We thought we’d check out the hot new restaurant Red O on Melrose in the beautiful new basket-like building that used to house old Moustache Cafe space.  Of course there’s no way to get a rezzie at this point, but the reservationist told us to show up and avail ourselves of the copious space at the two bars.  Well, apparently she must have told everyone in LA county and perhaps half of Orange county the same thing because by the time we got there, “They were at capacity.”  Or so stated the icy and officious door man.  We were curtly told we could wait and since we were the first in an increasingly long line of people waiting, we decided to wait.  And wait we did.  45 minutes.  Even when we pointed out to the doorman that many people had left and we could see that the side bar was almost empty, he kept to his line, “We’re at capacity.”  Oh well.  Many had it worse than us.  Others who had been sent away to put on more suitable attire were sent to the back of the line when they returned.  And many people with reservations were turned away when they arrived in shorts (as it should be).  Tempers flared around us but we kept our cool and continued to wait.  Eventually the doorman warmed up and was actually a nice guy.  Finally we were rewarded with two seats at the front bar.  Curiously, we noticed that the communal table and back bar were about 25% occupied.  Oh Well.  The interior was bright, breezy, tropical meets north African with many small niches and corners to sit.  Unfortunately, our seats at the bar were next to two black leather swings which were irresistable to the many women who obviously went to the Linsay Lohan School of Charm  and kept swinging into us.  The barman was friendly and helpful and gave us prompt service despite the demanding club-scene ambiance.  The wine list was quite good and we settled on a Falanghina.  However, when we asked the barman what was vegetarian on the menu, his face fell.  Turns out, not much.  A sum total of seven items, mostly nibbles and snacks.  Even many of the things that appeared to be vegetarian contain lard.  Now, we’re not naive about Mexican food, but this is LA.  Hot chef Rick Bayless, fresh from his recent White House state dinner, clearly has put together a complex menu.  Everyone around us were raving about the dishes so we decided to go ahead.  We started with the guac and chips, about as standard as you’d get anywhere.  We moved on to the Red O salad, a mixture of lettuces with garlic-lime dressing, wire-thin crisps of tortilla, and pickled onion.  Again, very good, but nothing over the top.  Next came the queso fundidos, with its pile of mushrooms on top, served with warm corn tortillas.  Warm, cheesy, comforting, we liked it best when combined with the mushroom soft tacos, which were mixed with beans.  Everything was very good, but clearly vegetarians are an afterthought here.  The scene was great, the crowd beautiful, the service good, the food ok.  Would we kill ourselves coming back?  Probably not.  Oh well.

Red O/Restaurant

8155 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA  90046

323.655.5009 redorestaurant.com

Have you ever been driving through Orange County and wondered, “Where in the Hell am I going to eat?”  A great place to keep tucked into your mental rolodex is David Myer’s casual Italian restaurant Pizzeria Ortica.  Centrally located at South Coast Plaza, it’s a breath of fresh air.  The interior is bright and sunny and the staff friendly and helpful.  But it is the food that shines here.  The Roman artichokes with ricotta salata were buttery and rich.  The wood-roasted vegetable with buratta and basil oil, while a little too heavy on the peppers, especially shishito, was still a satisfying and creative starter.  The pizzas here are stellar.  They start with a 300 year-old starter (a ‘biga’), hand stretch the crusts, top, and bake in a wood-burning oven.  The results are fantastic; moist, malty, crispy, and burnt in a few spots.  The margherita was excellent, but the Milanesa stole the show.  Topped with fontina, asparagus, Parmigiano Reggiano, and a fried egg, it was a perfect balance of topping and crust.  I love a fried egg on pizza.  You often see this in France.  When the egg is cut, the yolk oozes over the pizza and creates a rich carbonara as it cooks slightly adding complex character.  The entire table agreed that this was one of the best pizzas we’d had in a while.  Pizzeria Ortica is well worth a visit.  Although David Myers may be having some difficulties north of the border, in OC he’s still thoroughly in control. 

Pizzeria Ortica

650 Anton Blvd, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 (714)445-4900

http://pizzeriaortica.com/

Next time you’re in the mood for a good veggie burger, try LA Food Show.  Their burger is thick, moist, slightly sweet and completely satisfying.  It appears to be made mostly from rice and mushrooms and can be made vegan upon request.  They also have a terrific selection nibbles that arrive at your table within seconds of ordering.  I loved the panko-crusted fried baby artichokes with remoulade.  The guacamole was very chunky and contained a lot of corn which threw me off a bit.  LA Food Show is from the people behind California Pizza Kitchen.  It has a very ‘Houstons-y’ feel but has a much larger menu.  In addition to the Beverly Hills location, there is one in Manhattan Beach as well.

 Baby Artichokes   

Guacamole

LA Food Show

252 N Beverly Dr.   Beverly Hills 90210

(310) 550-9758  www.lafoodshow.com

Ok, I have to confess, I love Ubuntu in Napa.  I still dream of the strazzopreti carbonara with mushroom jus.  The carta da musica, with its cloud of petals and leaves on top conjures a spring meadow with an earthiness supplied by a truffled cheese.  I admire then-chef Jeremy Fox’ ability to pull in all of the senses.  One looks, then inhales, then tastes.  Magic.  So it was with great excitement I discovered Jeremy would be a guest chef for a week at Animal, the meat-centric restaurant of wunderkinds  John Shook and Vinny Dotolo.  The night of our reservation, I briefly spoke to a bubbly John Shook, who was clearly energized by Jeremy’s presence.  Jeremy’s cooking is artistic and harmonious.  Gone is the traditional vegetarian scaffolding of strong onion, garlic, and spices.  These have been replaced by a careful balancing of rare ingredients, obscure techniques, and skill until a rich tapestry of incredible depth and complicated tastes is created.  No one flavor crowds out the rest.  Often, I had a difficult time deconstructing the components.  The results are breathtaking.  We started the evening with marcona almonds lightly dressed with lavender sugar, salt, and olive oil:  The flavors as comfortable and soothing as a warm Mediterranean breeze.  At the same time, a miniature forest of French breakfast radishes arrived atop a small hill of chevre flavored with nori beside a diminutive field of back salt.  These nibbles whetted our appetites as we contemplated a menu that confounded us with words like ‘agretti’, ‘calaloo’, and ‘rescoldo’.  Having read Quarrygirl‘s review earlier in the day, we were anticipating slow service.  John Shook had informed me that they had remedied the problems from the previous night and indeed they had.  Our server Jessica was attentive, efficient, and charming.  There were no gaps in service whatsoever.  The next course of spring peas with white chocolate, chocolate mint, and macadamia left us marvelling at the ingenious inclusion of white chocolate which added depth to the already sweet peas.  Beautifully garnished with petals, it tasted like spring.  Next came the pee wee potato salad with 3 hour favas, anchovy flavor, and parmesan.  Impossibly tender, buttery baby potatoes were nestled among earthy favas as citrus, delicate fava tendrils, toasted bread crumbs and wisps of parmesan recalled a freshly dug, early season garden and impressed us very much.  This was followed by heirloom carrots rescoldo style with parsnip, vadouvan, coconut, and citrus.  Unfamiliar with ‘rescoldo style’?  So was I.  Jessica explained that it is an Argentinian method of roasting root vegetables until they turn into charcoal, then in turn using them to slow roast other vegetables such as the tiny carrots here.  The information I found online doesn’t mention using vegetables as the charcoal, but that is how it was told to me.  Tiny delicate carrots cavorted with parsnip puree flavored with coconut, blood orange, vadouvan, and a dusting of coriander flowers.  Although the carrot tops had been removed, the stems remained and provided a delightful crispness.   Anyone who’s been reading this blog for a while knows that I am fascinated with vadouvan, or French curry.  (Look for it in Josiah Citrin’s cooking.)  The parts created an entirely new whole of intriguing flavor.  This was to be our favorite dish of the evening and we marvelled at the thought that went into its creation.  Next came a triple corn anson mills grits with smoked cast-iron corn and agretti.  Warm, cheesy, smoky…its aroma taunted our noses as soon as it was set down.  Dancing on the top were green spikes resembling pine needles.  These were the agretti.  Again, our server came to the rescue, describing agretti as an “Italian succulent”.  Besides visual intrigue, they added an interesting grassiness to the dish.  The last savory plate was slow roasted beets, ruta-kraut, calaloo amaranth, horseradish.  We wondered if this was a nod to the Eastern European roots of the Fairfax district.  Small beets played with the kraut, horseradish, mustard sauce, and liptauer cheese with the amaranth as a garnish.  Ambitious, but by this point we were beginning to display some culinary overload.  Still, we enjoyed playing with the various combinations of sauces and vegetables.  Dessert was a chocolate pudding with puffed wild rice, which added a curiously addictive toasty texture.  It was topped by strawberry gel into which was set a green strawberry.  One would expect the strawberry to be sour, but dipped in the gel, I was amazed to find it resembled an apricot in flavor and texture.  We were duly impressed.  Afterward, we were fortunate enough to corner Jeremy Fox.  He is an affable, easy-going, unassuming man.  I pressed him about if he was planning on opening a restaurant in LA.  He deflected  but alluded to wanting to see the response from his week at Animal.  We could only hope he would consider it.

Jeremy Fox                                                   Radishes

heirloom carrots rescoldo style                           triple corn  grits  and agretti

chocolate pudding with puffed wild rice

The Vegetable Dinners at Animal continue through May 23rd, reservations required.

Animal Restaurant

435 N. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036

 (323) 782-9225

Animalrestaurant.com