Plant It and They Will Come

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By Carole Dixon
For dineLA.com

The latest agenda for some of LA’s top chefs is urban gardening - in many cases on the roof top or tucked away behind their restaurants. With the food industry embracing local, sustainable and organic, it doesn’t hit much closer to home than this.

BLVD 16

At the modern Hotel Palomar in the middle of the hectic Wilshire corridor in Westwood, BLVD 16 executive chef Simon Dolinky’s rooftop organic herb garden is composed of two 4x4-foot containers connected to an advanced hydroponics system, which feeds the herbs with a special mix of certified organic liquid nutrients. Up on the roof opal basil, thyme, rosemary, chives, mint, and micro greens are growing for use in his seasonal contemporary American menus and specialty dishes such as ‘roof top herb fries’ with thyme and rosemary. The herbs are also incorporated into vodka infusions and signature cocktails—like ‘The Sunset Cruzan’ concocted with pineapple rum and fresh mint. Dolinky explains, “The main benefit of having a hydroponic garden is that we have more control over everything being organic, and don’t have to worry about seasonal or weather related setbacks.” Recent additions to the garden include strawberries, green beans, dwarf curry, Fresno chilies, celebrity tomatoes, and tomatillos which will be incorporated into the summer and fall menus.

Oliverio at the Avalon Beverly Hills

Oliverio at the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills may be well known for the mid-century modern poolside restaurant, but they also planted a new rooftop garden early this year with a self watering pot system by Earthbox which uses about 80% less water when tending to their arugula, heirloom tomato varieties, Italian gourmet peppers, edible flowers and Ozark strawberries - among others. Chef Scott Garrett will feature his ‘Chef’s Cabana’ creations using produce from the roof garden such as sugar snaps and pea tendrils in the lobster with white lentils or tatsoi with venison carpaccio. “It’s all trial, error and experimenting,” says Chef Garrett when deciding what to grow for the menus. The evenings start with cocktails and hors d'œuvres followed by an interactive family-style dinner with four courses of local, sustainable and farm fresh cuisine all under the stars in one of their poolside cabanas. Later this year, the management will be offering an ‘edible gardening in small spaces’ class open to professionals, the public and low-income families who are invited to sign up for free.

La Grande Orange

La Grande Orange in Santa Monica has big herb pots greeting guests at the entrance as they walk in off pedestrian friendly Main Street. According to owner and Executive Chef Bob Lynn, “Everyday we feature farmer’s market vegetables and use herbs from the garden for these daily specials. The herbs are cared for by one of our market servers who is an avid gardener.” The goal is to integrate the herbs into the daily evolving “Farmer’s Market Bites.” Some of the fresh bounty in Chef Lynn‘s menu includes broccolini, red peppers, roasted fennel, asparagus with truffle aioli, and endive with dates, walnuts and blue cheese.

Ortolan

Ortolan in the West Third Street area of LA was one of the first eateries in town to showcase delicately grown herbs displayed in wooden boxes in the back lounge that fit in so seamlessly with the cozy urban design you almost wouldn’t notice the fresh mint, sage, rosemary, thyme, basil and parsley peeking out from the shelves. Owner and Executive Chef Christophe Émé was thinking purely of enlightening the customers’ senses when he came up with the idea, “I focused on the perfume and smell, visual on the plate and the taste.” Émé’s vision works best in the tomato parfait with tarragon and rosemary; herb caviar with coriander, basil and thyme; minestrone with langoustine and pesto; lamb with rosemary or his sorbet with basil, mint and thyme. “The herbs are used in all the courses – and the sorbet makes a nice transition and is a fresh way to cleanse the palate after each one,” says Émé.

Hotel Bel-Air

Working with a much larger bucolic space, the Hotel Bel-Air houses a 8,600 square foot herb garden tucked away in a courtyard consisting of garlic, basil, rosemary, lavender, thyme, cilantro, chives, parsley, oregano, mint, lemon and bay trees all used in the hotel kitchen. Each winter for the last 20 years, the team has met to plan and anticipate what The Restaurant’s needs might entail for the following spring and summer. Currently, Chef Douglas Dodd uses thyme in the classic line caught Dover Sole Meunière and basil in many of the salads such as the tomato tartare.

Tender Greens

Tender Greens in Culver City currently grows on their patio lavender for the pastry selection; rosemary for tomato soup, chicken and steak marinade; basil for pesto and chocolate mint for lemonade. They even bring in lady bugs for pest control courtesy of Scarborough Farms. Their first, ambitious, herb garden didn’t go exactly according to plan. Chef Erik Oberholtzer explains, “We quickly grew out of our space. We also found that each herb requires different levels of attention, sun and water. So the first attempt, the herbs died, and now we have smaller potted herbs that require less maintenance.”

Four Seasons Westlake Village

For an educational and well-being field trip experience, the Four Seasons Westlake Village showcases a wellness kitchen garden located just adjacent to the dining patio. Classes are held with a registered dietitian and participants are often invited to step outside with the chef to select fresh herbs and vegetables to be incorporated into recipes for that day's class. In addition, chefs from the hotel's fine dining restaurant, Hampton's, are often found clipping selections for that evening's menu. Currently, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, Swiss chard and bell peppers are growing, while heirloom tomatoes, grape tomatoes and zucchini are planted seasonally. Freshly grown herbs include tarragon, Italian parsley, oregano, cilantro, and lemon thyme. The garden was thriving, so they recently added peas, lemon and orange trees. This summer the property is offering classes for kids (ages 10 to 16) to help educate them about healthy eating and cooking habits they will hopefully carry with them throughout their lifetime. The California Health & Longevity Institute’s ‘Summer Kids Culinary Adventure’ classes range from Italian to Asian fusion and ‘Eating Green’ featuring organic, sustainable and farm to table concepts.

Oliverio, Avalon Hotel, 9400 W Olympic Blvd, Beverly Hills, 310.277.5221
BLVD 16, Hotel Palomar, 10740 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, 310.475.8711
Hampton’s, Four Season’s Westlake Village, Two Dole Drive, Westlake Village 818.575.3000
Le Grande Orange, 2000 Main Street, Santa Monica, 310.396.9145
Ortolan, 8338 West 3rd Street, West Hollywood, 310.653.3300
Tender Greens, 9523 Culver Blvd., Culver City, 310.842.8300
The Restaurant, Hotel Bel Air, 701 Stone Canyon Road, Los Angeles, 310.472.1211