Maré on Melrose: Your New Favorite Secret Summer Patio

This month's Larchmont Ledger review was Maré on Melrose. Go to the neighborhood paper's website to see how many forks it got.

To find the sweet little hidden restaurant Maré, start at Greenspan's Grilled Cheese shop on Melrose. Now walk confidently through to the kitchen at the rear. It may look like a dead-end, but the kitchen staff will point you to a heavy door that looks like it might lead to a walk-in cooler. Don't worry, you're not about to be deep-frozen: the door leads to the former Foundry chef's pleasant new all-patio restaurant that features a tightly-edited menu that concentrates on Mediterranean-style seafood and lots of seasonal vegetables.

A pleasant patio restaurant with no indoor seats

With polished service and fresh, assured flavors, Maré will hopefully stick around long enough to get some use out of the many available heat lamps. You emerge from of the grilled cheese shop's kitchen into a patio with a hostess station and waiting area. Reservations are available for parties of six and more only, so kill some time on the foosball table if there’s a wait.

While you’re considering the menu, an array of snacks is placed on the brown paper table covering: a dish of preserved kumquats and tiny olives, seeded baguettes, pickled sweet peppers. There are certainly worse ways to while away an evening than sipping rosé and dipping bread into the little wood dishes of dipping oil and pickles.

this pleasant spread greats diners on arrival

If you haven’t stopped by the Melrose Umbrella Company next door first, there are muddled fruit cocktails, like tequila with kumquat or whiskey with fig and oregano. For now the wine list keeps it super-simple with one house choice of each color, though it may eventually grow.

There’s something relaxing about the lack of choices at Mare. Order a selection of a pretty tray of crudités with two dips and an array of lightly steamed and raw veggies, a very Italian Riviera plate of small fried smelts, maybe a whole grilled branzino or a special like supple slices of raw scallops topped with plums, salsa verde and crunchy sea beans.

Almost every table gets one of the shellfish dishes: Mussels, shrimp or clams are available with a handful of broth variations from white wine to curry to corn. A bowl of plain spaghetti arrives alongside the mussels, along with a raw egg, and the diner is instructed to mix the egg, pasta and leftover broth to form a sort of a French ramen, a nice touch that makes for a heartier dish.

For dessert, choose between a few simple selections like sorbet, semolina cake with fruit compote or chili chocolate crepes.

raw scallops with sea beans and salsa verde

Maré’s slightly improvisational feel, enthusiastic service and reasonable prices make it a fine spot for a mid-city summer supper. With just a few more dishes on the menu -- perhaps a cheese and charcuterie plate – it could end up being everyone’s favorite secret spot.

Mare Melrose, 7465 Melrose Ave., 323-592-3226

Pingtung Eat-in Market: Dim sum and a swell patio on Melrose

Asian snacks line the walls, but there's also a bar and plenty of tables

Decent Chinese food is tough to find west of Downtown -- maybe even west of the San Gabriel Valley -- so Pintung Eat-In Market is a very welcome addition in the heart of the Melrose shopping strip. Just a few doors down from where Tommy Tang married New Wave to Thai food, Pingtung is a new wave restaurant of this era: Fun Asian snacks and loose-leaf tea in jars line the wall (that's the "Eat-In Market" part), the back patio offers a couch for lounging, iced coffee is bottled Stumptown cold brew.

spicy shrimp dumplings aren't often seen east of Downtown

About two dozen varieties of dim sum are the star of the pan-Asian menu, which also offers ramen, rice bowls with meat and tofu toppings, sushi and "flatbread" - similar to the beef rolls seen at dumpling houses in the San Gabriel Valley. On a recent lunch visit, we tried pleasant crystal spicy shrimp dumplings, with larger pieces of shrimp than in the typical har gow, drenched in a mild chile oil.

Homestyle tofu is slicked with a mildly spicy Szechuan peppercorn sauce

A spicy bean curd homestyle rice bowl came with a nicely peppery bowl of hot and sour soup and tofu with a decorous but still lightly numbing amount of spicy peppercorns. Chicken flatbread roll slicked with hoisin was even better later that day when the flavors had melded.

hot and sour soup and chicken roll, at rear

 This was all a very promising start for an Asian restaurant in that area, and I'll return soon for some pan-fried pork buns, crispy shrimp balls and soup dumplings.
To drink, there's a large selection of tea, coffee, sake and shochu, beer and Asian sodas.
Pintung Eat-In Market
7455 Melrose Ave.
(323) 866 1866

Crossroads: A stylish vegan spot for pretty people

Artichoke "oysters" are a fun take on oysters on the half shell, with fried oyster mushrooms sitting on artichoke leaves instead of shells, topped with kelp "caviar"

What: A small plates Mediterranean restaurant that happens to be all vegan, Crossroads is much more upscale bistro than scruffy hippie hangout.
Where: 8284 Melrose, across from Duff's Cakemix , in the slightly cursed former Dolce/Philippe spot.
The goods: Chef Tal Ronnen worked at Lyfe Kitchen and created his own vegan cheese recipes; he's also cooked for Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres and pitched for Gardein faux-meats. He leans towards Italian and Middle Eastern flavors, which is probably the right idea for approachable and flavorful vegan dishes.
He's a big devotee of cashew-based cheeses and such, so if you're allergic to nuts, be sure to consult with the kitchen before ordering.
Crossroads is L.A.'s only vegan spot with a full bar, and the cocktails are one of the highlights. Wine and beer lists are also well thought-out.
Crossroads has a comfy feel with dark red banquettes and dark wood moldings, contemporary chandeliers, a long bar and a more secluded titled room that will eventually house a provisions boutique with Ronen's signature aged vegan cheeses. Hope no one confuses it with Crossroads Trading clothing just down the street.
Who You'll See: Owner Steve Bing; DreamWorks Animation topper Jeffrey Katzenberg; girls stopping by the bar after a Cakemix birthday party; a low-key yet very Hollywood crowd.

Salads are always a strong suit of vegan restaurants, of course, and this Spring chopped salad with pea tendrils, English peas and watermelon radish is no exception.

Recommended dishes: Kale spanokopita with harissa smoked tomato fondu, cauliflower bisque with fried capers, artichoke oysters, Sunset & Vine cocktail with tequila, St. Germain, blood orange, beet and ginger beer.

Skip it: Neither the carrot cake ice cream nor citrus panna cotta really worked with whatever secret ingredients were replacing cream and eggs. Chocolate bundt cake was quite bitter, yet more to my taste.
Possibility of a return visit: Prices are quite reasonable for the ambiance and location (no meat costs!), so if I wanted to impress a vegetarian friend and not have to order dishes called things like "I Am Transcendent," then sure.

(This meal was comped.)

Hatfield's: Bigger, possibly better & open 3/3 for lunch

All traces of the very scarlet Red Pearl Kitchen have been wiped clean, and the restaurant now sports a clean, airy look closer to its original tenant Citrus, with a lively open kitchen design.

I always wanted to try Hatfield's, which moved into a compact cottage on Beverly Blvd. and opened with much buzzy fanfare. But I never found just the right special occasion worth the splurge, so I was thrilled to be invited to try the new larger Hatfield's on Melrose. So I can't say whether the new incarnation, which opened three weeks ago, is better, only that it's very, very good.
And Hatfield's is lucky enough to have Karen and Quinn Hatfield overseeing the assured cooking, but also the charming and knowledgeable Peter Birmingham as sommelier. Birmingham insisted we start with something from the intriguing cocktail menu. A rhubarb Bellini and a a modern take on a whiskey sour with Earl Grey-infused rye and maple syrup kicked the meal off in style.
The amuse of yellowfin tuna, squash and lime with curry had a seductively creamy texture. I had to try the famous Croque Madame with brioche, yellowtail, proscuitto and a quail egg on top. Cool, delicate raw fish, ultra-buttery, crispy brioche, salty ham and rich egg all do little dances in different pairings in your mouth, making a knockout start to the meal. Don't miss this dish if it's your first time at Hatfield's. Cuttlefish salad was a complex and satisfying mix of maitake mushrooms and thinly-sliced cuttlefish (similar to squid) on a bed of sunchoke puree. The chefs smartly use a variety of mushrooms to deepen the flavor in several dishes.The fork at top is Kathy trying to steal a piece of butternut squash from my duck breast with whiskey prune smear and quinoa with porcini. The quinoa porridge strayed far from its crunchy, healthy rep into the realm of rich risotto, while the duck breast had crispy skin and nicely-cooked interior. This dish was perfectly executed, yet it was a bit of a letdown after the sheer decadence of the croque madame.
Kathy's pan-roasted New York steak (not pictured) was also cooked just right with a side of deeply green, butter-laden longbeans. Again, a competent piece of beef, but it won't push thoughts of bacon sandwiches out of your head. (Oops, I swear, that's not what I spend my days thinking about.)
The steak came with an adorable mini-casserole of crispy spaetzle, with a creamy dipping sauce. The spaetzle were more floppy than crispy, and while the German pasta was an imaginative alternative to steak's usual sidekick of fries, in the end you just kind of missed the fries. It seems like spaetzle is best enjoyed with meat juices mingling to form an impromptu sauce, rather than on the side.
When S. Irene reviewed Hatfield's back in 2006, she dinged them for not having enough wines under $50 a bottle. Under Birmingham's watch, this has been remedied with great values like this lush Cambria pinot noir for $42 and quite a few other great choices like Portugal's Dao Sul.
All the ice creams and sorbets are house made, with a selection of at least six a night. I loved the butterscotch rosemary ice cream on the left, particularly with a glass of Moscato d'Asti sparkling dessert wine. Kathy always orders a chocolate dessert: I was happy that her chocolate mousse Napoleon with espresso affogato parfait had a delicate chocolate-coffee interplay instead of a heavy, sugary onslaught. It was dynamite with the Boilermaker cocktail, an inspired combo of oatmeal stout and Tawny port. Try not to skip the dessert wines and cocktails, which really add to the experience.
The verdict: As at so many restaurants, the entrees seemed slightly less interesting than the appetizers, cocktails and desserts -- maybe date-crusted lamb or Tasmanian Ocean trout would have been more inspired choices.
But it's a minor quibble -- this was a lovely, civilized meal in a comfortable room that was quiet enough for conversation. Service is friendly without being stuffy.
A four course seasonal prix fixe menu is available for $56, while entrees are $26-$36.
Would I go back on my own dime? For sure, if I was looking for a grown-up but laid-back meal, with cooking that's spot-on without being fussy or molecular.
Good news: And I'll definitely go back when Hatfield's starts opening for lunch next week. Like Eva, which took over the little Beverly Blvd. bungalow, Hatfield's plans a $19 three course prix fixe lunch, which is great news for the industry folks who have eaten at Campanile way too many times.

Village Idiot: a smart hideout on Melrose

The menu is divided into Two legs, Four legs and No legs...

There's no better refuge from the tacky parade of Melrose Ave. on a Saturday afternoon than a cool leather booth at the Village Idiot. I know it gets noisy and crazy later on, but at 6:00, it's a fine place for a cool beer. It's early for dinner, but I'll never rest until I taste the fish and chips at every pub in town, and the Village Idiot's have a terrific light and crunchy crust. Skip the tartar sauce and douse the whole plate with vinegar, and dig in -- you won't be able to stop, at least until the beer runs out.
Fish and chips batter is extra-crispy but not heavy

I loved my ESB beer but in the heat of the moment, I've forgotten the brewer. Matt was happy with his Craftsman lager but his oak-grilled sausage and Yukon mash with port sauce was fairly mundane. Despite the foodie buzzwords sprinkled throughout the menu, this is basically competently-prepared pub grub that goes down well with beer. Actually, the beer menu is smaller than I expected, and I would prefer more booths and fewer tables for that real pub ambiance, but hey, if you have to hit Golden Apple comics on a Saturday, it's a fine place to recover.

Taste test: Lucking out at Pure Luck

Life Elf Cafe in Echo Park, the Pure Luck is one of those places that could exist only on the near-Eastside at this point in time: a groovy vegan cafe with a loyal retinue of perfectly-scruffed young patrons sporting heavy tattoage, ironic eyewear and much facial hair, which just happens to have a killer beer list. Real old-timers will remember that the old building that houses the Pure Luck used to be Cafe Mambo, a happening Latino-style diner owned by the Cha Cha Cha family. Well, it's happening again, but instead of chorizo and eggs, this time it's jackfruit carnitas (below left), one of the wonders of the vegan world with which I was not previously acquainted. You can keep your mock meats and such, because jackfruit carnitas tacos are strangely tasty and meaty, if perhaps a bit protein-deficient. I can never remember where to go when I want a big salad, but Pure Luck's salad selection sounded promising. There's also burritos, wraps, tacos, tortas and and an array of snacks to help sop up the beer. We tried the fried dill pickle chips (right) served with barbecue sauce, which I devoured scary fast, and the sweet potato fries with a sweet mustard dip, which were kind of limp. Beers are top-notch, including the Anvil ESB, one of my favorites, and the Stone Smoked Porter. Fortunately Pure Luck sees the wisdom of offering half-pints so you can try a few varieties. There's also a tamarind/lime/soju cocktail that looks pretty good.
Verdict: Super cute, with some good dishes. I wish it was a bit more pub-like with lower lighting; instead it has more of a vegan diner feeling. Make sure to hit Scoops across the street afterwards for dessert.
Pure Luck
707 N. Heliotrope
(323) 660-5993
(lunch and dinner, closed Sunday)

Osteria La Buca ready for its close-up

While Osteria La Buca's remodel has been open off and on for several months, restaurant designer Kris Keith of the Spacecraft Group was finally ready last night to unveil the finished design. We liked the clever wine bottle chandeliers, the cozy upstairs fireplace and the vintage black and white photos on the walls, although we'll miss the tiny, charming original room. That room is now part of the entry patio with a few tables, shown. The main room is bigger but still intimate, and the upstairs room looks like the perfect canoodling spot on chilly evenings. We sampled quite a few dishes -- truffle ravioli and fritti misti were standouts, although I'm not sure if they're on the regular menu. Also good were arancini, several pizzas and calamari in tomato sauce. Pizza prices seem about the same, but some of the other dishes are a bit higher. Oh well, maybe it will actually be possible to get a seat now that there's more than five tables. Viva La Buca!

Taste test: Even Eating L.A. goes to Mozza

If you don't mind eating a decadent meal on a backless stool, it's not too hard to snag a seat at Osteria Mozza's mozzarella bar. At 7 on a Friday night, the restaurant is fully booked, but just a few people are waiting in the bar. I like the marble counters and cool blue color scheme much better than Pizzeria Mozza's burnt orange walls. While I waited for Kathy, I ordered a potent and tasty cocktail made with bourbon, fennel honey and lemon -- like the hot toddies I used to make at bedtime, only chilled and refreshing. Once we were seated, sommelier David Rosoff helped us choose a reasonably-priced Barbera which proved an excellent foil to our extremely rich dishes. We watched Nancy Silverton assemble all manner of burrata-laced goodies and our crostini with burrata, bacon and escarole arrived (top photo). I'm a sucker for wilted escarole, and these were some rich little morsels. Grilled octopus with potatoes, celery and lemon was the only somewhat light dish we tried, and I could eat this every day. I've never had such tender, meaty octopus, and the lemony dressing cut the rich flesh perfectly. As I often did when I travelled in Italy, much to the horror of Italian waiters I'm sure, we had appetizers and pasta instead of a meat course, even though the grilled orata looked pretty choice. At some point, director Ron Howard settled in behind us with three young writerish fellows in t-shirts with slogans, proving again that you can almost never be too casual in L.A.
I had the orecchiete with sausage and chard which was as rich and delicious as our first courses, if not quite enough for a whole table as S. Irene wrote. If you're sensitive to salt, the food here might seem over-salted, but as I'm kind of a salt hound it was just right for me. Kathy's garganelli pasta had a meaty ragu that was a little too meaty-tasting for me; we ended up each preferring the one we had chosen. We also had a delicious beet side dish with a wonderful salsa verde -- sort of like a pesto that works better for beets. When it was time for dessert, all I could think of was the butterscotch pudding from Pizzeria Mozza, which isn't on the menu at the Osteria, so suddenly nothing else appealed to me. Portions are on the modest side, but for $120 including an entire bottle of wine and two cocktails, that was certainly one of the best meals I've had in a very long time. Service was extremely attentive and competent, even if you're not Ron Howard, who had the mussels, by the way.
Minor cavils: Nearly two hours straight of the Beatles Greatest Hits doesn't strike me as the best restaurant music, and when the Beatles finally ended, the soundtrack changed to even-louder undistinguished rock 'n roll. Is this a Mario thing? In a New York-feeling place like this, maybe some great vintage jazz or something more instrumental might work better. And those backless stools are a little rough for a two-hour meal. That is all.