New chefs turn Botanica into a dinnertime destination like never before
The plate delivered to our table during Botanica’s dinner service came layered with ingredients appearing almost disconcertingly pale, like a nearly white canvas hanging on a gallery wall that the brain snap-reacts to declare, “This isn’t much of anything.” Then I delved into the layers and understood, in its many textures and tastes, that this was plenty of something.
What was visible: translucent rings of shaved onions and equally sheer ribbons of brined white beets, recognizable only by the vegetable’s telltale pattern of concentric circles. Juicy slips of melon and soft squares of mild feta hid underneath, marinating in a shallow pool of olive oil. The fruit’s summery sweetness magnified the other gently sharper flavors. A few fresh thyme leaves dotted the cheese; their earthy-minty qualities blared disproportionately and thrillingly.
Everything about the dish was refreshing — in a cooling sense but also in how the composition brought compatible elements together with new spark. The current nighttime menu at Botanica, overseen by chefs Alex Barkley and Joanne Bae, is full of these kinds of subtle flashpoints.
New chefs, sharper cooking
Owners Emily Fiffer and Heather Sperling, both food writers formerly based in New York, opened the all-day restaurant and market in 2017 along a stretch of Silver Lake Boulevard where parking is particularly hellish. Honestly, I’ve enjoyed things like eggs with urfa chile and garlicky yogurt to start a weekend day, and respected the broad appeal to the neighborhood, but generally felt ambivalent about the place. “Botanica is a restaurant, but it is also a lifestyle,” Besha Rodell wrote in one of her last reviews for L.A. Weekly, explaining that she was referring to the life of the natural wine-sipping leisure class. I felt like the vaguely Mediterranean, Kismet-lite style of cooking needed more oomph to rise above that notion.
I hadn’t been for dinner since before the pandemic. Some recent meals at Rustic Canyon prompted me to return. I’d fallen for the incredible dal and the overall personal perspective that Zarah Khan had brought over the last year to that Santa Monica institution. (She’s leaving the restaurant at the beginning of September: I’d encourage you to make a reservation for the next two weeks.) Khan’s previous gig? Botanica. Barkley had worked at Birdie G’s — co-owned, like Rustic Canyon, by vegetable mystic Jeremy Fox — and I remembered Bae from ephemeral, impactful Phenakite. They had replaced Khan last October, and now I was curious about what sorts of energized creativity they might be bringing.
Heaps, it turns out.
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Barkley and Bae have the acid-plus-crunch formula particularly mastered. They garnish hummus with small, yielding pickled beans and pine nuts, and they freckle gorgeous neon carrot dip with a gritty mulch of salsa macha, crushed walnuts and dried lime. I ask for sides of both laffa and crudités as vehicles for swiping, but if forced to choose I’d pick the vegetables over the bread for their satisfying crispness.
A variation of vitello tonnato that substitutes tomatoes for the veal is nearly as wonderful as the beets and melon salad. The tuna sauce provides a creamy, restrained contrast to an overlay of paper-thin tomato slices and halved Sungolds scattered with shallots and citrusy edible flowers. It is photogenic to the point of Instagram bait, though the sneaky mix of depth and brightness in the flavors match the visual beauty.
Baked half-chicken over laffa transfigures the legendary Zuni Cafe recipe. The bread underneath absorbs the bird’s rendered fat and puffs into a dense, crusty-edge pudding. It’s the most compelling part of the dish, and again Sungolds appear for sunny pop. Zucchini gratin is listed among starter small plates but makes an even more persuasive side to entrees; fregola adds textural intrigue and Parmesan brings the richness. A walloping hit of lemon surprises at first, and then its piercing tartness keeps luring me back for seconds and thirds.
Fish roasted in fig leaves was fragrant but a little dry — it turned my thoughts toward a superior version at Yess — and tagliatelle tangled with clams and corn cut from the cob was pleasant but not as strikingly taut as everything else on the table. These minor complaints should not deter you from experiencing Barkley and Bae’s leveled-up dinner menu. It’s another reminder that restaurants are living organisms; a shift in leadership can bring unexpected innovation and excellence.
The wine program still leans natural. Fortunately, there’s been so much local evolution over the last few years in discerning between natural wines that deliver something akin to kombucha, and a focus to identify wineries that uphold various sustainable practices while producing sound, nuanced vintages. Pierluc Dallaire, a pro whose verve I admired at now-closed Bar Restaurant, ably curates Botanica’s wine selection, which also lines the shelves of the front market.
In the daytime, the menu interweaves the familiar yogurt-splotched egg dishes, toasts and fruit-laced sweets with a sampling of Barkley and Bae’s innovations. To plug into the vitality that makes Botanica a dining destination anew, plan an evening visit.
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Food Bowl is heating up
Tickets are already sold out for two cornerstone L.A. Times Food Bowl events celebrating Restaurant of the Year Holbox and 2023’s Gold Award winner Jenee Kim of Park’s BBQ. Many more events in the monthlong festival sponsored by City National Bank remain available, among them a launch party on Sept. 6 featuring Singapore’s Michelin-starred chef Malcolm Lee, three special dinners curated in partnership with Outstanding in the Field and our weekend-long Night Market Sept. 22-24 with chefs from all over Los Angeles and beyond.
The lineup from local standouts includes Bridgetown Roti, Broad Street Oyster Co., Ditroit Taqueria, Heritage Barbecue, Moo’s Craft Barbecue and Pasjoli. Also on hand will be Kim Prince of Hotville Chicken and the Dulanville food truck she runs with Greg Dulan of Dulan’s on Crenshaw. She came into the Times Test Kitchen recently to show us one of the dishes she’s going to make at the Night Market: Nashville hot shrimp. Check out the video, one of several in our chef series “The Kitchen” in which Prince almost reveals the secret seasonings that distinguish the Prince family’s hot chicken methods from all others.
Also ...
- It’s our summer of ice cream! Stephanie Breijo, Danielle Dorsey, Betty Hallock and Jenn Harris reveal their happy places for sundaes, shaved ice, sorbet and more. Plus, Stephanie profiles SueEllen Mancini and the mental health journey that led to the joy of her Sad Girl Creamery, and Lucas Kwan Peterson tries every paleta flavor at Mateo’s Ice Cream.
- Looking to support victims of the devastating Maui fires? These L.A. restaurants are rallying behind various relief funds.
- Visiting the restaurant Back Home in Lahaina in Carson, Lucas finds a center of community and the meaning behind the Hawaiian concept of ohana.
- Heather Platt reports on Shelley Bruce and her Heart Department, a thriving BIPOC haven and social justice center that is facing a crisis to maintain its location.
- Kelly Dobkin has a guide to Los Angeles restaurants that, in the form of transplanted locations or nostalgic inspiration, channel the culinary vibes of New York.
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