Tweet
Good things come on small plates at Mezze
Chef Micah Wexler is opening up the concept of Mediterranean cuisine
with a smart and sophisticated menu at the former Sona's space on La
Cienega.
At Mezze, the sardine plate is served with salad cuite in a tomato
vinaigrette. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
By S. Irene Virbila, Los Angeles Times Restaurant Critic
July 21, 2011
Come summer, mezze, those small dishes drawn from a vast Middle
Eastern tradition, are just about the perfect food. The flavors are
vivid. Many of them are served at room temperature. No rush. I love
this way of eating, a bite here, a bite there, as the conversation
ebbs and flows. Plenty of time to savor each bite and pick up the
thread of talk, watch the light fade, feel the night. That's the
strength of Mezze, the new Middle Eastern restaurant in the former
Sona space on La Cienega Boulevard, just north of the Beverly Center.
A crisp, oval flatbread spread with sautéed beet greens, their fuchsia
pickled stems and soujouk, the spicy Armenian beef sausage, disappears
in a flash, the flavors vibrant against one another. Baked in a
wood-burning oven, the crust is flaky and crunchy, something like a
pizza but different and equally beguiling. The half-dozen choices
include a sumptuous version topped with labneh (thick yogurt), lightly
smoked sturgeon and pickled shallots. The sturgeon is satiny and
moist. I like the one with merguez sausage too, with Fontina on a
tomato jam accented with Aleppo pepper.
Charcuterie comes into play too. Chopped chicken liver has a
wonderfully rustic texture and taste. The liver is fresh and
well-seasoned, bright with pepper and just the right amount of salt.
This may be the best chopped liver ever. And there's a thick slice of
pté to eat with freshly baked pita.
There are more than a dozen mezze choices, with new ones cycled onto
the menu frequently. Please, please order the spring tabbouleh, alive
with masses of chopped parsley, green garlic and fava beans, more
greens than bulgur, which is the way it should be. Pasta lovers should
indulge in the veal manti, a close relative of ravioli that comes
accented with black lime, which gives a slightly smoky, citrusy
quality to the dish.
You'd never recognize the place as Sona. Designer Waldo Fernandez has
opened up the room, enlarging the skylight, breaking through to the
kitchen and adding an outdoor terrace in front, screened from the
street by rosemary hedges. Gone is Sona's cloistered quality and hush,
replaced by a lively Middle Eastern bistro. The wall treatment looks a
bit dated and the chairs aren't that comfortable, but the food more
than makes up for any shortcomings.
The menu from Cornell University graduate Micah Wexler is
sophisticated and smart. Wexler started at Vincenti when Gino Angelini
was the chef there. He's cooked at Craft in Los Angeles and L'Atelier
de Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas, and also worked at Mélisse and Patina.
After Italian, French and American, what's left? A lot. The world of
food is large and varied. Here's a young chef, though, who's been
around and looks at Middle Eastern cuisine with a fresh eye, bringing
in dishes not only from Lebanon but also Syria, Morocco and Turkey.
The result is pretty interesting.
Wexler is not a strict traditionalist, which gives him an advantage
over myriad Lebanese and Armenian restaurants in town, which all seem
to serve pretty much the same menu. He riffs on the classics and casts
a wide net. Vegetable lovers will find dishes like baby gem lettuce
bread salad, or fatoush with crispy pita, that aforementioned spring
tabbouleh and a bowl of heirloom bean fool with preserved lemon.
And when the kitchen can use the same quality ingredients as other top
kitchens in town, that's already an advantage. Wexler relies on
Southern California's small growers for vegetables and greens. The
favas are fresh, the lettuces perky. A woodburning oven adds a note of
rusticity to the flatbreads and roasted meats. His food isn't highly
manipulated, but it's alive with flavor.
A new addition to the mezze, Israeli couscous served like risotto with
sea urchin on top, turns out to be one of the best dishes here. But
he's also got some ideas for nose-to-tail eating, including a
slow-simmered tripe dish loaded with sweet spices and crowned with
falafel. Shawarma comes with house-made pickles nestled in the hollow
of a hand-sized pita, a fine alternative to a burger. But I've fallen
in love with shakshouka, eggs poached in a rip-roaring pepper stew.
You could make an entire meal of mezze, or at a certain point order a
couple of large plates to share. There are only a handful, and I've
got two favorites - the baby chicken and the lamb shoulder. The former
is simply cooked in the wood-burning oven and seasoned with za'tar,
the subtly alluring spice mix that includes oregano and tart dried
sumac. The bird has that wonderful smoky edge and the za'tar gives it
some glamour. Slowly braised lamb shoulder is suffused with an
Egyptian spice mixture called dukkah, which includes cumin, coriander
and sesame seeds, ground nuts and much more. The lamb is tender as can
be, delicious scooped up in some of the freshly baked pita.
Mezze's wine list exhibits some wanderlust, with selections not only
from California, France and Italy but also from Lebanon, Israel and
Morocco. This is the chance to try a Golan Heights Chardonnay or a
Moroccan rosé. Chateau Musar from Lebanon is getting up there in terms
of price at $110. A good alternative might be Chateau Kefraya, also
from Lebanon, at $60, or a Moroccan blend of Cabernet, Carignan,
Merlot and Syrah for $36. Buy one bottle and they'll waive the corkage
fee should you have something even more exotic in your cellar.
Desserts are light and lovely, notably a small dome of cheesecake made
with labneh instead of cream cheese, to eat with various citrus
fruits. For something more rich, try the date and amaretti parfait
layered with mascarpone. And, of course, you'll have a coffee or mint
tea after.
At Mezze, Wexler is turning out polished, intelligent Middle Eastern
cooking. Low-key but serious, this newcomer neatly sidesteps any scene
in favor of lusty cooking and authentic hospitality.
[email protected]
Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-0721-review-20110721,0,4134383.story
Chef Micah Wexler is opening up the concept of Mediterranean cuisine
with a smart and sophisticated menu at the former Sona's space on La
Cienega.
At Mezze, the sardine plate is served with salad cuite in a tomato
vinaigrette. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
By S. Irene Virbila, Los Angeles Times Restaurant Critic
July 21, 2011
Come summer, mezze, those small dishes drawn from a vast Middle
Eastern tradition, are just about the perfect food. The flavors are
vivid. Many of them are served at room temperature. No rush. I love
this way of eating, a bite here, a bite there, as the conversation
ebbs and flows. Plenty of time to savor each bite and pick up the
thread of talk, watch the light fade, feel the night. That's the
strength of Mezze, the new Middle Eastern restaurant in the former
Sona space on La Cienega Boulevard, just north of the Beverly Center.
A crisp, oval flatbread spread with sautéed beet greens, their fuchsia
pickled stems and soujouk, the spicy Armenian beef sausage, disappears
in a flash, the flavors vibrant against one another. Baked in a
wood-burning oven, the crust is flaky and crunchy, something like a
pizza but different and equally beguiling. The half-dozen choices
include a sumptuous version topped with labneh (thick yogurt), lightly
smoked sturgeon and pickled shallots. The sturgeon is satiny and
moist. I like the one with merguez sausage too, with Fontina on a
tomato jam accented with Aleppo pepper.
Charcuterie comes into play too. Chopped chicken liver has a
wonderfully rustic texture and taste. The liver is fresh and
well-seasoned, bright with pepper and just the right amount of salt.
This may be the best chopped liver ever. And there's a thick slice of
pté to eat with freshly baked pita.
There are more than a dozen mezze choices, with new ones cycled onto
the menu frequently. Please, please order the spring tabbouleh, alive
with masses of chopped parsley, green garlic and fava beans, more
greens than bulgur, which is the way it should be. Pasta lovers should
indulge in the veal manti, a close relative of ravioli that comes
accented with black lime, which gives a slightly smoky, citrusy
quality to the dish.
You'd never recognize the place as Sona. Designer Waldo Fernandez has
opened up the room, enlarging the skylight, breaking through to the
kitchen and adding an outdoor terrace in front, screened from the
street by rosemary hedges. Gone is Sona's cloistered quality and hush,
replaced by a lively Middle Eastern bistro. The wall treatment looks a
bit dated and the chairs aren't that comfortable, but the food more
than makes up for any shortcomings.
The menu from Cornell University graduate Micah Wexler is
sophisticated and smart. Wexler started at Vincenti when Gino Angelini
was the chef there. He's cooked at Craft in Los Angeles and L'Atelier
de Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas, and also worked at Mélisse and Patina.
After Italian, French and American, what's left? A lot. The world of
food is large and varied. Here's a young chef, though, who's been
around and looks at Middle Eastern cuisine with a fresh eye, bringing
in dishes not only from Lebanon but also Syria, Morocco and Turkey.
The result is pretty interesting.
Wexler is not a strict traditionalist, which gives him an advantage
over myriad Lebanese and Armenian restaurants in town, which all seem
to serve pretty much the same menu. He riffs on the classics and casts
a wide net. Vegetable lovers will find dishes like baby gem lettuce
bread salad, or fatoush with crispy pita, that aforementioned spring
tabbouleh and a bowl of heirloom bean fool with preserved lemon.
And when the kitchen can use the same quality ingredients as other top
kitchens in town, that's already an advantage. Wexler relies on
Southern California's small growers for vegetables and greens. The
favas are fresh, the lettuces perky. A woodburning oven adds a note of
rusticity to the flatbreads and roasted meats. His food isn't highly
manipulated, but it's alive with flavor.
A new addition to the mezze, Israeli couscous served like risotto with
sea urchin on top, turns out to be one of the best dishes here. But
he's also got some ideas for nose-to-tail eating, including a
slow-simmered tripe dish loaded with sweet spices and crowned with
falafel. Shawarma comes with house-made pickles nestled in the hollow
of a hand-sized pita, a fine alternative to a burger. But I've fallen
in love with shakshouka, eggs poached in a rip-roaring pepper stew.
You could make an entire meal of mezze, or at a certain point order a
couple of large plates to share. There are only a handful, and I've
got two favorites - the baby chicken and the lamb shoulder. The former
is simply cooked in the wood-burning oven and seasoned with za'tar,
the subtly alluring spice mix that includes oregano and tart dried
sumac. The bird has that wonderful smoky edge and the za'tar gives it
some glamour. Slowly braised lamb shoulder is suffused with an
Egyptian spice mixture called dukkah, which includes cumin, coriander
and sesame seeds, ground nuts and much more. The lamb is tender as can
be, delicious scooped up in some of the freshly baked pita.
Mezze's wine list exhibits some wanderlust, with selections not only
from California, France and Italy but also from Lebanon, Israel and
Morocco. This is the chance to try a Golan Heights Chardonnay or a
Moroccan rosé. Chateau Musar from Lebanon is getting up there in terms
of price at $110. A good alternative might be Chateau Kefraya, also
from Lebanon, at $60, or a Moroccan blend of Cabernet, Carignan,
Merlot and Syrah for $36. Buy one bottle and they'll waive the corkage
fee should you have something even more exotic in your cellar.
Desserts are light and lovely, notably a small dome of cheesecake made
with labneh instead of cream cheese, to eat with various citrus
fruits. For something more rich, try the date and amaretti parfait
layered with mascarpone. And, of course, you'll have a coffee or mint
tea after.
At Mezze, Wexler is turning out polished, intelligent Middle Eastern
cooking. Low-key but serious, this newcomer neatly sidesteps any scene
in favor of lusty cooking and authentic hospitality.
[email protected]
Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-0721-review-20110721,0,4134383.story