounge emphasizes the drama of Los Angeles and the high rise offices of Century City. As I was alone, my dining partner unable to make the appointment, I chose the prix fixe lunch, which for $38 consisted of a choice of appetizer, entree and dessert; I added a pasta dish as well.

Tom’s approach to the meal is primal. It harkens back to the way we used to eat together as families or groups; each food is served in its own container, often a copper saucepan, placed at the center of the table, with a dish to serve it on. Not only is the saucepan rustic and attractive, it also keeps the food warm -- thus your meal benefits. The menu is divided into food groups, hence appetizers, fish, meat, fowl, green vegetables, pastas, mushrooms and so on. This creates a feeling of sharing as well as allowing the diner to create his own meal, picking and choosing as he wishes. And the food gets the same respect. Developing a relationship with local farmers and suppliers, it is all top quality. And as he believes that the best food speaks for itself, his cooking addresses its elemental quality; the best ingredients cooked in the simplest way, every resource and skill designed to enhance and draw out the essential nature it possesses. Minimal yet complex, refined yet pure.

In this way a simple salad is a mixture of tender baby greens, a few shaved radishes to shift the flavor without detracting from the overall taste, with a mustard vinaigrette enhanced by shallots and a hint of sherry, adding a deepness to the taste that can be easily overlooked but not unnoticed. A homemade spaghetti is slightly thicker than usual, dense, delicately chewy, thus boldly setting off the carbonara sauce made with olive oil, parmesan, a touch of cream, bits of crushed, crunchy pancetta, garlic and chive, rich in flavor, almost too salty yet not, sharp and smooth, all held together by that stout pasta. Bay scallops huge, like scoops of vanilla ice cream, seared slightly crisp on one side, pink and delicate inside, tasting of the ocean, wonderfully enhanced by baked carrots, a pearl onion and a variety of mushrooms (maitake, porcini, shanterelles, baby shiitake), the juices mingling together sweetly, a touch of pepper and a sprinkle of rock salt as contrast. One would hardly think to combine these ingredients yet they blend together impeccably, in texture, color and flavor. For desert, strawberry ice cream and raspberry sorbet, simple, decent, average. No wine had I, but instead a very tasty lemongrass soda. The service, I must add, was excellent.

And yet, and yet, I was not pinned to the wall in wonder. Did I expect to be blown away? Yes. Granted, I did not have the appetite to try more food and I do intend to come back another day, this time with several dining companions, so we can sample and share, but I wanted fireworks! Perhaps the whole effect was too subtle; but I was not convinced by the pasta or the scallops, as interesting as they were, that this was indeed the best, the purest, the most creative way of extracting flavor through combining that one could achieve.

For what was essentially a $50 plate of scallops with a pasta side, I want to feel like I could never achieve tastes like this myself, that only a Top Chef can ring that bell. But the very simplicity, tasty as it is, makes me think I can too. Ignorant, maybe; crazy, probably; awed, not.

3.5 stars