Wine & Spirits - Spring 2022 - 22

MICHAEL'S
If there is such a thing as
" old-school California
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cuisine, " then Michael's is it, still
situated on the fringe of Santa
Monica's downtown district, still
defined by its leafy, tranquil dining
patio. Job Carder now runs
Michael McCarty's kitchen-his
menu is an updated, thoroughly
satisfying splash into the California
pastiche of flavors, tastes
and textures, with an emphasis
on freshness: Every local
farm-Liberty, Weiser, Beylik
and Thorne-is on a first-name
basis. Forty years ago, Michael's
was also one of the first restaurants
where fledgling California
winemakers including Ric
Forman and Sean Thackrey got
their placements, as well as Brice
Cutrer Jones's little chardonnay
project-so it's remarkable to
see where Evelyn Goreshnik has
taken the program, augmenting
the restaurant's historic
strengths (Robert Sinskey's 2013
Stags Leap Cabernet SLD) with
more modern offerings (A.D.
Beckham's Applegate Syrah/
Viognier, from amphora). -P.J.C.
1147 Third St., Santa
Monica; (310) 451-0843,
michaelssantamonica.com
MOZZAPLEX
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The kitchens of the Mozzaplex,
Nancy Silverton's
vaunted trio of restaurants on
Melrose and Highland-the
Osteria, the Pizzeria and Chi
Spacca-are now supported
by a trio of wine lists managed
by Nathaniel Muñoz. Taken
together, this program is as
unwaveringly Italian as any in
California, with each of that
country's 20 wine regions amply
represented. While the single
page of offerings for the pizzeria
is admirably constrained,
the 113-page list for the Osteria
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WINE & SPIR IT S
" seeks to honor Italy through a
classic palate, " Muñoz says. That
includes everything from Vino
Arancione and Varietà Indigene
Interessanti e Tagli (your
odd vitovska and albanella)
to selections from Barbaresco
and Barolo that are staggering
in their depth. -P.J.C.
6602 Melrose Ave.,
Los Angeles; (323) 297-0100,
la.osteriamozza.com
OTIUM
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Steps from Walt Disney
Concert Hall and in the
shadow of the Broad Museum,
Otium, designed to serve both,
merges indoor and outdoor
dining spaces around an open
kitchen. High ceilings and huge
windows give the space an airy
feel, while every table has a view
of the beckoning two-story,
glass-walled wine storage tower
at its center. Chef Timothy Hollingsworth's
menu is anchored
by his wood-fired ovens and
grills-think ash-baked beets
and oven eggplant, or braised
lamb neck dressed with trahana
and dill. Many of the dishes
employ vegetables and herbs
from the restaurant's mezzanine
garden. Andrew Pettingell's
wine list is vast and global, but
he doesn't forget his neighbors:
Currently, he's pouring La
Malinche, Adam Sabelli-Frisch's
old-vine Mokelumne River Mission
bottling, made in a garage
just a few miles away. -A.B.
222 South Hope Street, Los Angeles;
(213) 935-8500, otiumla.com
RÉPUBLIQUE
République-Walter and
Margarita Manzke's massive,
churning, multi-limbed
mid-Wilshire leviathan, a place
that routinely served 450 covers
a night at peak times-has
experienced a tumultuous COVID
year-and-a-half. It shuttered,
then it established one of LA's
first high-end takeout businesses;
then dining returned, to
its parking lot; then it closed;
then it reopened inside, but only
to a portion of its many warrens
and rooms. Fits and starts.
Wine director Sam Rethmeier
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http://la.osteriamozza.com http://www.otiumla.com http://www.michaelssantamonica.com
Wine & Spirits - Spring 2022

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