Plus flavors of the South in NorCal and a chic Japanese hangout in Hollywood
Words by ANDREW BARKER, DAVID NASH, and S. IRENE VIRBILA
Sizzle and Spice
Los Angeles chef Wes Avila gave up fine dining more than a decade ago to open a taco cart (later a truck) called Guerrilla Tacos. People lined up. Next came the late, great Angry Egret Dinette in Chinatown serving Mexican and American breakfast all day long. Now, after a trip to Mexico’s Monterrey sparked the chef’s interest in the region’s grilled meats, he’s opened the glam Mexican steakhouse MXO, which stands for Mexican Origins, in WeHo. Instead of the usual steakhouse apps, you can start with whole grilled prawns, lobster ceviche, a cabbage Caesar, or maybe even a Oaxacan-style tlayuda. Then get down with a dry-aged porterhouse or bone-in rib eye cooked over a wood fire on a Santa Maria–style grill. Even better, get together 8 to 12 friends, order ahead, and feast on the giant birria beef Martello (hammer), a whole braised Wagyu beef shank served with roasted bone marrow and consommé. Eat indoors or outside around one of the patio’s firepits. Restaurateur Giancarlo Pagani and Sam Nazarian’s ubiquitous hospitality group SBE are fronting this ambitious venture in partnership with music legend Marc Anthony’s company Magnus. Pretty swell. 826 N. La Cienega Blvd., L.A., 323-805-0696; mxola@sbe.com. S.I.V.
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Raising the Bar
Jos Gozain, the third-generation Mexico City restaurateur behind the Silver Lake sushi bar Santō, just opened a natural wine bar next door. His partner is his neighbor, Olivia Lopez, who’d been scheming to open a European-style wine bar in the neighborhood — intimate café by day, wine bar by night. And that’s just what 25-seat BARR SECO is. Chef David Potes’ Mexican-Japanese freestyle menu flirts with accents from Spain, Portugal, and South America. Stop in for his tostadas made with huitlocoche (corn smut) from Oaxaca, for the jamón and Manchego bocadillo, or a plate of spicy vodka strozzapreti with a wine list written by ex-Kismet sommelier Kai Whalen. The daytime café proposes a small menu of pastries from Out of Thin Air bakery, endive Caesar, and a trio of bocadillos. But come 5 p.m., the bar makes its entrance. “I am the customer for Barr Seco,” says Lopez. “I wanted to create a place I’d really like to go to.” 3820 W. Sunset Blvd., L.A.; barrseco.com. S.I.V.
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Hard to Beat
Although a visit to one of Northern California’s RH GALLERIES might whet your appetite for design, a stop at one of its restaurants will quell any hunger pangs. First introduced at the recently opened Palo Alto outpost, the lifestyle brand has now unveiled its new menus at restaurants in San Francisco, Marin, and Yountville. Start your day with “impossibly thin” Swedish pancakes topped with Vermont maple syrup. The Chinese chicken salad will become a lunchtime favorite. For dinner, don’t miss mini lobster rolls with caviar. 180 El Camino Real, Palo Alto; 590 20th St., S.F.; 1750 Redwood Hwy., Corte Madera; 6725 Washington St., Yountville; rh.com. D.N.
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Southern Flavor
Chef Celtin Hendrickson-Jones was influenced by his family’s Southern heritage when developing his menu for PRELUDE, the latest contemporary dining spot from The Omakase Restaurant Group. Located in the Embarcadero — and set within the neighborhood’s newest luxury hotel property, The Jay — the restaurant will showcase the flavors of the American South with many of the recipes coming from Hendrickson-Jones’ Alabama-born grandmother and great-grandmother. The Morimoto and Commis alum adds his signature California flair to comfort foods like creamed corn, biscuits, and fried green tomatoes, and presents plates that might include a cornbread financier with in-house cultured Hokkaido uni butter, Tierra Farms hominy grits with a “smattering” of garnishes, deviled eggs with crispy chicken skin, or a grilled trout with smoked Brentwood creamed corn, pole beans, and trout roe. The space itself, designed by AvroKO to feel as sophisticated as it is welcoming, includes a main dining room, a stylish salon with bar seating, and two more private spaces. 433 Clay St., S.F.; preludesf.com. D.N.
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Turning Japanese
At Sunset Sound studios — where legends like Prince, Elton John, and the Beach Boys once recorded — ROKUSHO brings casual Japanese dining to Sunset Boulevard within the chic-est of settings. The interior is sleek and Brutalist, heavy on concrete with hand-painted metal doors, and hanging from the ceiling are plants suspended as living sculptures. In the kitchen, chef Carlos Couts has created a menu ideal for sharing, from the flame-seared wagyu topped with edible flowers to the crispy rice–based sushi cake with tuna and scallops. At the bar, Felix Campos, formerly of C Magazine favorite Damian, has tequilas aplenty alongside house-made yuzu sodas. Don’t leave without sampling the Midorita, made with Mal Bien Espadin tequila, Midori, lime, and a Tajin and salt rim that tastes as good as it photographs. 6630 Sunset Blvd., L.A., 323-493-3461; rokushola.com. A.B.
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Beach, Please
On the bustling corner of Abbot Kinney and Venice Boulevard, PALOMA has moved into the site known for years as Zinqué wine bar, followed by a brief stint as Argentine restaurant Varro. Incorporating much of the front parking lot, its new incarnation is a lush alfresco dining space that transports you to the upscale beach shacks of Tulum. Paloma is co-owned by Venice resident Reza Roohi, and the Mediterranean-inspired menu comes from chef Raul Cerritos, formerly of Madeo, who helms the open kitchen. His dishes span Italian and French favorites including shareable pastas like linguini vongole and hearty mains like filet au poivre. Come for a shakshuka brunch or burger lunch and stay for the wine and soju cocktails. 600 Venice Blvd., Venice, 310-405-6385; palomavenicebeach.com. A.B.
Portions of this story originally appeared in the Fashionable Living 2024 issue of C Magazine.
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