COVER STORY

Coastal Cuisine

Sugar Palm invites guests on a culinary journey

PHOTOS BY DYLAN + JENI

Sugar Palm is a new restaurant at Viceroy Santa Monica that serves innovative coastal cuisine and market-fresh cocktails.

By Bridgette M. Redman

When it comes to cooking and creating great food, Chef Jason Francisco cares as much about the journey as he does the final destination. Some of that philosophy was born out of a desire to escape the focus of his first career and into something more creative and rewarding. “I started out as an accountant,” Francisco said. “I was very numbers driven. In accounting, we’re trained to look at the bottom line, the final destination or final result as opposed to the journey. As a chef, you look at the journey, how the dishes evolve, how you can layer flavors and build on that.” Francisco is the executive chef of Sugar Palm at Viceroy Santa Monica. Guests can eat indoors, outdoors or at the wraparound bar. The dining establishment opened in late October 2021 after a $21 million renovation to the property. It features innovative California coastal cuisine and market-fresh craft cocktails. Francisco brings experience with a wide range of cuisines to the restaurant. He is a native Hawaiian whose father was in the military. “We traveled a lot — to Italy, France,” Francisco said. “He was in the Marine Corps, so we were always close to the water. I used marketplaces a lot.” He said in that sense, Santa Monica has a similar vibe to many of the Italian and French coastal cities. Another way that the Los Angeles area is similar to Europe is that when you travel between cities, each neighborhood has its own special feel, its own unique personality, much the way traveling between European countries provides access to very different cultures. “The food scene in California has everything grown within 250 to 300 miles,” Francisco said. “There is a lot of food culture here. Everyone is bringing their dishes here, their cuisine here.” He gave an example of how he mixes together cultures in a very LA style. “My mushroom risotto is an Italian dish,” Francisco said. “But I took the dish out of Italy and immersed it in Thai cuisine so it has more of a Thai curry. Our fish stock has a lot of Japanese influence.” He mixes flavors and traditions in ways that he believes reflect the metropolitan nature of LA, capturing the true cuisine of the city. “When you look at people in LA, you can’t tell where they are from, which is beautiful,” Francisco said. “You can only know when they share their culture with you. I try to do the same thing through food.” In addition to the home-grown international cuisine, Francisco said that Sugar Palm gets its atmosphere from its location and décor. Located on the beach with outdoor fireplaces and a striking mural by local artist Evelyn Leigh, guests can dine under palm trees on the patio. “Sugar Palm has a beach vibe, a pool vibe,” Francisco said. “It’s amazing weather here and outdoor seating is great —it’s also safer.” It is a restaurant that simultaneously invites you to be laidback and relaxed while experiencing elegance and fine cuisine. Because the restaurant is by a pool, Francisco said they can support the dual concepts of casual and fine dining. “I want people here to get the kind of food you get when you wear a suit and get dressed up, but being at the beach, I don’t want you to have to get dressed up,” Francisco said. “You can be in flip-flops and shorts and still experience sophisticated food – a beautiful meal that looks great and lifts your appetite for life. You can eat and then go to the beach. You can have a romantic experience at its most sophisticated. With the ocean breeze, it’s a beautiful feeling.” Seven cabanas are available for dining, including one that can seat up to eight people. Francisco said each visit to the Sugar Palm can provide a unique experience because they change the menus so often. Even within a season, Francisco said he may change the menu two or three times based on what is growing and available. To always have the freshest ingredients, Francisco and his team focus on local produce and use such vendors as Niman Ranch in Northern California for meat, Fish King in Glendale and Scarborough Farms in Oxnard. The area director of food and beverage, Mario Leal-Cruz Jr., has curated a collection of craft cocktails featuring house-made syrups and juices. He calls upon his Mexican heritage by using such regional spirits and indigenous ingredients as agave, Mezcal and Ancho Reyes. He’s even created a drink — the SaMo Sunset — that is infused with the colors of a Santa Monica sunset. “Sugar Palm is going to be a very unique experience,” Francisco said. “I know everyone says that, but it’s not just about the food — it can never be just about the food. Food is only two-dimensional. You see it on the plate and taste it. But the ambiance — eating outdoors on the patio, the sun beating down on your skin — that is the additional element. That introduces a feeling of being alive. There is a moment when you come into the restaurant and sit down — the first thing I notice people doing is that they look up. You don’t see the traffic and the roads. All you see are palm trees all around. It’s almost like an oasis.” Francisco compared eating at Sugar Palm to a lifestyle experience. He has high praise for LA restaurants and says he loves eating out and experiencing new food, but rarely do you have the atmosphere of the cabanas and palm trees that Sugar Palm has. “It was designed really well,” Francisco said. “It’s fenced out all around, but not too high you can’t see the horizon. The walls block you off from traffic, so you can’t hear the traffic, but you know you’re in a city. It’s that design of luxury that gives you a feeling you can’t get anywhere else. You have that feeling of being in a tropical oasis and then you can get back to reality with a snap of the fingers.”

The restaurant includes an indoor lounge, patio, café, restaurant and poolside bar, and the menu is rooted in utilizing the freshest ingredients possible with an emphasis on local produce.

Sugar Palm features a menu crafted by Chef Jason Francisco who takes inspiration from his diverse background living in Singapore, Italy, Germany, Holland, Turkey and Hawaii.

He applauds the management for giving him free reign to explore food and stay open to new culinary experiences that he can share with guests. “When I came here, I knew I wanted to do cultural cuisine, but I didn’t know the food was going to evolve into what it is today,” Francisco said. “The restaurant has grown from a toddler to the walking and running stage and now I feel like it is a teenager who is ready to explore the world.” He said the restaurant has taken on a life of its own and his role is that of a bus driver. He has a map that he follows, but he stays open to new routes. “Tomorrow is going to be something great, I just don’t know what it is yet,” Francisco said. “Some people live as if it were their last day on earth. I do the opposite. I live as if it were my first day on Earth because there is so much more to explore. My favorite food changes daily. I like to keep that attitude because that means I’m open to new food and new experiences.” Part of that openness is letting everyone around him influence the food. Francisco asks everyone to on staff to taste the food and give them feedback. He keeps adjusting the recipe until it makes everyone smile. Only then does he taste it and record the recipe. He wants to make sure that the food he creates makes people happy. It’s also why he describes his job as taking a journey — he wants to learn every day and pay attention to how dishes evolve, all the flavors layer on each other. Their kitchen, Francisco says is a teaching kitchen where everyone is learning. “I’m borrowing dishes from the cooks and sous chefs’ moms and grandmas,” Francisco said. “I’m talking to them and interviewing them a lot. They have a lot of feedback and that makes them feel invested in the food. Any time there is that positive feeling when they cook— cooking with a smile on your face is important.”

Sugar Palm

Where: 1819 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica Hours: Brunch from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; dinner from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. 310-260-7511 sugarpalmoceanave.com

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