After the success of Maude (which last year earned our Best Restaurant in L.A. award), the world has been watching to see what Aussie mega-star chef Curtis Stone would come up with next. It turns out, Gwen does not disappoint. For the project, Stone brought his brother Luke over from Australia, and became the importer for some serious quality Australian beef that was hitherto unavailable in the States. Fronted by an old-fashioned butcher counter, the restaurant is like a gleaming art deco shrine to meat. On one side of the room, a glass case holds hanging carcasses and charcuterie; in the back of the restaurant, you can watch as animal parts cook over and around various kinds of flame in the open kitchen. The format is a five-course tasting menu, starting with charcuterie and salad, moving on to handmade pasta, and then comes the meat. You might get lamb cooked a variety of ways, or you can supplement the meal with a hunk of dry-aged Waygu. A flurry of vegetables complements the meat course, and the bright rusticism on display in these dishes might be the highlight of the evening. Gwen is not a cheap thrill, and tickets must be bought ahead of time. But, similarly to Maude, Stone has proven again that sometimes spending a silly amount of money on dinner is well worth it.

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