Good Vibrations
Wildly creative Wilson is expensive, but worth it
By Richard Foss
There are days when I need a jolt, a reboot to my palate. Every once in a while I get my wish, most recently at Wilson. The place is named for chef Michael Wilson, whose dad was Dennis of the Beach Boys, and his restaurant is a cheerful, casual wine bar and cafe in a section of Culver City that you can actually watch getting hipper. That coffeehouse with live music – wasn’t it an auto parts store when we parked in front of it?
With trendiness comes sticker shock – at first look the prices seem hefty. Seventeen smackers for a vegetarian spaghetti, 10 for roasted garlic and sunchoke soup, no wine less than nine bucks a glass? Only the seductively interesting menu kept us there, a list of intriguing flavor combinations like tea-smoked whitefish with flying fish roe, duck carpaccio with gorgonzola, and fig and potato tortellini.
Staying was the right thing to do. The selection of olives ($5) was the first item to arrive and the last to be average in flavor or presentation. Citrus-marinated beets over lightly bitter lettuce with truffle vinaigrette ($6) was an amazing combination of sweet and tart, the chunks of red and gold beet each with a distinct note. It’s a delight after the monotony of beet and cheese salads that are L.A. standard – there’s so much more that can be done, and I’m glad someone’s doing it.
The white anchovy filets in cups of charred red onion ($6) were fresh, tangy fish in a lemon Dijon, the onion mild but lending texture and warmth, all bright, sharp flavors but perfectly balanced. This could be a star in a tapas bar, pure Spanish flavors that worked surprisingly well with a glass of spicy Four Sisters Shiraz ($10). That wine went even better with the stewed lamb’s tongue with romanesco cauliflower, garlic, and olives ($12). Properly cooked lamb’s tongue has a mild, meaty flavor and is so tender that it has a texture like a mushroom, and this was perfect. The light brown sauce with nutty cauliflower and gentle onion and olive notes was bliss: hearty Mediterranean flavors to suit a cool fall evening.
Starters often outperform entrees, but there was no letdown here. I’m no great fan of mac and cheese, but the truffled version here ($20) made sense as comfort food gone high-style. A simple BLT made with kurobuta pork on focaccia bread ($13) put the focus on the quality ingredients (but some fries on the side would have closed the deal, especially since at this restaurant the fries would be something wonderful and strange instead of potato). The stars of the meal, though, were the pork shoulder braised in avocado leaves ($22) and parmesan and ricotta gnocchi with wild boar ragu ($17). The gnocchi were among the lightest I’ve ever had, a little pillow of potato flour and cheese nestled on a rich tomato and boar sauce. Boar has more flavor than pork, and the meatiness, fruitiness, and herb zest came together splendidly.
The star among the entrees, though, was the pork shoulder – the menu lists this item as lamb shank in avocado leaves, but whether this is a temporary or permanent substitution I didn’t think to ask. Either way, the huge portion of fork-tender pork had a delicate anise flavor imparted by the leaves balanced by a slightly sweet glaze. It might have been improved by a few vegetables on the side, a little something to mop up every bit of that sauce, but we made do with the good country bread and focaccia from the bread basket.
Dessert was a jasmine cheesecake ($8), dense but delectable with some actual cheese flavor to it, and fresh-baked cookies hot from the oven ($6). I think of cookies as a slightly silly dessert, a gimmick, but these were above average, one each of chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal, and sugar crisp. At first I hoped for a dollop of ice cream, but it wasn’t needed – this was simple goodness to finish an artful meal.
Wilson, 8631 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (310) 287-2093. Tasting menu available for $60 per person. Open for lunch Mon.-Fri., dinner Mon.-Sat. Full bar, street parking, wheelchair access OK.
Published: 10/22/2008
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