A Night In & Out

Night In @ Elysian  Elysian Valley May '13
www.elysianla.com

e·ly·sian - relating to heaven or paradise. see blissful, delightful

In a city named after angels and bent on bliss, elysian fits right into L.A.'s vernacular. There's Elysian Park, an idyllic spot for picnics & ambles and Elysian Heights, the hilly, Eastside 'hood. Though shuttered, Elysian Fields, the Topanga nudist colony, lives on in L.A. lore and memories from my first year in town.

In Elysian Valley, a delightful spot is sandwiched between the 2, the 5, and the L.A. River. Tucked between ramshackle, Frogtown facades and behind a wooden gate, lies a tranquil garden and a stunning space. This is Elysian.

An intimate place for gatherings, weddings, and lectures, Elysian welcomes guests at its occasional, bi-monthly restaurant, Night In. Conceived by David Thorne, an accomplished artist/cook, Night In serves "good food in a lovely place."  Using a palette of farmers market fare, David creates unpretentious deliciousness. Each plate an edible oeuvre, he is redefining the concept of eating out.

Night In resembles a dinner party...one that is hosted by your artsy, culinary friend. An open kitchen, shelves stacked with books, and a worn, L-shaped couch in the waiting area further accentuate the house-like vibe.  Perhaps it feels like a home because David and his wife used to live at Elysian.This is not a pop-up; it's a pop-in.

While those who eat at Elysian aren't necessarily friends, we run in the same crowd. We like our produce seasonal, our meat pasture-raised, and our wine from Silverlake Wine. We go out to be nourished not to be seen; we are disciples of delicious. Since we speak the same language, the communal tables at Elysian don't feel forced; they are instead incubators for conversations.

As a mailing list subscriber to Elysian L.A. , I receive invites (aka enticing menus) in my inbox for upcoming dinners. On May 6, I was finally able to attend a dinner, so I rsvp'd on the website. A day before our reservation, David sent a reminder note, ending with, "we look forward to seeing you."  Let the dinner party begin...

Demetria Viognier

Night In is BYOB. For a springtime supper with my best ladies, Barndi & Alyce, I bring a 2010 Viognier, which blooms with grassy, apricot notes. This full-bodied white is from my beloved wine club, Demetria Estates, a Santa Ynez vineyard specializing in sustainable, biodynamic wines. 

Duck Rillettes

Pâté for the liver averse.  Rillettes--duck cooked and stored in its own fat--is lusciously rich. Roast cherries elevate the stone fruit from sweet to savory. Pickled onions, pistachios, and mache make for fabulous fixings. 

Shaved Beet and Fennel Salad

Taste the rainbow of spring with thinly shaved beets & fennel, little gem lettuces, tarragon, preserved lemon, walnuts, and feta. It's a salad of earthly delights.

 Beef Cheek

Succulent, braised beef cheek wears a dollop of horseradish cream well. With an array of diminutive, yet delicious veggies--English peas, fingerlings, treviso, carrots and turnips--this dish is omnivorous bliss.  Thank you, David, for reminding me that oregano is much more than a pizza topping; when fresh, the herb is aromatherapeutic.

Butterfish

With seared-crisp skin, this moist butterfish won't make you ask, "Where's the Beef?" It's served on an Oriental bed of nutty, black rice, snap peas, green garlic, mustard greens, asparagus, radish, and pickled ginger. 

Ginger Cake

 Living in the fruit basket of Southern California, dessert and fruit are natural bedfellows. Here, a sweet & tart kumquat compote accompanies a dense, ginger cake. Whipped lebneh, a yogurt-based, Middle-Eastern cheese, adds a tart finish.

Upon exiting a dinner party, thanks are exchanged; both hosts and guests expressing gratitude for a night well spent and well fed. Likewise, at Night In, the menu ends with a "thank you", reminding us that Elysian is happy we stopped by. It continues, "please tell your friends about us."  And so I have....

The next Night In is June 7th. Rsvp here

No Meat. No Problem.

Elf Cafe  Echo Park

www.elfcafe.com

eat: Tahini Avocado Purée, Baked Feta & Tomatoes, Mediterranean Lentils, Spicy Kale Salad, Vegetable Tagine, Savory Crepe, Braised Portobellos, Pear Tarte Tatin

Vegetarian.  One word so plump with connotations. Practicing produce-eaters proudly wear it like a badge, while carnivores utter the v-word disdainfully, as if it's a disease they hope to never catch.  I tend to veer towards the latter, for as an ardent omnivore, I crave meals that feature all the food groups.  I want my sautéed kale with a rib-eye, my Blue Lake beans with pancetta.  Consequently, I seldom frequent vegetarian restaurants, until I discovered Elf Cafe.

What differentiates Elf from the usual veg-o-bistros, is that Chef Scott Zwiezen doesn't employ the standard practice of recreating veggie versions of meat classics, which often leads to bland, unsuccessful dishes (mock reuben, anyone?) .  You won't find faux-anything on the menu--just straight up, bomb-ass vegetarian food, thanks to the abundance of organic ingredients and flavorful, Middle-Eastern spices.  Vegans and gluten-free folk will also find plenty to eat. Elf showed me that vegetarian fare can be just as hearty, tasty, and even as naughty as its carnivorous counterparts. They do it without being preachy or shoving anti-meat dogma down your throat.  It's all about the vegetables, baby.
 

Upon entering Elf Cafe, you'll be welcomed by Astara, one of the co-owners, who is as equally ethereal as she is enthusiastic. Cozy is an understatement at this intimate, jewel-box of a space, with exposed brick-walls and sultry, low lighting.  Inside, tuck into a table or eat at the kitchen-side bar. Outside, watch the Echo Parkers strut by.

Smoked Paprika Dip
 Every meal at Elf begins with an amuse-dip: a thoughtful gesture considering that even bread & butter doesn't come for free these days. Here, smoked paprika perks up your palate for the upcoming eats.  

Tahini Avocado Purée
Dreamy and creamy, this Arabic-spin on guacamole is adorned with wrinkly, black olives and roasted garlic.  

Baked Sheep Feta and Tomatoes
The baked feta has browned, crisp edges reminiscent of Mac and Cheese--a carb-free version of a childhood fave. Accompanied with more of those tasty, Moroccan olives and roasted tomatoes that smack of summer.

Spicy Kale Salad
While I like my kale uncooked, sometimes it feels like I'm eating pure roughage.  Here, raw kale is gussied up with charmoula (cilantro, parsley, cumin, cayenne) dressing and harissa (Moroccan chili paste).  Topped with avocado, this is the best kale salad in town.     

Vegetable Tagine
This hearty bowl o' comfort features farmers market veggies bathed in traditional Moroccan flavors, like cumin, turmeric, and paprika. Served with quinoa and a side of the aforementioned, homemade harissa, for those who crave an extra kick.

Braised Portobello MushroomThe 'shroom brims with a decadently,creamy goat-cheese risotto.  Combined with luscious mashed potatoes, tender asparagus, and a charred tomato, my friend, Tara's, one-word review says it all:  "Transcendent". 

Vegan Banana Tart
Browned-butter goodness, with crunchy pistachios, tangy pomegranate seeds, and a crock of heavy cream for good measure.  

FYI, Elf is cash-only and BYOB, but an ATM and booze can be found a few doors down at King Liquors, which is stocked with micro-brews, but mediocre wine (so plan accordingly).  Reservations are encouraged, but you can expand your beer horizons while you wait at adjacent Mohawk Bend.   Elf will be expanding soon, so go soon if you want to catch the original, adorable version that has been delighting me for the past six years. 

Taking-In New York's Finest

Pizza plays an integral role in my daily diet. There's the slice-on-the-go, which works equally well as a substantial snack or as post-boozing, hangover-prevention medicine. Snuggling on the couch with pizza + a movie = a damn good date night. When I'm too tired to cook, an enormous green salad, a bottle of cheap wine, and a takeout pie makes for an easy and satisfying dinner. Oddly enough, while I adore pizza, I rarely eat it out, instead reserving restaurants for other, less portable dishes. Yet, since I moved to NYC, I have been eating at pizza-centric spots and have had a pie-piphany: pizza shouldn't be restricted to home consumption.

From a culinary standpoint, pizza tastes better piping hot. Sure, a reheated slice makes for good leftovers, but the pizza crust, like a fresh-baked loaf of bread, is undeniably best when devoured instantly out of the oven. On a deeper level, going out for pizza allows you to get closer to the Italian tradition of family-style dining, which embraces the credo that everything tastes better when shared. With my pizza-loving friend, John, as my guide, I recently visited two teeny, yet popular, neighborhood gems. Even though these restaurants aren't literally "family-style", I wouldn't be surprised to witness slice-swapping between tables at these communal spots.


Motorino
East Village
www.motorinopizza.com


Arriving at Motorino on a chilly, January night, the skinny room is like a toasty oven-- windows are fogged up from feasting diners and the aluminum tile ceiling is reminiscent of a Viking stainless steel stove. It is not-for-the-claustrophobic cozy; the zinc tables are crammed together, allowing for easy ogling at neighboring pizzas. The convivial buzz is enhanced by the groovin' soundtrack, which mirrors the workout playlist on my Ipod - Ice Cube, Justin Timberlake, Warren G.




John, a beer man, orders a can of Dale's Pale Ale, a hoppy, American Pale Ale from Oskar Blues, the company that proved cans are no longer synonymous with crappy beer. In winter, I am an ardent fan of sparkling reds, so I select the Cantine Federiciane Gragnano. This light bodied, ruby red from Napoli is listed on the menu as the "Perfect Pizza Wine", a bold statement with which I heartily agree. Whether you think pizza pairs better with bubbly beer or vino rosso, the Gragnano gives you the best of both worlds.



While reviewers have raved about chef/owner Mathieu Polombino's pizzas, the antipasti should not be ignored. We start with a salad for the season: the Beet Salad. On a bed of winter lettuces, sweet beets, red onion, cubes of ricotta salata, wrinkly, black Moroccan olives, mint, and white anchovies are topped with a barely-hard boiled egg. It's hearty without being heavy, salty and refreshing.




John prefers his pizza uncluttered with toppings. While I normally am the opposite, the Margherita here shows that less can be more. It's a tasty trifecta of creamy disks of mozzarella, crispy basil, and a magnificent tomato sauce. In January, when there are still 180 days until garden-fresh tomatoes appear at the market, this toothsome sauce whisks us away to summer.



I order the Brussel Sprouts and Pancetta Pizza, a flavor bomb that has launched Motorino to the top of me and Sam Sifton's "Best Pizza in NYC" list. The mix of healthful sprouts and fatty bacon is a popular pairing, but combined atop an amazing crust (with mozzarella, garlic and pecorino) it's downright sinful. The pizza actually glistens with olive oil and pancetta fat, a definite step up from the bright orange grease that pools under cheaper pies. The stellar crust is doughy, fluffy, and freckled with charred spots. It is wonderful for sopping up my oily slick.




Lucali
Carroll Gardens
no website

While hip and fun Motorino is smack dab in the restaurant-saturated East Village, Lucali is on a quiet street in Carroll Gardens, a traditionally, Italian-American 'hood. Consequently, Lucali is more quaint and rustic, with a few wooden tables--including a communal 6-seater--scattered about. Unlike the other local, long-standing businesses, Lucali has only been open for half a decade, but it embodies the neighborhood's timeless charm.

The menu is simple, a dream for the indecisive: pizza (large only) and calzone. Basta. Most nights, the owner/pizzaiola, Mark Iacono, mans the brick oven, which is the centerpiece of the room. As if the sweet smell of pizza isn't enough, watching its creation unfold before you is bound to make you salivate. On the night we visit, the place is filled with diners à deux, sharing bottles of wine that they brought from home. To commemorate my recent move to the neighborhood, we bring a six-pack of Brooklyn Brewery's East India Pale Ale, which our waitress happily offers to chill.




The calzone's largess necessitates a knife and fork, which gives us time to savor each bite. Inside the browned, crispy crust, chunks of pepperoni are tucked in massive pillows of ricotta cheese. Somehow, in a feat of culinary wizardry, the calzone is light and airy, in spite of its gargantuan size and the copious use of cheese.






This surprising lightness continues with the pizza, which measures in at 24"--with wine bottles used to roll out the dough. While I tend to prefer thicker pizzas, I appreciate the authenticity, and simplicity, of this crust. This pizza will bring you as close to Italy as you can get without crossing the Atlantic. Toppings are shaved on top; the grilled artichoke hearts, fresh basil, and garlic are veggie delight. Even this omnivore doesn't miss her usual sausage.






Many ingredients are imported from Italy, including ricotta, olive oil, and balls of buffalo mozzarella, which await their destiny in a glass bowl upon the marble counter. Toppings veer towards the traditional--no BBQ chicken here--and vary by night.






FYI, both of these pizza havens do not accept reservations. However, since there are no restaurant bars to whittle the inevitable wait away, both spots allow you to call ahead to put your name on the wait list. If you fancy an apertivo before Motorino, visit nearby Terroir, which boasts an encyclopedic wine and beer-by-the-glass list that is sure to please the most studied or amateur imbibers. For Lucali, a stroll over the BQE leads to the down home Moonshine Bar, which boasts a killer beer list.