This venue has closed.
Red Medicine is perhaps most famous for being the restaurant that spotted and kicked out the LA Times food critic and then plastered her never-before-seen photo all over the Internet. The restaurant was white-hot for a minute or two but has since tapered off. On a recent Thursday night at 8pm, for example, it was only 30 percent full, at best. And that's a shame because it is actually better now than when it first opened. Jordan Kahn, one of the city's most inventive chefs, is vaguely inspired by the flavors of Vietnam. Emphasis on vaguely. "Chicken sausages" are wrapped in lettuce leaves with pickles and Sriracha sauce in a presentation that seems more French Laundry than Hanoi. Guppy-sized pieces of raw amberjack arrive in a large fishbowl, swimming in buttermilk, tapioca and red seaweed. Desserts—and a cocky frat-boy attitude—have always been Red Medicine's biggest weaknesses. Both have fortunately matured. There's a coconut pudding of sorts made with condensed milk and Thai basil, studded with a delicious little cookie that brings to mind Nutter Butter Cream Patties.