Whole Life Times: LA's Blue Velvet takes its place at the sustainable table

November 2006 | Thought for Food

LA's Blue Velvet takes its place at the sustainable table

By Anthony Head

In Los Angeles, it has become de rigueur for restaurants to proudly trumpet their organic ingredients—usually on the menu, occasionally on the marquee. Some establishments, however, feel less need to advertise such choices, even if they’re way out in front of the pack. For them, it’s simply the right way to do business.

Which brings us to Blue Velvet. Opened in late-October, this restaurant takes a low-key approach to its green principles, favoring instead a hip, urban setting and contemporary American cuisine to attract a following. The rest—the better-for-you ingredients and eco-friendly materials—well, that’s just smart enterprise.

Tucked into an enclave known as Central City West, Blue Velvet is the house restaurant for The Flat, a loft-style residential building resting on the western edge of downtown’s in-progress gentrification. Owner and developer Bret Mosher is part of a movement to improve downtown with efficient, environmentally-conscious housing, and also president of a sustainable building products company, Environ. While green principles are becoming more fashionable in urban neighborhoods, Mosher emphasizes he’s not catering to any of-the-moment trends. “I want to do something that feels good for my conscience,” he says. “We got into manufacturing of sustainable products because they work. So if you can squeeze them into the budget, then it makes really good sense.”

Upon entering Blue Velvet, the first accent to catch your eye is a frosted starfire glass pane. Made without lead and very low iron, the dual-glazed windows are much more energy efficient. The restaurant also features formaldehyde-free paneling composed of wheat and sunflower hull, with rapidly renewable timber like bamboo, teak and ipe making up the floors and other finishes.

“We haven’t really promoted this, but we think people come in and feel it,” says Mosher, who’s perfectly happy if no one notices. He’d much rather the buzz come from the vibe, the setting and the food. This is handily managed since the 4,300-square-foot restaurant is as easy on the eyes as it is on the environment.

There’s a lounge with blue fabric walls, banquet seating and a sunken granite communal table. The soft blue and browns here are tranquil and in direct contrast to another lounge in back—a crimson den complete with fireplace, red leather and a wine refrigerator holding 1,000 bottles. During the day, the main dining room’s floor-to-ceiling windows bathe the space in natural light. At night, from the candle-lit tables, diners can view downtown’s silhouetted skyline in the distance and, much closer, the cocktail and appetizer scene at the pool.
Mosher says he found inspiration in a number of LA restaurants, but he was especially drawn to the ambiance at the Standard Hotel. “For me, the Standard’s rooftop always has this feeling that something wild is about to happen,” he says. But Mosher found more than inspiration—he also found Robert Hartstein, who was cheffing there at the time.

Upon hearing the restaurant’s philosophy, Hartstein came on-board as managing partner to ensure synergy of all the elements. “As far as the green products go, there’s no blueprint, no manual. We’re figuring this out as we go,” he says. “I don’t want to say we’re taking a holistic approach, but when it’s all put together it makes a lot of sense and can function in a real environment. But we’re not trying to be political, we’re just doing what we feel is right.”

In order to do right by the food, executive chef Kris Morningstar applies his experience from tenures at AOC and Grace to modern American cuisine. “Our menu encompasses all types of ingredients because the contemporary American palate loves a multi-cultural flavor spectrum,” he says. Along with classic French techniques, Morningstar might also have, say, some modern Spanish twists, or throw in some Asian flavors where you least expect them.

Blue Velvet’s seasonally changing menu is full of local, farm-fresh produce (Morningstar cites Scarborough Farms from Oxnard as a favorite for lettuces, herbs and baby vegetables), organic ingredients and free-range, hormone-free meats. Perhaps the most exciting feature for Morningstar is the planned rooftop garden. Unfortunately, there won’t be restaurant seating, but diners will still benefit when Morningstar pops up to snip some fresh herbs or pick garden vegetables for his dishes.

Morningstar knows guests ultimately come—and come back—for the flavors of the food, and he’s counting on diverse dishes for return visits. Just in time for autumn, there are rustic choices like “Pork and Beans,” featuring three types of Spanish pork—chorizo, morcilla sausage and bacon—stewed with marrow beans and tomatoes ($12); crispy-skin striped bass that comes with garlic almond purée, roasted grapes, black trumpet mushrooms and eggplant ($25); and smoked tofu served with a salad of lentils, ginger, green apples, cherry tomatoes and hearts of palm ($22).

“We also do a beautiful filet mignon that is slow poached in butter and then seared quickly in the pan so the meat stays moist and delicate while being one beautiful uniform color,” says Morningstar, who plates it with red beets, parsnips and horseradish ($30).

The wine list neatly sums up Blue Velvet. There are about 120 international selections, with many bottles under $30 and a few by the glass. While there are organic and biodynamic selections included, don’t look for them to be highlighted. They’re not there because they’re green, but simply because they’re good.

Blue Velvet, 750 Garland Street, Los Angeles 90017, 213.239.0061. bluevelvetrestaurant.com.

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