Casey Lane | Photo by Joshua Lurie
for dineLA.com
Los Angeles is widely considered to be a city on the forefront of innovation. In the food and drink sector, a young contingent of chefs, bakers, bartenders, sommeliers and coffee pros, all age 30 and under, are helping to ensure that LA continues to stay on the cutting edge.
(More 30 at 30 in Part 2)
Nyesha ArringtonArrington, a Josiah Citrin protégée, worked as her mentor’s chef de cuisine at Santa Monica’s sprawling Cache restaurant. The longtime student of classic French cookery spent a brief spell in the Caribbean before landing an executive chef job at Santa Monica’s Wilshire restaurant. She made a good run on Season 9 of “Top Chef” before delivering dishes like roasted sunchoke soup with crab salad and Fuji apple; and pan roasted halibut with King trumpet mushrooms to Wilshire diners.
Wilshire, 2454 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica, 310.586.1707
Photo by Kelley Carroll
Tim Carey
Carey, a recent Patina alum, attended Loyola High School with business partner Santos Uy (Mignon, Bacaro). Years later, they ended up teaming on a casual, prix fixe ode to bistronomie called Papilles. They workshopped for friends and family in a Historic Core loft before opening in earnest near a Hollywood entrance to the 101 freeway, with Carey behind the open kitchen and Uy presiding over wine and the front of the house. The menu changes frequently, but may include ruby trout with red quinoa, roasted beets and wild nettle coulis; or braised beef cheeks, polenta and root vegetables.
Papilles, 6221 Franklin Ave., Los Angeles, 323.871.2026
Chris Crary
Crary helped fellow chef Tony DiSalvo run the sprawling multi-concept Jack’s La Jolla down south before joining him in producing seasonal Mediterranean plates at Whist at the Viceroy. Crary, Whist’s chef de cuisine, has since forged his own culinary identity, making a deep run on Season 9 of “Top Chef,” which was set in Texas. That show not only raised his profile, it also allowed him to refine his work with new ingredients like venison, antelope and ostrich eggs.
Whist, 1819 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, 310.260.7514
Evan Gotanda
Gotanda nearly went wire to wire at Bastide, Joe Pitka’s avant garde (and notorious) Melrose Place restaurant. He worked for influential chefs Alain Girard, Ludovic Lefebvre, Walter Manzke, and Paul Shoemaker. Gotanda furthered his culinary education downtown, at Patina’s flagship restaurant, working for Theo Schoenegger, and then helmed Celestino Drago’s modern Italian kitchen in Santa Monica, producing dishes like cod with gnocchi in a lobster broth; and venison with dates, farro and red cabbage.
Drago, 2628 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, 310.828.1585
Adam Horton
Horton, an LA native, gained a reputation for fine dining (and game) at Saddle Peak Lodge on the Malibu side of the Santa Monica Mountains. His cooking is more globally inspired, and techniques more experimental, at the Raphael family’s retooled restaurant on an emerging strip of Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. Horton’s global vision is conducive to sharing, with dishes like lamb ravioli with goat cheese and Goan curry; and northern Thai “street noodles” with crispy pork.
Raphael, 11616 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, 818.505.3337
Jordan Kahn
Kahn, a Savannah native, was practically born to cook. He worked in pastry for elite chefs Thomas Keller (The French Laundry, Per Se) and Grant Achatz (Alinea) before heading west. He spent a brief stint as pastry chef of Michael Mina’s XIV before teaming with longtime Michael Mina cohort Noah Ellis and Umami Burger maven Adam Fleischman on an anything goes Vietnamese restaurant in Beverly Hills called Red Medicine. He forages ingredients and presents precise plating for dishes like tamarind-glazed lamb with hibiscus, onion, Swiss chard and pomegranate; and creates instant classic desserts like the coconut bavarois with myriad flavors and textures, including peanut croquant, Thai basil seeds, coffee and condensed milk.
Red Medicine, 8400 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, 323.651.5500
John-Carlos KuramotoMichael McCarty’s influential California restaurant has produced a series of high profile chefs over the years, including Mark Peel of Campanile and Sang Yoon of Father’s Office fame. Kuramoto could be the next in line, as the Patina alum became executive chef of Michael’s iconic art-filled restaurant near Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade in 2011, at age 24. The menu may include masala-spiced quail with pomegranate and orange vinaigrette; or spiced Sonoma duck breast with Pinot Noir reduction.
Michael's, 1147 Third St., Santa Monica, 310.451.0843
Photo courtesy Michael's
Dylan HallasHallas worked at high-profile restaurants like Osteria Mozza and The Bazaar before stepping into the spotlight at 2010’s Test Kitchen mega pop-up, twice. Last year, he started helming the kitchen at Antonio de Cicco’s courtyard-centric Italian restaurant across from Brentwood Country Mart. The Ventura County native prepares pizzas with premium Italian ingredients such as mozzarella di bufala and prosciutto di Parma. Depending on the season, and his whims, diners might find fresh squid ink tagliolini with seafood; or wild black cod with grilled escarole and bagna cauda.
Villetta, 246 26th St., Santa Monica, 310.394.8455
Photo courtesy Dylan Hallas
Casey Lane
The El Paso native attended culinary school in Portland, found a seasonal, nose-to-tail groove in that city at clarklewis, and emerged on Venice’s trendy Abbot Kinney Boulevard in summer 2010 to open The Tasting Kitchen with several other Portland ex-pats. He butchers whole animals in-house and features produce at the peak of their seasons to produce Italian-influenced plates and pastas in a buzzworthy double-decker restaurant. He’s also working to open an English restaurant called The Parish with many members of the same team, in Downtown LA’s Fashion District, by spring.
The Tasting Kitchen, 1633 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, 310.392.6644
Megan Logan
Believe it or not, but downtown’s dry-aged beef champion was a longtime vegetarian. The L.A. native changed her mind while working for Joachim Splichal at nearby Patina, and one of L.A.’s leading restaurateurs eventually promoted her to executive chef of his flagship steakhouse atop Bunker Hill. She keeps sides seasonal, and has also been known to prepare other beasts for businesspeople, but steer certainly reigns supreme.
Nick & Stef’s, 330 S. Hope St., Downtown, 213.680.0330
Ori Menashe
Menashe, an Israeli native and a longtime culinary lieutenant to Gino Angelini at Angelini Osteria and the bygone La Terza, struck out on his own last spring. He spent a brief time overseeing the kitchen at Santa Monica’s La Botte before working to own his very own restaurant for the first time. He plans to bring his ever-increasing mastery of Italian cuisine and charcuterie to Downtown LA’s Arts District in 2012.
Matthew PoleyThis Detroit native rose through the ranks at Gino Angelini's prestigious Italian restaurants, Angelini Osteria and La Terza. Poley worked alongside the similarly ambitious chef Ori Menashe at All’ Angelo before helming his first kitchen solo, at Michael's on Naples in Long Beach’s Belmont Shore. Silverlake Wine’s Sunday tastings allowed him to gain traction for Heirloom LA (the catering company he founded in 2009 with Tara Maxey), and in 2010 Microsoft helped them to get rolling with an Heirloom LA food truck. Their Glassell Park kitchen supplies signature lasagna cupcakes to establishments like The Oaks Gourmet, Cookbook, and of course, Silverlake Wine. Poley continues to draw on seasonal produce and pork, but now his repertoire includes Italian, Mexican food and more.
Heirloom LA, www.heirloomla.com
Photo by Tara Maxey
Zach PollackPollack forged an Italian bond with Steve Samson at South Coast Plaza’s Pizzeria Ortica before they teamed with business partner Bill Chait on Sotto in Beverlywood. They’re committed to southern Italian food, nose-to-tail butchery and wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas from a massive yellow-tiled oven. They’ve also earned acclaim for plates of crusty bread slathered with herbaceous lardo, a wide spectrum of house-made pasta, and a super savory calzone that pays tribute to the Caiazzo original, complete with escarole, capers, Gaeta olives and burrata.
Sotto, 9575 W. Pico Blvd., Beverlywood, 310.277.0210
Sassan RostamianRostamian parlayed a job as the opening lunch chef at Rustic Canyon into a family-run restaurant called Sauce on Hampton with brother Saul. Now body builders and beachgoers flock to a Venice side street to eat Sauce’s market-driven Cal-Med cooking. The menu features egg dishes at breakfast, sandwiches and wraps at lunch, plus fajitas and seasonal vegetables like braised kale and roasted spaghetti squash. Sauce also prepares a semi-regular Thursday night tasting menu that draws on market finds.
Sauce on Hampton, 259B Hampton Dr., Venice, 310.399.5400
Kris TominagaThis California native rose to prominence at L’Espalier in Boston’s Back Bay before joining prestigious Joe’s alums like Dan Barber and Walter Manzke in Joe Miller’s seasonal Venice kitchen. Last fall, Tominaga teamed with Brian Dunsmoor on an Abbot Kinney pop-up called Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing that runs through February. Their menu, which promises “rustic country fare,” touts market-driven dishes like quail with cornbread, dandelion greens and smoked maple; or sand dabs with chanterelles, lemon and almond brown butter.
- Joe's, 1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, 310.399.5811
- Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, 1616 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, 424.268.8344
Photo courtesy Petrossian
Giselle Wellman
Wellman picked up where Ben Bailly left off at Petrossian’s retooled caviar-centric WeHo café. The eclectic chef attended culinary school in Mexico City and rose to prominence at Jack’s La Jolla, and later at Jean Georges and Del Posto in Manhattan. Petrossian is her first executive chef post, and she’s created imaginative dishes, many of which involve caviar, including risotto with smoked sturgeon, Fuji apples and pickled chilies; and Egg Royale with caviar, crème fraiche and scrambled egg.
Petrossian, 321 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood, 310.271.6300
Micah Wexler
Wexler, a veteran of some of the world’s most prestigious kitchens, worked for Martin Beresategui in San Sebastian, Spain, Joel Robuchon at Le Atelier in New York City, and Tom Colicchio at Craft in Century City. In spring 2011, Wexler and his Real Restaurant Group partners opened in the former Sona space, focusing on Middle Eastern small plates influenced by the seasons. Wexler regularly shops at farmers markets to bring dishes like braised tripe with falafel and sea urchin cous cous to another level.
Mezze, 401 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, 310.657.4103
Kris YenbamroongIn 2011, Yenbamroong revolutionized his family's longtime Sunset Strip establishment – Talesai – by installing a more artistic, casual take on Thai cuisine in back, named Night + Market. He projects movies onto white walls, plays up-tempo music and features more adventurous cuts of meat, including salmon heads, pig tails and ears. His penchant for street food extends to dessert, with an ice cream sandwich that actually comes on bread.
Night + Market, 9041 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 310.275.9724
Photo by Eddie Lin
