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Trends: Saso, Bento Boxes Women from the Pasadena Food Scene
TRENDS
SEAFOOD CRISP
Saso’s chef brings coastal cuisine to the Pasadena Playhouse BY CAROLE DIXON
Chef Dominique Crisp
On a century-old, European-style courtyard strewn with twinkling lights, towering palm trees, and an ornate central fountain, Saso has opened at the Pasadena Playhouse.
Saso is a Basque word that loosely translates to “the sea” and is a fitting name for coastal, all-day dining with an extensive seafood menu. Basque Country is represented well with traditional pintxos (snacks), crudo, and tortas that can take you straight from lunch to happy hour and dinner with dramatic porrón pours of rare txakolina wines from Spain.
If you choose to dine inside, a cheerful, 40-foot, full-wall custom mural by renowned L.A. artist Tim Biskup spans the entire space from bar to back of house and represents land transitioning into the sea—or the kitchen in this case.
After growing up on a third-generation farm and in the Lumos Winery in Oregon, chef Dominique Crisp helmed kitchens at popular seafood spots L&E Oyster Bar in Silver Lake and Blue Plate Oysterette in Santa Monica.
“I want coastal cuisine from Baja to Alaska to shine by showcasing farmers, fishermen, and butchers we work with,” says Crisp. “We need to reconnect with food as much as we need to reconnect with each other.”
While the recipes are steeped in Spanish tradition, you’ll see AsianCali influences represented, from crispy croquettes with wagyu and an Iberico ham sandwich with Tillamook cheese to green matcha Basque cheesecake. Here, Crisp gives an inside look.
> How would you describe your version of “coastal cuisine”?
It’s a play on three different coastal regions—the Pacific Northwest, Southern California, and Basque Country. It’s a hybrid of all those elements, a lighthearted, casual dining experience—and also letting these coastal ingredients marry on a hot charcoal grill while cooking at the highest level.
> What do you love most about cooking with seafood?
The connection with the fishermen, the oyster farmers—understanding the meroir—just like we understand the terroir for farming and vineyards.
> What about sustainability?
We respect and utilize every part of the animal and fish. The bones are used for stock and the offcuts are used for
Saso dining room
elements such as smoked salmon aioli. Even our partner fishermen are dedicated to sustainable farming. Our charcoal is from Prime 6, a 100% sustainable product, and they plant a tree for every case purchased.
> Tell us more about your Basque Country travels that inspired and informed your role today as a chef.
It’s a combination of enjoying a lighthearted meal yet having a deeply rooted connection to the ingredients. Seeing the chefs master cooking with charcoal and a respect for the land and sea while creating a memorable dining experience. landscape also reminded me of where I grew up in coastal Oregon, a place where giant pine trees meet the wild ocean.
> Why did you want to bring this type of restaurant to Pasadena diners at this time?
From the moment I saw the restaurant space and courtyard, it felt like a place where we could be part of the community while also building a community. Our vision is to build a space where guests can come together and create memories. After a long year apart, it feels more important now than ever. sasobistro.com
BENTO BOX BOOM
This traditional Japanese lunch box is having a moment.
BY CAROLE DIXON
Perhaps brought on by the onslaught of takeout during the pandemic, the bento boom has captivated the local dining scene.
But not all bento boxes—Japanese-style lunch boxes—are created equal. The traditional wooden or lacquered containers typically include rice, protein, veggies, and dessert, compartmentalized in a magnificently orderly way that is almost too pretty to eat.
In Pasadena, family-owned OSAWA by former Chaya executive chef Shigefumi Tachibe, makes a Shokado Bento loaded with sashimi, sushi, ribeye steak, and miso-marinated salmon, along with sunomono (cucumber), rice, and miso soup. Or the petit (by comparison) Saba Bento with mackerel and burdock tempura, which resembles the gourmet TV dinner of your dreams.
Former Q sushi chef Ai Kennedy is now serving weekend bento boxes with her special boiled firefly squid and a mix of seasonal Japanese ingredients with California produce out of a small gallery on South Wilson Avenue.
Sushi master Morihiro Onodera opened MORIHIRO in Atwater Village with a daily lunch box bounty consisting of what he finds at the farmers market, along with traditional homemade pickles, tofu, and omelet. You can also expect the nine squares to be filled with mizuna (Japanese mustard greens) and sunchoke that accompanies grilled mackerel, big-eye tuna sashimi from Hawaii, and halibut from Japan, ending with sweet
TRENDS THREE DYNAMIC WOMEN FROM THE PASADENA FOOD SCENE
This trio has not only given back to the community by opening, operating, and cooking in top restaurants, but they also have their hands in many charitable organizations around town.
MARIE PETULLA OF UNION
< Petulla is the co-owner and visionary behind Pasadena’s beloved, award-winning Northern Italian restaurant Union, Grand Central Market’s Knead & Co. Pasta Bar + Market, Red Jungle, and her latest venture, U Street Pizza, which features New York–style pizza made with high-quality, marketdriven ingredients from across California.
This new concept is nostalgic for Petulla, who first opened Union in 2013. “The focus of the restaurant has always been a commitment to the community of Pasadena, who have been so supportive,” she says. “We have done our best to source locally and collaborate with farmers and producers.” Those collaborators have included Pasadena Community Gardens and John Muir High School garden. Petulla and her team continue to support Elizabeth House, which works with at-risk women and children, and Planned Parenthood. “During the pandemic, we worked with the community to provide meals for frontline workers at Huntington Hospital and our local firehouse.”
YARI GONZALEZ OF MASTRO RESTAURANT
> Gonzalez had a hand in conceiving Maestro’s original menu and is back in the kitchen creating unique new modern Mexican dishes and incorporating her family story and inspirations from her travels. “I’m excited to give our customers a great experience and teach them not only about the dishes but the reason they were chosen and where all the ingredients come from— and put my soul into it,” she says.
Along with Maestro, Gonzalez has chosen to help the charity No Us Without You LA, a nonprofit whose mission is to support the backbone of the hospitality industry in Greater Los Angeles by providing food security for undocumented
mountain peach agar. The chef wanted to share his farm-to-table cooking while using all wild and sustainable fish, along with his knowledge and reputation as a rice master. “He has grown it and sold it,” says manager Tokiko Binkley. “He sleeps thinking about rice.”
SUNSET SUSHI in Silver Lake (in the same family of restaurants as Ichijiku in Highland Park) specializes in kaisen chirashi, with generous pieces of raw fish atop a bed of rice, and omakase boxes filled with premium sushi and sashimi by Tokyo-born chefs Kazuhiro Yamada and Yoshi Matsumoto.
Acclaimed chef Nozawa has recently created Toro Tataki Bento at all Los Angeles locations of KAZUNORI and SUGARFISH. This small, brick-shaped box features a decadent dish of finely chopped toro from sustainably ranched bluefin tuna, served over rice with ginger, nori strips, and wakame (kelp), and topped with salmon eggs and cucumber.
Two Michelin–star chef Niki Nakayama of n/naka and her sous chef/partner Carole Iida-Nakayama have opened bento box eatery n/soto (meaning outside) in West Adams. The focus is on exploring Japanese food through outside influences with
rotating themes every 4–6 weeks until their izakaya can open this summer. Michelin-star HAYATO at Row DTLA and chef Brandon Go have set a high bar with a box that’s an immaculately constructed work of art. “I think the main thing that is different about our bento is not what ingredients are in it, but how it’s made,” he says. “Our entire team works for three days with a focus of putting each component into the box exactly when you arrive for pickup. Most bento are made with things that are stored in the refrigThis page: Hayato. Opposite: Sunset Sushi erator or put in the box for an extended period of time before the box is sold.” Chef Go is modest about being a frontrunner for the city’s newfound bento craze. “The pandemic created a perfect storm for people to search for special food that they can take home. The bento box is the perfect food medium for celebrating life without a restaurant,” says Go. “When I think about going to Japan, one of my first thoughts is ordering a nice bento and opening it on the Shinkansen on my way from Tokyo to Kyoto. No matter how many times I do it, there is something about opening the lid of a bento box that makes you forget about the outside world, if only for a few seconds.”
CHEF JARITZA GONZALEZ: PAUL GONZALEZ PHOTOGRAPHY; HAYATO LA: DYLAN AND JENI immigrants. “When I first heard about No Us Without You, what they represent and their vision, it simply just moved me,” says Gonzalez. “I instantly wanted to help and be part of the cause. They feed over 1,300 undocumented backhouse employees for the hospitality industry, and I know what it is to work with amazing people that never get recognized.”
LINDA GRACE OF CAFÉ SAN MARINO
> A neighborhood favorite gathering spot for great coffee and a harissa tuna sandwich with a cult following, Grace’s Café San Marino has become a space where women activate their passions in an encouraging and inviting setting. To that end, the café has built a supportive community by hosting numerous local charities and clubs, small business meetings, and other gatherings. “We’ve raised money for women on the cancer journey and for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and supported local organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic,” she says.
Grace also works with Ronald McDonald House and the National Charity League, among others. Her team recently fed over 600 people from Valentine Elementary School and made more than 1,000 meals for the Pasadena Civic Ballet—and she does all this without a kitchen. Grace works off two burners, two convection ovens, and a panini press. “We do this with a lot of love, magic, and a great crew,” she says.
The café is in the midst of expanding next door or possibly to another location with a kitchen, but they will never leave San Marino where Grace has built her following.
