Whole Life Times: Wilshire Restaurant

June 2006 | Tastebuds

Wilshire Restaurant

Westside hotspot sexes up the local foods movement

By Eliza Thomas

The menu at Wilshire—the year-old, high-concept American eatery now occupying the old Knoll’s Black Forest Inn building in Santa Monica—celebrates all things organic, local and seasonal. But it’s unlikely the throngs of beautiful people swarming Wilshire’s indoor and outdoor bars and glam garden patio each weekend are there for the food philosophy. And that’s a good thing.

There’s no doubting Wilshire’s chef Christopher Blobaum’s commitment to sustainability. “I hope and wish that organic and sustainable would be the standard [in the restaurant industry]. To support organic can be more work, a little more shopping, training and challenges—but very well worth it,” he pledges. For diners who prefer their confit or tartare with a side dish of ethics, it’s all there—free-range, grassfed, wild caught and pesticide-free, the bottom of the menu even bearing the subtle missive: We support small family farms and organic growers whenever possible.

But at Wilshire, duty takes a back seat to drama, style and—at least for now—scene. This is a restaurant outfitted by a designer with a name (Thomas Schoos, the artiste behind Koi, for those of you who care), and consequently, interior elements like votives flickering in the walls behind embedded slices of geode, antique mirrors, supersized Moroccan lanterns and plasma screen TV’s looping images of exploding lava almost overshadow the food. Literally. The menu’s an insightful read, but good luck deciphering it in some of the restaurants duskier corners. The effect could be romantic, lending itself to sweet nothings whispered across the table—which, if you were to attempt on a busier night, would require a bullhorn.

In short, it’s all very LA, made exceptional for the fact that there’s heart behind the pomp, in green details like solar panels, kitchen composting and recycled building materials, and in cuisine that combines the best of Southern California flavors, vision and values. “Our saying here is, ‘Where the table is the center of pleasure and community, experience the finest farm-fresh new American cuisine,’” effuses Blobaum. Clean, organic food is no longer a mission—it’s mainstream. And local beets and berries from Phil McGrath’s farm just taste better than ones airlifted across the Atlantic from who-knows-where.

Inventive starters like the crispy poached organic egg, fried in panko breadcrumbs and served with baby purple artichokes, lentils du puy and a slender strip of crispy bacon ($13) showcase the expertise of a chef willing to take risks with the tastes of the season. Maine Day Boat Scallops arrive expertly seared and winking chubbily from a bed of fava bean guacamole and wild arugula, ornamented with cured Meyer lemon ($16). Main courses are elegantly small but satisfying; richly braised boneless beef shortribs rest on a blissful bed of cipollini onions, mashed Yukon gold potatoes and gremolata ($30), while a moist hunk of grouper is simply and freshly accompanied by an aromatic artichoke broth with basil and veggies ($29). For vegetarians, there’s only one meatless second course option—currently the asparagus risotto with raw asparagus and Reggiano parmesan ($26)—but the menu offers enough sublime firsts and sides to cobble a respectable meal. Pair it with a selection from the well-built, mostly local wine list, and cap it with an assortment of house-made ice creams and sorbets ($8), one of the shining stars of the desert menu. Then, squeeze your way in among the eye candy at the bar for an after dinner cocktail and toast to the reinvention of the local foods movement.

Wilshire Restaurant, 2454 Wilshire Blvd (near corner of 25th Street) in Santa Monica. 310.586.1707. WilshireRestaurant.com.

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