6 minute read
ENTERTAINMENT On the Menu
While driving to dinner in Hollywood a few weeks ago, I noticed anew how dreary the side streets are. Yet on further inspection it became clear that when I wasn’t looking, dozens of boutique hotels, many with restaurants or rooftop bars, popped up among otherwise unappealing buildings.
We headed to one such place, the Tommie Hotel, an elegant but informal and hip boutique on Selma Avenue in Hollywood with a stunning, mainly outdoor restaurant, Ka’teen, on the ground floor.
Entering from the street through a bent-reed tunnel, we were greeted by 5,000 square feet of lush greenery with a large welcoming bar, tall, arced, modern heat lamps and blankets piled near each table in case anyone was still chilly.
Chef Wes Avila, known for establishing Guerilla Tacos downtown and the Angry Egret Dinette in Chinatown, here pays homage to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico both in the food and the foliage. Our son noted that it looked exactly like Tulum, a popular vacation destination south of Cancun.
Cocktails, $18, are fruity and refreshing. The house margarita comes in a choice of passionfruit, guava or mango. The Gypsy Fever is a mezcal drink with passionfruit, guava, lime, agave and fire water (hot cinnamon-flavored whiskey). The Witchdoctor combines peach, lime and sage with mezcal.
We started with $18 kanpachi crudo and $19 striped bass ceviche. Refreshing, but I’ve had more ethereal raw fish elsewhere. Another starter, $10 potato taquitos, were delicious. The homey spuds with the crunchy fried tortilla wrapper and the pungent avocado salsa were a flavorful way to start our meal.
Conchita pibil, $42, a typical Yucatan dish, was fall-off-thebone pork cooked in a banana leaf. A sauce of dry chiles and bitter orange added depth of flavor, $42. A whole grilled branzino was served with two salsas (one fiery hot), spicy carrots and charred lime. This dish is sold at “market price,” depending on the type and size of the fish being featured that evening. We paid $72 for a giant plate of fish deliciousness, enough for four with some left to take home. Both entrees were served with soft corn tortillas.
The $8 whole small potatoes with umeboshi aioli, a mayonnaise base mixed with Japanese spicy pickled plum paste, were a pleasant starchy side for both of our mains, but not as special as the ingredients suggested and the décor demanded.
Ka’teen at the Tommie Hotel, 6516 Selma Ave., 323410-6360.
I’m an omnivore, but I’ve enjoyed some vegetarian and vegan restaurants in the past few years, now that they’ve moved beyond the mainly
On the Menu
by Helene Seifer
mushy bean-based dishes that filled menus at the start of the plant-based eating trend. Olivia, a new vegetarian place with vegan options, exemplifies this trend. It’s a casual, friendly and tasty spot for those in the neighborhood and beyond.
The attractive little storefront restaurant belies its depressing Koreatown strip mall location. Surrounded by multiple vacancies and a burnt-out building next door, it’s not an ideal site, but Executive Chefowner Mario Alberto, who lives nearby, made the most of it. There are pale peach walls, simple seating, the most cheerful staff I’ve ever met and an ambitious menu.
Chef Alberto rose through the ranks at some of the most interesting restaurants in Los Angeles, including Ysabel, Laurel Hardware, Mo-Chica and the late, great Lazy Ox Canteen that, in its time, was a revelatory taste experience.
They don’t have a wine license, but we were very happy with a house-made Farmers Market Strawberry Lemonade, $8, and $6 fresh melonflavored water with slivered cantaloupe.
Olivia opened in March
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and Yelpers immediately declared their signature dish: fried olives. The $13 crusted briny olives sit atop whipped macadamia nut ricotta with truffle honey. I didn’t care for the grainy texture of the ricotta, but the flavored honey smoothed out the otherwise delightful dish.
The $16 crispy “chicken” presents breaded and fried meaty oyster mushrooms with mustard greens. I wasn’t fooled, but who needs poultry when these were so satisfying?
There’s $15 pumpkin seed hummus, $13 baby heirloom tomatoes with miso feta and focaccia, Japanese noodles with shiitake and wood ear mushrooms and braised greens in mushroom broth for $18.50. Olivia also features shishito peppers, $16, with chili, cilantro and grapefruit from the Larchmont Farmer’s Market, one of three local farmer’s markets the chef frequents.
Olivia has both vegetarian and vegan pizzas for $16 - $18, most with unusual toppings such as chili soy sausage with feta and pea tendrils with pesto and oat cream sauce. We enjoyed a pizza with potato, kimchee, gruyere, gouda and jalapeño.
Our favorite dish of the night was a complex $16 salad of kale, napa cabbage, cucumber and Asian pear, also from the Larchmont Farmer’s Market, tossed in a dressing made with gochugaru, a smoky and spicy blend of Korean pepper flakes.
Olivia, 205 S. Vermont Ave., 213-277-1723.
St. Vincent Meals on Wheels (SVMOW) will be recreating the feel of old Hollywood glamour with its comeback fundraising gala, “Hollywood Under the Stars,” Sat., June 25 at 6:30 p.m. at Paramount Studios, 5515 Melrose Ave.
Proceeds will go toward SVMOWs senior nutrition program that prepares and delivers meals to homebound, vulnerable residents. This gala is the first event since the beginning of COVID-19 and also commemorates 45 years of the organization.
“The Paramount Studios lot is in the heart of our delivery area and is the perfect location to celebrate our own long history and to support the expanding program needs as we continue to serve the increasing numbers of seniors who rely on us daily,” said Veronica Dover, SVMOW executive director.
The evening will consist of a VIP champagne reception, gourmet dishes crafted by noted Los Angeles chefs, a behind-the-scenes video presentation starring Martin Sheen and High Rize, a 10-piece band guaranteed to get attendees on their feet. Chefs featured
Among the chefs is Kevin Meehan, co-founder of Kali Restaurant on Melrose Avenue. He will be presenting culinary creations made from local California farms on a menu that is 90 percent organic and sustainable. Meehan cooks with local and hyper-seasonal ingredients to put a sustainable twist on the Californian palette.
Other chefs include Edgar Ramos of Wood & Vine, a new American restaurant and cocktail bar at the W Hotel in Hollywood, and Vicky Escalante of Etoile Filante Patisserie, making her culinary debut.
For tickets and more information, visit svmow.org/Hollywood
‘Walk & Play’ with CHLA June 25 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) will be hosting Walk & Play L.A. on Sat., June 25 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This event is not just a walk, but it includes a family festival, a sports clinic and live performances. Boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard and radio personality Ellen K will be hosting the event.
This community event helps to promote the well-being of children while simultaneously raising funds to support CHLA and their mission of building a better future for the youth of Los Angeles through providing patients with world-class health care.
To register for the event, visit WalkandPlayLA.org or email walk@chla.usc.edu for more information.
Share Your Summer Fun!
Summertime will be the featured theme in our July issue. Send your photos and short, short stories (200 words max.) about vacations and all things summer to suzan@larchmontchronicle.com by Wed., June 15.
