Wine & Spirits - April 2020 - 31

22
Kali
This tranquil Hollywood storefront, with its bare-wood furnishings and squared off, vaguely
Danish Modern decor, is a fine
backdrop to Kevin Meehan's
menu. His dishes are minimal
and composed like California
still lifes-charred avocado with
shaved vegetables and black garlic ash, or sea urchin pasta with
ricotta whey. Meehan's partner,
Drew Langley, put together a
wine list with a similar precision: It's concise, yet manages to
hit every price point, from the
spendy and grand Collection
selection to the "Everyday Bottles" like Fleurie from Dutraive,
Cuilleron roussanne and ArnotRoberts' savory Clary Ranch
syrah. -P.J.C.
5722 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles;
323-871-4160, kalirestaurant.com

KALI BY ROB HOFFMAN; LUCQUES BY SUZANNE LANZA; MAJORDOMO BY MOLLY MATALON

Lucques
Opened in 1998 in West Hollywood, Lucques remains a standout, thanks to Suzanne Goin's
timeless menus, channeling California ingredients through an
array of Mediterranean cuisines,
and to Caroline Styne's impeccable wine list, largely French and
Californian, and now longer and
more comprehensive than ever.
Book a table for Sunday Supper,
a favorite for families and industry alike: It's three courses for
one low price, with affordable
wines to match. -P.J.C.
8474 Melrose Ave., W. Hollywood;
323-655-6277, lucques.com

24
Lukshon
Even in a city rife with Asian
food options, Lukshon stands
out. South Korean-born Sang
Yoon draws liberally from all
corners of that global quadrant
for his dishes, whether Sichuan
dumplings, pho-seasoned bone

marrow, or crispy whole fish
with Indonesian pecel sauce. In
the last year, Sang's penchant
for riesling has reached a fever
pitch, the array of options is
almost as long as his sparkling
wine selection (where he is a connoisseur; his personal collection
exceeds 5,000 bottles). Between
them you have plenty of options
to throw against the pungent,
fiery flavors. -P.J.C.
3239 Helms Ave., Culver City;
310-202-6808, lukshon.com

ard Hargreaves, Ken Howell
now runs the wine program,
which is wildly deep in curious
places, like Cornas and the Jura,
or California trousseau. Go with
a group and order a magnum-
they offer two dozen. -P.J.C.
1725 Naud St., Los Angeles;
323-545-4880, majordomo.la

27
Margot

Margot is a rooftop gem in an
outdoor mall space called Platform in Culver City. It has a
clean-lined menu (Mike Williams is the chef ) and a sunny
rooftop patio, where the sounds
of merriment lure even the
strong-willed three stories
below. Just as alluring is Daniel
Veit's wine list, with its incisive
selections of classic French, Italian and Spanish gems. The list
itself is also a splendid document, with lucid maps, regional
snapshots and descriptions
of each wine and why it was
selected. -P.J.C.
8820 Washington Blvd., Culver
City; 310-643-5853, margot.la

25
M. Georgina
M. Georgina marks chef Melissa
Perello's first foray into the Los
Angeles dining scene. Opened
late last year, it's an analog of
her San Francisco restaurants
Frances and Octavia, with a focus
on local ingredients, like celery
root that she turns into soup
with feta whey, or erbette chard
made into an incredible saag.
The opening wine list was shaped
by Perello's Bay Area-based wine
director Alan Murray, but at this
point Alex Davis has the reins.
He's arranged the list in a helpful weight-and-body continuum,
and includes local bottlings like
Ojai's Sta. Rita Hills Fe Ciega
Pinot and Jelly Roll's Los Alamos
Syrah from Rim Rock. -P.J.C.
777 S. Alameda St.; 213-334-4113,
mgeorgina.com

28
Marino

26
Majordomo
David Chang's Los Angeles
satellite is an oasis among the
lonely warehouses north of Chinatown, a paneled compound
suffused with the smell of wood
smoke. The menu, executed
by Jude Parra-Sickels, includes
many of Chang's classics, like bo
ssäm and crispy pork belly with
"domojang," a house variation
on a Korean fermented black
bean sauce, with many SoCal
additions, like fried skate on
silky fried rice. After a year as
assistant to wine director Rich-

Sal Marino joined his brother
Mario in 2015 to run Marino,
the Hollywood institution their
father founded more than 50
years earlier. Sal's taken over
the kitchen; while the menu
leads with classics, it emphasizes
his penchant for seafood, like
snapper crudo, and anything
tomato-in the summer months
he stocks the walk-in with his
own home-grown supply. He's
also in charge of the wine list,
deep in well-priced verticals of
Brunello, Barolo and Barbaresco,
but hardly limited to these-
his Champagne and Burgundy
reserves are more exhaustive
than most French restaurants.
-P.J.C.
6001 W. Melrose Ave., Los Angeles;
323-466-8812,
marinorestaurant.com

WINE & SPIRITS

APRIL 2020

http://www.majordomo.la http://www.lukshon.com http://www.kalirestaurant.com http://www.margot.la http://www.mgeorgina.com http://www.lucques.com http://www.marinorestaurant.com

Wine & Spirits - April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - April 2020