Video: Restaurant Review: Spago

Spago in Los Angeles is the flagship in Wolfgang Puck’s international empire — a vital part of the city’s culinary history, and represents possibly the greatest vibe shift ever in American restaurants. I went back several times because I wanted to see how this restaurant that, both influenced and anticipated some major American food trends over 40 years ago, fit into the scene it helped shape today. What I found was an irresistible monument to Wolfgang Puck. I found a beautiful space with great lighting, excellent drinks, a deep wine list, a really fun dining room to be in. But I wanted to love dining at Spago, and over the course of five visits, I found that the extremely expensive food often tasted like it was turned down for background eating — muted. It just didn’t live up to its own ideal. The best bets, in my opinion, are the simplest dishes: like the smoked salmon pizza, which isn’t on the menu, but you can always order, along with the big celebratory desserts like the soufflé — the kaiserschmarrn with strawberries and syrup.