LA Restaurant Has 45-Page Water Menu, Water Sommelier

Ray's & Stark Bar, the Patina Group's restaurant and bar located at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, will be adding a 20-item Water Menu to its beverage list next week. Eater LA reports that Ray's & Stark GM and water sommelier Martin Riese created the list which includes waters from ten different countries including Spain, France, Germany, and Canada. The bottles range in size from .75 - 1 liter, and are priced from $8 - $16. The most expensive bottle is Riese's own California-made water 9OH2O. Eater LA had previously reported that 9OH2O retails for $14 per bottle because it's made "in limited editions of 10,000 individually numbered glass bottles."

According to a press release, waters on "LA's most extensive Water Menu" will be for sale by the bottle and also as part of a $12 water tasting menu. Riese is quoted in the press release saying: "We are already accustomed to pairing food with wine or beer, but many people don't know that water is just as important to the entire dining experience." The menu is a booklet that features descriptions of each water varietal, including information on origin, mineral content, and tasting notes. Here's the water menu in full and the press release:

Ray's & Stark Bar's Water Menu

RAY'S & STARK BAR LAUNCHES LOS ANGELES' MOST EXTENSIVE WATER MENU AUGUST 12, 2013

Water Sommelier Martin Riese unveils new water menu, representing twenty waters from ten countries

(LOS ANGELES, CA; AUGUST 5, 2013)—Ray's & Stark Bar, Patina Restaurant Group's acclaimed restaurant and bar at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, launches LA's most extensive Water Menu with 20 varietals of water from around the world on August 12, 2013. Ray's & Stark Bar's general manager, Martin Riese, conceptualized the menu to be the most extensive and globally-expansive of its kind in the city. Constructed to complement Executive Chef Kris Morningstar's thoughtful, Mediterranean-inspired, and seasonal menu, staff will suggest water pairings similarly to how they would wine.

"This menu has been a long time in the making," Riese, the world's foremost certified Water Sommelier from the German Mineral Water Association and author behind Die Welt des Wassers ("The World of Water"), says. "Water has a significant impact on the way we taste food, just as with wine and spirits. We are already accustomed to pairing food with wine or beer, but many people don't know that water is just as important to the entire dining experience."

Apart from the more typical Fiji, S. Pellegrino, and Evian-type varieties, the Water Menu includes many mineral waters that are rarely found in the United States. Ray's & Stark Bar presents the Water Menu in booklet-form, attributing an entire page for each varietal that is complete with tasting notes, mineral content, bottle price, and photos. The menu is organized by country, as Riese notes that terroir affects water in the same way that it affects wine, and thus, flavor profiles can be detected from country to country.

Guests can choose from carefully chosen waters spanning 10 countries, including Badoit from France, Vichy Catalan from Spain, and Riese's own Beverly Hills 9OH2O. Though each water is available for sale by the bottle, Riese also offers guests a tasting menu for $12.

Ray's & Stark Bar is located at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Wilshire Boulevard between Fairfax and Curson Avenues, and is open for lunch and dinner 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5 p.m.-10 p.m. every day except Wednesday, and brunch 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Guests can make reservations by calling (323) 857-6010.

About Ray's & Stark Bar
Ray's & Stark Bar is located in the BP Grand Entrance of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Ray's & Stark Bar is named after Ray Stark, the late film producer and former LACMA Trustee. Executive Chef Kris Morningstar's thoughtfully executed farm-to-table, seasonal menu has been developed with Patina Restaurant Group and Founder Joachim Splichal. The Mediterranean-inspired menu includes a host of dishes from the restaurant's wood-burning oven and wood grill. A separate menu is served in the adjoining Stark Bar, and both locales offer seasonal cocktails, a California-centric wine list, and artisan beers and spirits. Ray's & Stark Bar opened in Spring 2011. Ray's and Stark Bar has been hailed by Esquire magazine as "one of the best new restaurants of 2011" and by the Los Angeles Times as "a feast for the senses."

About Patina Restaurant Group
Patina Restaurant Group (www.patinagroup.com), a bi-coastal boutique company, is a leader in the premium segment of the restaurant industry with over fifty establishments. On the West Coast its portfolio includes the renowned Los Angeles Times' four-starred and Michelin-starred Patina Restaurant in Walt Disney Concert Hall, Nick & Stef's Steakhouse, Café Pinot at the Maguire Gardens, Catal and Ray's & Stark Bar, honored by Esquire magazine as one of the "Best New Restaurants 2011." Additional West Coast establishments include three restaurants in Anaheim's Downtown Disney District®, Leatherby's Cafe Rouge at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Pinot Brasserie in Las Vegas, and catering and food service in museums and cultural centers throughout California. On the East Coast, its portfolio features New York City's world-famous Rockefeller Center Ice Rink, The Sea Grill, The Grand Tier Restaurant at the Metropolitan Opera, La Fonda Del Sol and and Lincoln, also honored by Esquire magazine as a 2011 Best New Restaurants and named "The Best New Restaurant in America" by GQ Magazine.

About LACMA
Since its inception in 1965, LACMA has been devoted to collecting works of art that span both history and geography—and represent Los Angeles's uniquely diverse population. Today, the museum features particularly strong collections of Asian, Latin American, European, and American art, as well as a new contemporary museum on its campus, BCAM, and the new Lynda and Stewart Resnick Exhibition Pavilion. With this expanded space for contemporary art, innovative collaborations with artists, and an ongoing Transformation project, LACMA is creating a truly modern lens through which to view its rich encyclopedic collection.

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