I had no idea Alchemy Elements even existed.  Nor that it opened minutes away from me in Bel Air.  That’s magical in and of itself.     This will be quite the introduction as I’ve yet to partake in dining at their Hampden location, appropriately titled Alchemy, go figure.

This falls along the lines of unplanned and serendipitous.  I’ve heard from multiple sources how splendid and amazing this restaurant was.   I was eager to find out about it myself.  I thought I would have a set date and time I would be going.   Thankfully I went with a friend on a random lunch.  And what a lunch it was.

I mentioned magic in the title.    When reading about them, that’s how I found out about their concept.  If you’ve been to either location, I guess you know what this magic is.  I was told molecular fusion is how they prepare their food and their cocktails.  I think that’s marvelous.  It’s something different and in a world where restaurants claim to be this or that, which basically is over-the-top words to cover up for how ordinary they are, this felt different.

As long as the food, the atmosphere, the energy, and the company are magical than everything else will fall into place.

This is a wine blog and I will get to that.

Per the friendly waiter’s advisement, I ordered the Quinoa Spinach Salad with chicken breast.  It was divine.

The black tea egg, the spinach, the quinoa, the walnuts, the goat cheese, and everything else in between was from another dimension.  Holy moly this was good.  This salad was good for 3 people.  I made sure it was only for one.  Before I knew it, the whole thing had been decimated.

The Canyon Road Chardonnay paired well with the salad.  As per suggested, it went perfectly with the grilled chicken.  It’s just not a wine I would go out of my way to have again.

I’ve never been a big fan of Chardonnay in general, so this wasn’t a surprise.  I also won’t let a grape I’m resistant to cloud my judgement.  I will always give a new wine a chance and will try anything once.  This was a serviceable medium-bodied white that tasted citrusy with some fruits that complemented many of the ingredients of the salad.

So the recommendation was spot on.  It’s just not a wine I was crazy about.

Believe me, with everything else clicking so perfectly, this will hopefully be a place I visit regularly.  And I look forward to being amazed and dazzled by the city location as well.

For where you can track down Canyon Road Wines in your area, click here.

All The Best,

Ideen