Superba Snack Bar: Jason Neroni Resurfaces

Superba Snack Bar opened on Thursday evening to crowds that have been enthusiastic, packing the small restaurant from opening til close (midnight on weekends).  The new project from Chef Jason Neroni, formerly of Osteria La Buca, is located on Rose Avenue, just East of Main Street at the border of Santa Monica and Venice.  The menu has an Italian focus and is divided into Cold Cuts (cured meats etc), Snacks, From Our Backyards (vegetables) and From Our Hands (house-made pasta).  The dishes are small plates and meant to be shared and while no substitutions are permitted, they do offer gluten-free pasta in a nod to the many celiac and gluten-sensitive folks in their demographic.

Five "cold cuts" are on offer and they are priced $8 for 1, $18 for 3, or $25 for all 5.  The term "cold cuts" brings up images of deli platters and casual sandwich buffets.  These are nothing of the sort, but rather meats and terrines that Neroni has cured or prepared in-house.  Julia's chicken liver mousse is served with balsamic cherries (note they still contain the pits) and is scooped out of a container like a perfect quenelle shaped chocolate ice cream when plated.  This is no ice cream, but silky chicken liver that spreads easily on the provided toast.  Even better is the Duck rillette with tarragon and pickled green strawberries.  The rlilette is served in a jar, is packed with flavor and has a pleasing texture.

The snacks section of the menu includes pan con tomato, olive oil and sea salt (2 pieces for $8) and an ocean trout crudo that looked beautiful and which I would have ordered, but it had chorizo oil in it but with the no modifications rule, this wasn't an option for me.  Fried duck egg, papas bravas, truffle vinaigrette & tuna prosciutto is a savory treat with the runny yolk coating the potatoes below and the duck prosciutto (they were out of tuna proscuitto) adding another textural element as well as richness to the dish.

The vegetables Neroni serves come from farmers who grow the produce for him, or from the farmers market.  The most umami of the veggie options is the Cherry tomatoes, dashi broth, smoked tofu and shiso/basil.  This lovechild of agedashi tofu and a cherry tomato salad is a highlight of the menu.  The dashi broth is better than at most Japanese restaurants and the smoked tofu paired with the ripe cherry tomatoes is an inspired combination.  One would be remiss in not ordering this dish, and in leaving any drops of broth left in the bowl.

Pasta dishes have become Neroni's signature and they have a pride of place on the Superba menu.  The bucatini with carbonara, pancetta, milled black pepper and Aracuna egg and the Gnocchi with burrata and broccoli necks are the most frequently ordered so far.  The Garganelli with lamb bolognese, black garlic, ricotta salata and mint is a hearty dish and a satisfying end the main part of the meal.  The pasta was cooked to a pleasing degree of doneness and the meaty sauce clung to it well and the proportion of sauce to pasta was spot on.

The Dining Room @ Superba Snack Bar

Desserts are available, although I did not sample any on my visit.  The room is comfortable, with a chef's counter, and a mix of indoor and outdoor seating.  There is a large print on one wall with a repeating stylized pattern of holding hands.  The wine program while small is well thought out and includes several unusual bottles, such as a Greek white wine.  The atmosphere is conducive to stopping in for a light snack or a full meal, although if the restaurant continues to be packed - I can't see customers be willing to endure a long wait just to get a snack.

Currently Superba Snack bar is open for dinner seven nights a week from 5 pm - 11pm (midnight on weekends) and lunch and brunch will follow later once they get a handle on dinner service.

Well worth checking out.  Note that while I was recognized, this was not a hosted meal.

Superba Snack Bar: 533 Rose Avenue, Venice | 310.399.6400 | superbasnackbar.com

Goose Terrine at Larry's

Winter at the beach in Los Angeles doesn't quite evoke the need for warm fireplaces when you sit in the shadow of palm trees, but in the evening the temperature drops in Venice and hearty winter fare comes to mind.  Perhaps something like the goose pâté served with warm toast and huckleberries pictured above?  Chef Brendan Collins of Waterloo and City has brought his love for charcuterie to Larry's and the terrines and pâtés have traveled well from Culver City to the Venice boardwalk.

The dish is simple with the sugar and acid of the huckleberries cutting the rich fattiness of the pâté.  Spread some on the warm toast and you are in business.  Best of all, this dish is included in the Dine LA Restaurant Week menu, so if you get to Larry's soon, you get an even better deal.

Larry's: 24 Winward Ave., Venice.| 310.399.2700 | larrysvenice.com

Sunny Spot: Roy Choi Remakes Beechwood

Follow the sign to Sunny Spot, the latest partnership between Dave Reiss and Chef Roy Choi who previously collaborated at A-Frame and the Alibi Room.  Sunny Spot occupies the former home of Beachwood, where Abbot Kinney spills into Washington Blvd.  Choi has excised any ghosts of chefs past, including Jamie Lauren, with his new Caribbean menu.  Brian Butler created the cocktail list and has also curated the largest selection of rum on the Westside.  The restaurant website describes Sunny Spot as "that place where everyday is a holiday and food makes you smile."

If you begin your visit with a cocktail, and you should, the Chilcano Bay is an excellent way to start.  It is made with Pisco, lime juice, ginger, lemongrass and Fernet Branca.

The Yuca Fries ($4) are wonderfully crunchy and are served with a tangy spicy sauce "banana thai basil ketchup."  We began eating them before this photo was taken as we were hungry and they looked so appetizing.

Enjoyable but not as stellar as the yuca fries, the Sweet and Salty Fried Plantains are smaller than the yuca fries, crispy and a little sweet.  These are also only $4, so why choose, get both.  The pricing at Sunny Spot is very accessible and makes ordering many plates to share a reasonable strategy both from a variety and a budgetary perspective.

The "What a Jerk Wings" are double coated and double fried chicken wings.  They are a little too crunchy, for chicken wings.

Perhaps the best item on the menu may be the Whole Snapper ($35), which is known on the menu as "Yeah, I'm Staring Atchu Fish."  The fish is served whole with ginger oil, lime and chili vinegar.  The snapper was perfectly cooked and each bite had so much flavor our dining party fought over the choicest bits including the cheeks; the fish bones were picked clean when we were done.

I found the broiled Hamachi Collar ($14) to be a little spicy.  It was prepared with garlic thyme butter, lime, and a banana chili glaze.  While enjoyable it paled in comparison to the whole snapper which preceded it; I prefer the version found at traditional Japanese restaurants.

The Bijou with rum is one of my favorite cocktails I have had of late.  Typically made with gin, vermouth and chartreuse, Butler substituted rum for the gin and a great cocktail got even better.  The Bijou is boozy, has layers of flavor and is highly recommended.

Yellow Salty Rice doesn't sound very interesting yet we ordered seconds.  There is something addictive about this yellow rice that beckons for just one more spoonful.  If it makes you thirsty for another of Butler's cocktails, that is just an added bonus.

Slow Roasted Goat ($15) is described as the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) on the menu and while it may not quite deserve that moniker, it is well worth ordering.  The tasty goat is served with pickled mango and would be a good introduction to the meat for goat-virgins.

All of the interior and exterior spaces have been redone.  Below, the firepits that used to be outside have gone and the patio is now more of a comfortable and casual seating area.

In the main dining room, which is known as the Rum Den, a wall was removed, which really opens up the space.  This room contains a bar dedicated to sipping rums and a table in the corner referred to as the "Bird Cage".  My favorite of the three dining areas is the "Front Room", perhaps for its proximity to the bar as well as for the communal tables, which have a lot of room; perfect for sharing tons of small plates.

Only the Rum Den takes reservations so two thirds of Sunny Spot is for walk-ins, which makes it easy to stop by and have a drink or a whole meal, depending on your mood and not worry about waiting hours for a seat to open up.  I recommend trying several of the sipping rums as well.  The Rhum Barbancourt 15 year from Haiti is something special, but there are tons of gems on the menu.  So check it our for yourself and see if the experience "makes you smile."

Sunny Spot: 822 Washington Blvd @ Abbot Kinney.  Phone: 310.448.8884 | http://sunnyspotvenice.com/

First Impression: Larry's (Venice Beach)

Larry's, the new Venice cafe named for artist Larry Bell, opened this past week just off the Venice Boardwalk, adjacent to the Hotel Erwin.  The restaurant is a collaboration between Mark and Erwin Sokol of the hotel and Brendan Collins and Carolos Tomazos of Waterloo & City.  Chef Collins designed the menu, which brings his charcuterie focused dishes to the beach, with no item over $15.

The restaurant, with its vibrant mural on the exterior, is hard to miss and brings a sophisticated menu and casual vibe to the Venice scene.  The beer list is also of particular note, with 26 beers on tap plus additional bottle options.

I had lunch there this past weekend with some friends including the I Flip For Food duo Mark and Angela.  We began the meal with the Duck & Pistachio Pate, ($12) with was served with seasonal marmalade, mustard, house-made pickles and toast (above).  The pate was quite attractive and the favorite of some at the table, although for me it was overshadowed by the Potted Chicken Liver and Foie Gras Parfait (below).  The parfait ($12) was smooth and delicious and when spread across the wonderful bread, it was like a savory dessert.  Spoons kept on reaching into the little glass jar to get every bit of the parfait.

The pie of the day was a Pesto Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes ($14).  The pizza is thin crust and was crisp without being cracker-like.  As a pesto fan, I was very satisfied with this pie and look forward to trying the Heirloom Tomato Margherita pizza next time.

As the four of us were sharing food, the kitchen took the initiative to cut the Lamb Burger ($14) into four for us unprompted, which was a thoughtful touch we appreciated.  The lamb burger was served on a ciabatta bun and a large cone of fries and an enormous pickle accompanied it.  The burger was fine, but the fries are some of the best in the city.  I'd return just for the fries, if nothing else (although I'd have trouble resisting the parfait) and a glass of beer.

The Organically Fried Chicken Caesar Baguette sandwich ($12) is fried chicken, a fried egg and a caesar salad all on a baguette.   This dish (unpictured) was my least favorite of the meal, despite it being a fried chicken dish, which is one of my favorite menu items.  There was a lot going on in the dish and the fried chicken was definitely not the star.  It came with bacon, which we asked for on the side.  The caesar element also included anchovies, which I give them credit for, but this is not a recommended dish.

We shared two desserts, the Sticky Toffee Pudding (above) and the Peach Crumble (below).  While both were enjoyable, the sticky toffee pudding was the winner.  The toffee sauce and the ice cream, with the powdered sugar combined to make this dessert sweet, but not overwhelmingly so.  Order this dish, but you will be reluctant to share it.  The Crumble was well executed but had a hard time standing out next to the Toffee.  Note: our desserts were compliments of the restaurant.

The full beer list is below:

The bar area is brightly colored and comfortable, with two flat screen TVs and 26 beers on tap at the ready.

The entire seating area is an outdoor patio, perfect for the ocean breezes on a warm summer afternoon.

Larry's: 24 Winward Ave., Venice. Phone: (310) 399-2700. Website: http://larrysvenice.com/

Dish of the Month: Branzino at The Tasting Kitchen

Of all the dishes I ate in March, none stood out for me as much as the Branzino at The Tasting Kitchen in Venice.  The whole fish was prepared with meyer lemon, picholine olives and pine nuts.  The fish was flavorful and delicate.  The sauce was absorbed by the fish so that each bite was juicy and packed with wow.

This fish was a dish that I spent time to get every last scrap of meat off of the fish bones as it was that excellent.  At $30, it isn't inexpensive, but it is well worth it.  If you see the branzino on the menu at The Tasting Kitchen, order it.  You will not regret it.  Chef Casey Lane has a way with fish and the combination of the olives and lemon is deceptively simple.  No pressure cooker was required to make this dish...

The Tasting Kitchen: 1633 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice.  Phone: (310) 392-6644.  Website: http://thetastingkitchen.com/

The Dude Abides: Barrel Aged Cocktails at The Tasting Kitchen

In the cocktail world barrel aged cocktails have been a topic of discussion since Jeffrey Morgenthaler of Clyde Common in Portland's blog post in April of 2010 describing his efforts and experiments with barrel aging cocktails.  Although he did not invent the concept, he is the indisputably the person in the mixology world who has been most responsible for popularizing barrel aged cocktails.  The Tasting Kitchen is one of the top cocktail destinations in Los Angeles and they recently added two barrel aged cocktails to the menu.  Their bar manager Justin Pike came to Los Angeles from Portland where he worked at Clyde Common, so dots are rather close to connect in this instance as they worked together for eight months.

The two barrel aged cocktails currently on the menu are King of the Dudes and a Negroni.  The King of the Dudes (above) is made with rye and mamajuana.  Mamajuana is made with a mixture of herbs and barks which are then bathed in red wine.  The red wine absorbs some of the harsher characteristics of the bark.  After several weeks in the bottle, the red wine is drained out of the mamajuana and Smith & Cross rum and honey are added to the mixture.  Once the ingredients have imparted their flavors to the alcohol (approximately two weeks) the beverage is removed from the bottle and the herbs and barks are left to flavor the next set of booze.  Next for the barrel process Wild Turkey 101 and Punt y Mes are combined with the mamajuana in a barrel and aged for six weeks.  The resulting combination of rye and mamajuana is an assertive boozy cocktail that lovers of Manhattans and Brooklyns will likely enjoy.  There is a lot going on in this drink.  The inspiration for the name of this cocktail came from a passage in Dave Wondrich's book Imbibe! about late nineteenth century "King of the Dudes" Evander Berry Wall.

The barrel aged Negroni (above) is made with Campari, Beefeater gin and Camparo Antica sweet vermouth. The aged Negroni is a lot mellower than a "fresh" one and some of the bitter edges have been worn smooth by six weeks it has spent in the cask.  Pike described the process as removing the "high alcohol juniper notes and adding in vanilla notes." I recommend getting a fresh one and an aged one side by side so you can experience the changes that aging imparts this classic cocktail.  Tasting Kitchen Chef Casey Lane stated "barrel aging a Negroni makes it a cocktail."

Next on the agenda for Pike is creating liqueurs and amari and barrel aging them.  In Los Angeles, barrel aged cocktails are also available at La Descarga.  In San Francisco, Joel Teitelbaum at Zero Zero is launching barrel aged Negronis tonight.  I look forward to trying more barrel aged cocktails as bartenders experiment and see what tastes good.  Get to The Tasting Kitchen and see for yourself.

The Tasting Kitchen: 1633 Abbot Kinney Blvd (Venice).  Phone: (310) 392-6644.  Website: www.thetastingkitchen.com

Fried Chicken & Waffles @ The Tasting Kitchen

Earlier this month Chef Casey Lane launched a brunch menu at his Venice restaurant, The Tasting Kitchen.  The highlight of the menu is his signature chicken and waffles ($18).  The dish is served with one large waffle, two pieces of chicken, some greens and pitchers of syrup and gravy.  This dish is spendy but is one of the top three fried chicken meals I can currently recommend in Los Angeles, along with The Lazy Ox Canteen and Flossie's.  (Alas as Joseph Mahon is no longer at Bastide or cooking someplace full time, his amazing fried chicken has been removed from my recommended options.)

The waffle is thicker (less fluffy) than a Belgian waffle, but softer than a traditional small waffle.  Kind of medium dense.  With some of the maple syrup, it did not last long on my plate despite its large size.  The chicken I had was a leg and a boneless piece.  They were hot and crispy with a nice ratio of skin/coating to bird.  The chicken meat itself was nice and juicy.

The brunch environment at The Tasting Kitchen is so relaxed and comfortable and the food so good, if it were a little less expensive I would be there every Saturday and every Sunday.  I can also vouch for the ricotta muffin ($5) which was a nice sweet and savory way to begin the brunch.  Brunch cocktails, whether mimosas, bloody marys or signature creations such as the Eye Opener, are the equal in quality and deliciousness to Casey's food.  So far weekend brunch is quiet, especially compared to the popularity of the restaurant at dinner.  Enjoy the calm while you can; its not likely to last.

The Tasting Kitchen: 1633 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice. Phone: (310) 392-6644.  Website: thetastingkitchen.com
Brunch hours: Saturday & Sunday 10:30 am - 2:00 pm

Off the Menu: Burger at The Tasting Kitchen

Hidden entrances, one night pop-ups, off menu items, secret burgers: these are all catnip to the sometimes jaded foodie community looking for the next new thing. So when I sat down at the bar at The Tasting Kitchen on Abbot Kinney one night recently and saw another patron at the bar eating a burger, I looked at the menu again. No burger in sight on the menu. I asked the bartender, and he said it was a special bar item that night and the chef had prepared only six burgers. They were served with fries for $15. I'll have one I immediately replied, even though I hadn't planned on eating more food.



The burger arrived a short while later, with horseradish sauce on it and a generous helping of fries alongside. The burger was cooked medium rare as ordered and had a nice beefy taste. Is it the best burger in the city, no, but it was still very good.

Whether the burgers will continue to be a special or whether they will make their way onto the menu or whether they were a one-off only chef Casey Lane knows. But should you find yourself on Abbot Kinney and in the mood for a delicious burger and standout french fries, the Tasting Kitchen may beckon.

Gjelina: A Winning Patio & Menu

Gjelina on Abbot Kinney in Venice has been a tough reservation since it opened in late summer 2008. Travis Lett is the chef; he had previously been at NineThirty, the restaurant in the W Westwood hotel. In particular, Gjelina is known for its thin crust pizzas and for its patio in the back of the restaurant.



Last month I had a late lunch on the patio - on a beautiful day it is one of the most comfortable spots to eat in the city. We shared the Shaved Asparagus, Shallot Confit, Farm Egg, Sottocenere & Parmesan Pizza, the Burrata with an Olive Tapenade Crouton, Arugula, Lemon & Green Olive Oil appetizer and a side of Garlic Grilled Broccolini with Chili & Vinegar.

The burrata was delicious and a great way to begin the meal. The crostini with tapenade was crunchy; it had been toasted just shy of burning to give it that great texture. The burrata was smooth and rich. We ate every bite.



The pizza was thin crust and came to the table with a beautiful runny yolk. I have a soft spot for dishes with a runny egg component, so this was a must order. The sottocenere cheese is a cheese with truffle in it and the taste came through, which was a good thing. The pizza crust had a good char and chew to it. I'd order this again.

Lastly we shared the broccolini, which had a little kick due to the chili. We needed some green stuff amidst all the cheese and this dish delivered, cutting through the other flavors with sharp clean veggie and chili tastes.



We drank a domestic dry Riesling from Upstate New York, which had the crispness we needed to go with the food.

The ambiance is comfortable and Lett's menu is market driven. Like many restaurants that have opened lately (such as Animal), Gjelina will not modify items on the menu. The menu states "changes & modifications politely declined" and "we support local, sustainable & organic practices whenever possible." Gjelina has a certain way of doing things, and thats fine by me as long as the food continues to taste as good as it did on this visit.