Test Kitchen Opens Tomorrow: Red Medicine's Chef Jordan Kahn Is First Up

Test Kitchen

Have you ever been to a restaurant and left wondering, for good or bad, "What was the chef thinking with that menu?" Well, now you can find out. Test Kitchen, a new restaurant concept by Bill Chait (Rivera, Spark Woodfire Grill) and Brian Saltsburg (Boyz Night Out Supper Club) is giving some of L.A.'s top chefs a temporary space to "test" out dishes in the works for future restaurant projects. Lucky for us, instead of testing the dishes out on their kitchen staffs, the chefs are entrusting the future of their plates to the palates of Angelenos.

Located in the 9575 West Pico building that previously housed Spark Woodfire Grill, Test Kitchen officially opens tomorrow, August 18, with Chef Jordan Kahn testing out menu creations inspired by the opening of his punk-meets-Vietnamese restaurant Red Medicine from August 18 - August 22. But this is no regular tasting menu: for $40/person, guests get to test out a twelve course menu, such as bay scallops with pomelo, young ginger, tamarind syrup, puffed tapioca, and charred friseé; a Saigon tartine of pork belly, pate, coriander, carrot pickle, and green chili; coconut bavarois, coffee ice cream, thai basil, peanut croquant and chicory. Red Medicine's Managing Partner, Noah Ellis, and Bar Manager, Matthew Doerr, will be supporting Kahn from behind Test Kicthen's bar, mixing up $10 Vietnamese-style cocktails including one with Batavia Arrack, lime, tamarind, demerera, and condensed milk foam.

Once Kahn has left the Test Kitchen, Mo-Chica chef Ricardo Zarate will take the helm on August 24 only, testing concepts from his robata-style anticuchos. Next up will be John Rivera Sedlar testing R26: a restaurant serving the regional cuisine of 26 nations in South and Central America, Spain, Mexico, and the Hispanic Caribbean. Date is TBD. For updates on future chefs entering the Test Kitchen, follow @testkitchenla.

Test Kitchen: 9575 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles.
Dinner available Tuesday - Saturday, 6:00pm to 10:30pm. Reservations accepted via Test Kitchen's website and Open Table.