It might seem curious for a vegan restaurant to have an animal in its name, but consider the genesis of its namesake myth: Technically a Gadarene swine is a “fallacy” based on the notion that because a group is in formation, it is on the right course. The fallacy got its name from the ancient city of Gadara, where demons cast out of a madman found a new home in a local herd, which then plunged en masse down a steep cliff into the sea. Or so the story goes.
Not about to risk the same fate, the Gadarene Swine restaurant has plotted an alternative course with broad appeal. It’s all awesomely prepared veggies! Not only are there no animal products on the menu (okay, except for honey, which is not animal per se), there are no soy, seitan or other meat simulators usually found in vegan restaurants.
The inspiration came from a much meatier menu, at Chef Phillip Frankland Lee’s other restaurant, Scratch|Bar Beverly Hills. Lee noticed that Blackened Cauliflower was a favorite of diners and decided to create an extension of that in Studio City—of course including the multi-hued cauliflower dish on the menu. Wisely so; it was one of our favorites.
The a la carte menu is limited, but that’s because the pièce de résistance here is a 12-course tasting menu that is Lee’s culinary playground. His working relationships with a wide range of farmers in the Southland enable him to pick and choose among each season’s offerings to develop new combinations of vegetables prepared in a variety of ways.
Overall there is plenty of flavor but without any of the repetitive sameness that might otherwise pervade a single-food group menu. Everything is house-made and nearly always adorned with something pickled and tangy or dehydrated and crunchy.
Among our other favorites, on menu and off: Crunchy, sweet and satisfying Honey Fried Olive Stuffed Olives, kicky Roasted Mushrooms with Burnt Sweet Potato, and the delightful contrasts of Vegetables in a Box (made of a potato skin put through a pasta maker and deep fried in the form of a box).
If you’re feeling ravenous, order the dense Crisp Yucca, their take on home fries. Balance it with a salad of fresh tomato, parsley and crisp, wafer-thin white onion served in a shallow moat of corn pudding.
An alcohol-based shooter topped with a sugar-roasted tomato and ending in a puddle of mashed avocado at first promised to be a palate cleanser but was disappointingly sweet; however a thoughtful wine selection (mostly imported) and a dozen or so craft beers provide ample options for adult beverages.
For dessert, Margarita Lee’s playful selections included a deconstructed pear tart (alas, I am so over coconut, but if you are not, you’ll love this) and a complex tres leche cake that tickled our fancy and our palates.
Tableware is primarily rustic wooden plank plates and bowls, and the occasional bird’s nest, and a wood-ceilinged interior and warm, dim lighting lend an apropos ambience that extends out to a greenery-defined patio. Expect to be well cared for and leave well sated.
11226 Ventura Blvd., Studio City 91604
This article is a part of the April/May 2015 issue of Whole Life Times.