Chef Danny Elmaleh, sbe’s East-West Mastermind

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Culinary mastermind, Chef Danny Elmaleh, shines with his award-winning sharable middle eastern plates at the third award-winning  Cleo location in Los Angeles, by sbe.   Every refined Japanese-Moroccan dish makes a statement, yet feels effortless and satisfying.  Even his older, original menu items, such as the shaved brussels sprouts, have staying, if not star, power from the Hollywood and the DTLA location at LA Live.

Elmaleh’s work honors the best of his associations with Los Angeles masters, French Josiah Citrin and Japanese Katsuya Uechi. (see below).  The Cleo menu categorizes the cuisine into small plates, kebabs, tangines, “from the land” and “from the sea”, desserts.  We were told that the food is the neighborhood customer draw in the 6,000 sq. foot Cleo, with posh middle eastern decor, even with a bespoke cocktail bar ($15),  and a vertical, compact wine list.

Executive Chef Danny Elmaleh explained his menu officially, “The new dishes on this menu, from our duck matzo ball soup to our meatball tagine (served only at night) are directly inspired by my life, my heritage and the rich flavors of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. We’ve seen a great response from our restaurants where the new menu is live.”

 

One outstanding Chef Elmaleh’s childhood favorite that he cooked in his father’s Haifa restaurant is the stand-out Duck Matzo Ball Soup with fresh pasta, confit duck, consommé broth, fresh herbs and lime ($9).

Chef Elmaleh trained at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York and began his career at Jean Moulin in Japan, then worked in the kitchens of Ristorante Giannino in Milan.  The classics served Chef Elmaleh well in his first sbe stint in their flashy, two-story, shooting star popular Mercato di Vetro, defunct after two years.  His memorable bone marrow with oxtail marmalade spread was so lush I could not eat another for a year.

 

Chef Elmaleh’s interest in cross-cultural cuisine was first inspired by his experience growing up with a Moroccan father and Japanese mother.  The chef’s delicate Japanese hand combined with hearty middle eastern flavors made SBE restaurant fans of us in one meal.

But it is still  a gutsy move for a hotel restaurant, usually aiming its cuisine at a common denominator crowd.  Katsuya, the jam-packed-at- all- hours, only non-sbe version outside of Studio City and Encino is on the next block.  We remember similar smaller bottles on the wall of Mezze, Micah Wexler’s chic, short-lived, very similar concept place before he switched to deli, and designer Jimmy Galanos on opening night despairing the idea.

How it came about: Chef Danny worked in Josiah  Citrin’s venerated Melisse and Lemon Moon in Los Angeles.  In 2006, Elmaleh opened his own highly acclaimed restaurant, Celadon.  He met Katsuya Uechi there and their relationship led him to his current role at sbe.

Cleo is a major piece of CEO Daniel del Olmo’s international strategy as new CEO of Disruptive Restaurant Group, a subsidiary of sbe. His plan is to plant and grow both upscale brands like Katsuya and Cleo, and their casual Umami  Burger chain (currently licensing 74 restaurants and 42 lounges).  Chef Elmaleh, in fact,  was in the middle east at a business meeting the day we visited Cleo.

 

Cleo Third Street, 8384 W. 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA  90048, (323) 579-1600.  L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, 424-888-7818.