Fantastic food and soaring sights at 71Above in Los Angeles

Above and Beyond

From a window-side table at 71Above, diners can test their knowledge of Los Angeles geography. If you lose your sense of direction, a built-in tabletop compass will help orient you from your 290m-high downtown perch, while a guided prix fixe menu (from US$70, RM310 per person) will usher you to a magnificent meal of New American cuisine.

To begin, an enticing amuse-bouche — say, a crispy gougere of Gruyere by pastry chef Gregory Baumgartner — awakens your appetite. The entrees are equally tempting thanks to chef and partner Vartan Abgaryan’s tasty surprises: a deconstructed suckling pig offers loin and belly cuts with the addition of a crispy dark-meat fritter that becomes the star of the plate. His tender young chicken breast, whose golden-crisp skin hides a bed of foie gras and black-truffle shavings, convinces one that all chicken should be served this way.

71Above