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Top Five: 2018 Destination Ethnic Dining Worth the Drive

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(Gerry Furth-Sides)  “what are your favorite dining spots” is the question I’m asked most often.  And I love to answer with an ethnic surprise, whether it is a new place or a timeless classic.  Answers are based on the overall experience that naturally includes memorable, delicious food; hospitality; ambiance and originality.  This year’s “worth the drive” are Whittier Chophouse, Pinot Bistro, Cleo & Mizlala, Preux & Proper and Chaya Venice.  Each has the address of a wonderful walking street so there is plenty to see and do to while away the time before and after a meal.   Yes, Chaya Venice, which created our favorite meal  is gone although M Cafe and Chef Tashibe are still serving similar food.

Whittier Chophouse

the NIXON CHoPS & WHISKEY that adds up to much more than the sum of its many parts

Executive Chef, Mexican-Japanese American Katsuji Tanabe at the NIXON CHOPS & WHISKEY is key in helping Whittier’s Uptown Whittier restaurant District,  live up to its new billing as the “new foodie hub of Southern California,”  for “I need to go back” service, food and atmosphere.  Chef Katsuji Tanabe partnered with Whittier based Inspired Dining Group to create a classic neighborhood steakhouse “with a slight Mexican accent”.  The small-squarish restaurant corner dining room has a little bar taking up the back plus two more bar areas open to the street down a back corridor.  And it all works, with with the buzz of guests of all ages wafting through the air an hour after it opens for dinner.

The full back bar

The “best” Riazuleńo tobala Mezcal starts the evening at the NIXON CHOPS & WHISKEY

Bartender Greg’s updated lively, original Classic and Modern Classic Cocktails

Egg whites smooth out The Whiskey Sour egg whites and the Last Word at the NIXON CHOPS & WHISKEY

]Ironically, much as Chef Tanabe made his mark with kosher, pork stars here along with beef.  A  server casually carves an mouth-watering Iberico ham in the middle of the room.   Shavings gaily passed along to curious guests proved it as the world’s best.

Lucy brings out the head-turner (no pun intended) Confit Half Pig Head for Two, which arrives intact at the table.  The Head is taken back to the kitchen to be shaved up and crisped in the oven.

Lucy proudly brings out the Pork Confit at the NIXON CHOPS & WHISKEY

Tortillas that accompany classic pickled vegetables and Chimichurri accompaniments are crisp, yet buttery as brioche.  And they serve as a tasty reminder at home the next day, heated.


Other must-try  dishes are the Ponzu Fried Chicken with Serranos, Habaneros, Lime and Cucumber and Mexicanized Broiled Lobster.  Next time we’ll make a day of it.

Whittier Chophouse, //(www.Whittierhouse.com)13033 Philadelphia St., Whittier, CA. 90601, Phone:   562-698-3355

Preux & Proper

Preux & Proper's 

Gumbo pot cooking at  Preux & Proper. Okra gumbo with sticky rice, “tobacco leeks” and crispy onions.www.PreuxandProper.com 

Preux & Proper’s is in a sweet two-floor version of the iconic (22 stories) New York flat-iron high-rise built in 1902, where  founder-owner Joshua Kopel, partner-Chef Sammy Monsour beautifully realize Kopel’s mission to “bring a little bit of authentic Southern food and hospitality to Southern California.” It is his modest Southern way of saying, “we moved mountains to bring it about.” 

Owner-Founder Joshua Koppel with P & P’s private selection of Maker’s Mark Bourbon

upstairs bar

The upstairs bar at Preux & Proper with live entertainment on Thursdays at the far end

Dining al fresco at the  (tip) end of the flat-iron building of Preux & Proper

Chef Sammy Monsour is a man who traveled down many culinary roads, and he will readily explain how this works.  His Lebanese heritage shows up in the middle eastern flavors threading their way through dishes, infusing a sunny, cool Mediterranean light among the more earthy heat of New Orleans ingredients.  He fondly recalls his grandmother cooking dinner for the family every night, and we suspect he may be channeling her talents.

Chef Monsour, first of all,  cures my heart, here a SMOKED BEEF HEART PASTRAMI TOAST, hummus, lemon, and shaved trinity.   A surgeon would be proud of this precisely-sliced heart, evenly laid onto a bread roll spread with hummus and rancho Gordon Domingo Rojo beans.  A novel shaved a layer of New Orleans Holy Trinity (onion, garlic and bell peppers) on top transforms it into an instant, natural classic.

SMOKED BEEF

Preux & Proper’s SMOKED BEEF HEART PASTRAMI TOAST

In the SOUTHERN fried section, SQUASH BLOSSOM CHILE RELLENO arrives as an outrageously colorful blooming Squash Blossom, hides under a crazy quilt of Humboldt fog, midnight bean & corn succotash and epazote, with pumpkin seed mole rivulets to seal in all the flavors.

SQUASH BLOSSOM CHILE RELLENO,

Preux & Proper’s SQUASH BLOSSOM CHILE RELLENO,

The FRIED WHOLE GAME HEN, one of my top five favorite dishes of 2018,  will make you forget about fried chicken forever. The secret is the crunch of crushed pecans and the honeycomb on top.  Add it to the buttermilk biscuits with serrano jelly taste for pure decadence.

WHOLE GAME HEN

FRIED WHOLE GAME HEN  at Preux & Proper

CHARRED OCTOPUS in the Fresh OFF THE HOOK section refers to the most tender yet firm, scintillating octopus dish ever prepared.

CHARRED OCTOPUS

The last bite is, of course, beignets dusted with powdered sugar.

PREUX & PROPER 840 S. Spring St., downtown | (213) 896-0090 | preuxandproper.com

Cleo & Mizlala

Culinary mastermind, Chef Danny Elmaleh, shines with his award-winning sharable middle eastern plates at  Cleo on Third Street  in Los Angeles, by sbe.   Every refined Japanese-Moroccan dish makes a statement, yet feels effortless and satisfying.

(photo courtesy of sbe) Second generation Chef Danny Elmaleh, Moroccan and Japanese.

A cocktail bar anchors the 6,000 sq. foot Cleo (named after the sultry Cleopatra), with posh middle eastern decor,  and a vertical, wine list.  Patio dining is enclosed.

A cocktail bar anchors the snazzy Cleo space

A long list of stand-alone shareable, and compatible “miza” or small plates ($9-10) Chef Elmalah’s incomprable hummus, feta & Lebanahen, Babaganoush, Greek Salad, Freekeh Salad here.  Laffa bread, with its puffed up pita look, (upper right corner) scoops up every bit of the delectable sauces.

Laffa bread, Babaganoush, lavash slabs and tuna tartare, shaved brussels sprouts, grilled octopus).

Textured Babaganoush (smoked eggplant and tahini) with a ribbon of sumac through it.

Surprising fusion of ethereal shaved celery on the Grilled Octopus with smoked paprika, lebaheh, grilled baby potato. ($16)

For chocolate lovers: Flourless dark chocolate lava cake, roasted banana, salted caramel ice cream and petite hazelnut meringue

Moroccan Saffron Grilled Chicken Tagine ($24) is sweeter than its Tunisian counterpart.

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

Pinot Bistro

Café Pinot’s secret garden cleverly tucked into a pocket on the westside of the main Los Angeles Public Library.  Executive Chef Phillip Martin’s adds his own carefully Latin touch to classics, reflecting the care craftsmanship that has always gone into this DTLA treasure in the Maguire Gardens, thoughtfully  (named after the developer who helped preserve the library after the 1986 fire.  The second of Joachim Splichal’s portfolio, it has been my favorite since it opened.  Warm wood and earth tones add to the organic, hushed feel of the 1920’s craftsman interior.  Glass walls allow the restaurant to fall away into the park itself.

The restaurant seems to fall away into the park by way of floor-to-ceiling glass walls, one open.

The wine list is reasonably priced with many California and French labels.   Cocktails hold international lure.  The Copper Pot in its Moscow Mule copper mug translates into more of a romance language with a Casa Noble tequila base and , grand mariner, honey, watermelon cubes, fresh lime, basil, and cilantro.

The Copper Pot Cocktail at Café Pinot

Happily, each engaging dish begins with the same class French technique since Café Pinot opened, graced with evolving inventive touches.  The menu includes shareable small and large plates.  Crispy Lamb Sweetbreads with cumin Rojo, leeks, cucumber roll-up, yogurt and mint, our favorite bite of the evening, reflects both middle eastern and Latin inspiration.   Confident, adventurous Chef Martin’s sweetbread is perfectly smooth, tender and moist with a crispy outside complementing the mild, creamy flavor of the inside with the sweetbreads beautifully interplaying with the rich, more acidic flavors of the spice and yogurt.

Lamb sweetbreads at Café Pinot

All the pasta are made fresh in-house daily using cage-free eggs.  Spaghetti Alla chitarra, known as “guitar spaghetti,” gets its name from being pressed into long strands using a stringed chitarra cutter, which seems to make a guitar sound as you mold them.

Cilantro Chittara at Café Pinot

Nothing seems too much to ask for here, and I was brought a little bread basket of “ends” or heels.

Yes, there is old-school bread offered, a meal in itself. George happily brought heels, too

We ate the rest of the heels at Café Pinot toasted

Café Pinot, www.patinagroup.com/cafe-pinot, 700 West 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071, four hour complimentary parking available at the adjacent Library lot,   Tel. 213-239-6500

Chaya Venice

My perfect meal of this year or any year.  And sadly, in LA, a final note that proves that great food, great history, great service, great concept (Izakaya) and a great location off the beach are not staying power.  The inspired brightness, dishes by the evolved menu by chefs under the direction of Executive Chef, Yukon Kajimo.  His whole fish becomes the star of the table, served a couple of times a week when extraordinary fish is available.  Bream is a stellar example.  Unrivaled Mediterranean gilt-head Bream is considered the tastiest. The chefs love to work with this fish for its succulent, white flesh that is ideal for grilling, baking or frying whole.

The whole fish is split horizontally with one half grilled and served with daikon, ponzu and chimichurri sauces to bring out a different element of flavor with each one.  Sushi and sashimi are prepared out of the other half.

The new element to the whole fish is its traditional  binchotan grilling. White Binchotan Charcoal is a type of Activated Charcoal, nearly 100% carbon so it is smokeless, has been traditionally made for over 300 years by charcoal makers in the Kishu province of Wakayama in Japan.

Please visit www.TheCHAYA.com for other Chaya locations.

Cleo 3rd Street Launches New Grab & Go 

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(Gerry Furth-Sides, photos of “to-go” courtesy of sbe)  sbe’s Cleo Third Street launches a new grab & go window concept, serving Mediterranean street food favorites.  We are already major fans of Chef Danny Elmaleh’s cuisine and this is an opportunity to try it or to enjoy it outside the restaurant. 
The fast-casual concept is located on the bustling “Third Street neighborhood” of West Hollywood, connected next door to the full-service sbe restaurant located within the Orlando Hotel. The window was created for a quick lunch option and late-night eat for area foot traffic, and as a delivery option via DoorDash. The menu will feature popular Mediterranean street food favorites including a Chicken Gyro, Falafel Gyro, Horiatiki Salata (Greek Salad) and french fries.  

 

Service for the window runs Sunday – Thursday 11 a.m.-10 p.m, and Friday – Saturday 11 a.m. – 3 a.m. and is located at 8384 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90048. 

www.sbe.com Cleo Third Street, 8384 W. 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA  90048, (323) 579-1600.

Elmaleh was born in Israel and moved with his family to Japan, his mother’s native country, at the age of 9. His parents met while his Israeli-Moroccan father worked for Zim, the cargo shipping company, and spent extended periods in Tokyo. His father’s heritage remained strong, and he opened Japan’s first Moroccan restaurant when the family lived in Kobe, Japan. The oldest of three sons, Elmaleh attended English-language Catholic school, and returned to Jerusalem for his bar mitzvah at the Kotel. (His father, at one point, was the leader of the synagogue in Kobe, one of two in Japan at the time.)   After graduating from culinary school, Elmaleh spent almost a year at the famed Ristorante Giannino dal 1899 in Milan, and then came back to Japan to work for a prominent Japanese chef who operated a celebrated French restaurant.

Chef Danny Elmaleh (Gerry Furth-Sides photo)

Cleo, an award-winning concept from sbe, with locations in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, New York and the Bahamas. Named after the Egyptian queen, Cleo, helmed by Executive Chef Danny Elmaleh, showcases a modern twist on eastern and southern Mediterranean cuisine. Each Cleo location has its own distinct look and feel to complement its surroundings and encourage a social dining experience, all the while staying true to its’ Mediterranean roots. For more information, please visit www.cleorestaurant.com.

Cleo Third Street (Gerry Furth-Sides photo)

Moroccan -Japanese, French-Trained Chef Danny Elmaleh

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Executive Danny Elmaleh’s food is perfect for both the spiffy, high-end Cleo international sbe restaurants, including new establishments in the Bahamas and in Kuwait and in a more casual atmosphere, such as Mizlala.  His intriguing, bold menus feature sharing plates that also work alone to beautifully combine for a meal of veggies and protein;  kebabs; tangines, and desserts.

Congenial Chef Danny was born and raised in Haifa, Israel.  Hs is of Moroccan descent on his father’s side and Japanese on his mother’s side. At the age of 10, the family moved to Kobe, Japan (his dad is of Moroccan descent; his mom is Japanese).  There, Simon Emaleh was chef-owner of the town’s first Moroccan restaurant in 1985.

It was the the time of Japanese high rollers in the 1980s and early ’90s. Adventuresome Japanese diners were seeking out authentic experiences   So the Kobe-based Moroccan restaurant proved to be a hit as soon as it opened, serving classic dishes and dressing the waitstaff in traditional Moroccan garb.

It took the Great Hanchin earthquake that destroyed most of Kobe in 1995 to force Elmaleh out of business, and move to the U.S.    Synchronistically, the same scenario was going on in LA at the time, which had four thriving Moroccan restaurants with entertainment in the 80’s.  That number has now dwindled down from lack of interest to  Koutoubia in West L.A.

Meanwhile, Chef Danny earned his degree as a classically trained chef from the Culinary Institute of America in 1995.  He rounded out his training at Club Med in Israel, followed by work on an Israeli cruise line.  The chef became fluent in Hebrew, Arabic, Japanese and French.

When Simon moved to California, he opened a more modest restaurant in the Plaza d’ Oro mall in Encino, where Danny and his brother also worked.   It was here that Danny’s interest took root in his Moroccan heritage.   Simon’s Cafe moved to  Sepulveda in Sherman Oaks café in 2004, continuing to be a success for an additional ten years.

When Simon retired a few years ago, Danny took over and updated the menu. His own friendly wife, Justine is a proprietor.  Chef Danny revamped the menu and changed the name to Mizlala.   In  Hebrew, the name translates to “snack bar.” However, it comes from a word meaning “to eat a lot,” or maybe “to overeat”.   But the dishes on this menu are so light and filled with bold flavors, you can indeed eat a lot without overeating.

Crispy Artichoke Hummus

Crispy Artichoke Hummus with Salsa verde, greek yogurt on the new Cleo menu

Mizlala Signature Five Olive Relish Hummus

Mizlala Signature Five Olive Relish Hummus with oregano, vin rouge vinegar, marinated peppers

Some of the dishes overlap Cleo and Mizlala, although with variations.   The twist on a twist on brussel sprouts and fried chicken are two of them.

Brussel Sprouts

Hazelnuts, fresno chilies, and particularly the orange and sherry makes the shaved Brussel Sprouts dance

Moroccan Fried Chicken

Moroccan Fried Chicken, prepared with apricot mustard, harissa aioli, spiced duck fat and served with dill chips.

Elmaleh’s work honors the best of his associations with Los Angeles masters, French Josiah Citrin and Japanese.  Additionally, he put in considerable time in upscale kitchens such as Ristorante Giannino in Milan and Cleo in Hollywood.

 

Chef Josiah Citrin

Chef Josiah Citrin

Chef Katsuya Uechi

Japanese Chef, Katsuya Uechi of the famed Katsuya Sushi restaurants.

We asked the chef what his favorite dishes were growing up. His answer,”My Moroccan grandmother would make cous cous from scratch, amongst other specialty dishes as I grew up in Israel. It was always a special family gathering to enjoy “meme’s” (grandma) cooking.

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

Duck Matzo Ball Soup

We were most interested in the chef’s process about how he develop his menus, specifically at Cleo. The dishes are all so interesting but have a light universal appeal.
Danny reported that to him, ” Inspiration comes from all around. It could be an ingredient, a flavor, an idea, a color etc etc that would inspire me to create a dish.
“Once we get an idea for the dish we refine the idea and combinations of flavors to be exciting and delicious,” he added.   The dishes we create are based of flavor and taste first and everything else second. Which helps us get a more universal appeal,” he agreed.
“The audience is always looking for something new and exciting to try. They want to be dazzled by new flavor combinations and experience what they haven’t before.”
www.sbe.com Cleo Third Street, 8384 W. 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA  90048, (323) 579-1600.
Homey Mizlala, on a strip mall at the Ventura (north) exit of the 405, has a bit of flair that helps improve  the realization of Greek-style  Skillet Haloumi, (Saganaki in Greek), fired up with brandy flame plus honey, chimichurri, walnuts and orange.
Skillet Haloumi

Skillet Haloumi, a Mediterranean fusion dish

 

Mizlala, 4515 Spulveda, sherman Oaks, 91403, (818) 7836698.

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