AK Supper Club - Concept over Chef

Well, I get back into town and it's right back into the swing of things. I returned to a message from my friend, Alona Cooke, that the AK Supper Club has a new chef, already! Gone is Kevin Kathman, after some what sounds like mutual disagreements about the concept (that, interestingly, he also had at his last restaurant gig in Minneapolis, at the end of my friends street, where I just was), and in is Benadicto Gell, formerly of The Yard, Joe's and Red Medicine.

I had an impromptu opening in the action and met Alona at AKSC (formerly Capri) to sample the new menu and meet Mr. Gell. Oh, MAN, was it good!  We discussed the vision for the space, and it's really more of a Pop Up CHEF concept vs. Pop Up Restaurant ... "It's an adventure .. it's never the same experience," said Cooke.

Well, she's right there. The first dish we tried was an appetizer of scallop crudo, which I described as a dish a Mermaid would make to impress the Fairy Godmother of her Prince Charming. Does that sound gushy? Fine, it's worthy. Raw scallops in their shell sit in a pool of soothing, cool cucumber and melon water. Scattered over and around this loveliness are pearl currants that pop with tartness and look like jewelry from the sea. Topped with Thai basil and Peruvian mint, the ladies at the table could only laugh and roll our eyes. "I want to jump in and swim around", said one friend. I just shook my head and uttered, "It's like alchemy." Yuuuuuum. Summertime perfection.

Equally yet differently delicious were the shell on salt and peppery shrimp appetizer special that you just ate with the shell on because to not do so would be just weird with all that flavor. GOOOOOD. It reminded me of the Virgin Islands for some reason, and came with little slices of grapefruit and tangelo and tiny slices of red pepper that just combined to burst into savory perfection in your mouth. I loved it obscenely.

As I did the ridiculous lamb entree served with black figs, wild mushrooms and blackberry mustard. Within that were these little crunchy bits that turned out to be rendered crispy lamb fat chunks that were so full of flavor, formerly civil friends began to eye one another's hands with an eye to stab them with forks if they took one of those little guilty pleasures. "Aromatic." "I don't usually gnaw, but I'm going to." (ok, that was me).

The braised pork with mangu (a mixture of mashed yucca and plaintains - "African.") was an autumnal dish that would go well with crisp evenings and fireplaces. It also featured little crispy pork bits, and we again searched like truffle hogs around in the plate for them. Holy moly.

I called the poached black cod in corn broth bland ... until I almost drowned from my watery eyes due to a peppery bite that I wasn't prepared for. Take that, the cod appeared to say. Burned.

After we finished up this "Bacchanal of Pleasure" with some "Best Ever" coffee ice cream, we sat around and chatted with the talented new chef, Benedicto Gell. He's from Boston with Dominican heritage, so he's got flavor influences from all over. It's fun to talk to people about food when they so clearly love it dearly and want to share that with you. It's like Alona said, "You follow your instincts and your nose, not a Michelin guide." True. And you only have two weeks to get in on the current action starring Gell. Then it will be a new adventure, and I'm sure I'll tell you all about it, and try not to drool on you while I'm at it. Go. Now.


AK Supper Club
1616 Abbot Kinney
Venice
310.392.8777
Tuesday through Sunday, 6 - 11ish


*I also spoke with lovely Kailani who is taking over the former Wolf In Sheep's Clothing daytime operations. They're opening soon on Melrose and Fairfax and will be called The Hart and The Hunter. It promises to be out of this world again, and you can say you had it first as Wolf In Sheep's Clothing in Venice. Mmmm.



***UPDATE  - AK Supper Club is now closed for good. Will let you know about what goes into the Capri space, which we will all miss.

AK Supper Club Open - And Delicious

Well, Alona Cooke has done it again, friends. Quickly becoming known as the "Princess of Pop Ups", in a blink of an eye, gone from her Capri site is the outstanding Wolf In Sheep's Clothing, and in is AK Supper Club, which just opened for service last Saturday.

I joined Ms. Cooke at her table last night to hear about the latest and eat some food that is pretty much all I'm talking about today. As I told Alona, her recent project collaborations have single-handedly made my palate mature. I'm serious. I have never liked mushrooms in my life, and there was a mushroom/polenta dish at Wolf/Sheep's that I still think about. Same for their rainbow trout in a jar, that sounds disgusting and was probably my favorite thing there. The same thing happened last night, when I put myself in Alona's wise ordering hands, and all of a sudden, I like previously thought disgusting beets. Beets! Whoa. I may just officially be a grown up.

Taking over the stove at AK Supper Club (operating through July, as it stands now, so get there!) is Kevin Kathman, an alumni of Thomas Keller's French Laundry, and also a Minnesota native, I found out after the fact. (No wonder it's so good!) I chatted with him in the kitchen for a minute while he shook delicious smelling pans, and told him about my growing up that he'd contributed to. He said, sagely, "The reason you might not have liked something before is that is wasn't given to you properly." True that, and could be applied to pretty much everything in life, if you think about it.

We drank a big, delicious rioja and ate those beautiful, fairy tale looking beets. And a fresh, summery tasting leek dish. And some ridiculous lime-y shrimp.  And some cod brandade, that is basically smushed up to porridge consistency fish you smear on bread. Again, it sounds filthy, but in actuality is so good I was laughing.

Alona decided we needed some red meat with our red wine and we split the perfectly cooked steaked with fingerlings and shallots. I felt stronger.

This savory parade had to be followed by a sweet finish, of course, and we went for the peak of summer peaches and the passion fruit panna cotta that we agreed was more than vaguely sexual in how very, very good (and complex) the contrasting flavors of the passion fruit, blueberry, grapefruit and basil were. More laughter.

And that's what makes for a delightful evening out. Talking, laughing, enjoying delectable tastes, trying new things, sharing wisdom, learning from each other ... I want to be a part of this Club.

Make a point of joining yourself ... and soon, as you never know how long you'll get to with these pop up deals.


AK Supper Club
1616 Abbot Kinney
Venice
310.392.8777 for reservations

*Open daily at 5:30, Tasting menu on Mondays.

The Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

I've been going to and enjoying my friend, Alona Cooke's restaurant, Capri, in Venice for as long as I've lived here. It's always been great and reliable and a wonderful neighborhood hang. Alona always hosts interesting wine tastings, and cook book signings and art openings, even weddings, but it just got real exciting in there with the arrival of the "pop up" restaurant within a restaurant, Wolf In Sheep's Clothing.


Two chefs and best friends, Brian Dunsmoor (formerly of Hungry Cat) and Kris Tominaga (Joe's, Axe) have taken over Capri's kitchen for an experiment that has now turned into an extended stay, and they're clearly having fun together, while also turning out food so good that I believe I coined a term the first night I was there ... it was "emotionally delicious". Meaning the bites I had were eye-rolling, chill-inducing, rapturous morsels of joy. No hyperbole.


The joint has been jumping since they opened for biz a few weeks ago, and it's an absolute Who's Who of Venice every time. Waves and hugs and happy smiles are exchanged between neighbors and strangers alike ... when I was there last week, I think I knew almost everyone in there. And we were all STOKED.


It's pretty small plates, and there's a lot to choose from to try (and reluctantly share). You MUST start with the biscuits (of which there NEEDS to be more than two on the plate, Guys, c'mon!). Piping hot butter biscuits served with Southern style pimento cheese, apple butter and persimmon got us off to a mouth-watering start. I'm drooling on my keyboard right now at the mere memory. Now I'd never think I'd be into cold fish in a jar (!) but the rainbow trout served with avocado toast, sliced egg, and herb salad with little chunks of salt was so good I didn't know what to do with myself. Shows me.


Other highlights I shared: Lots of wine. Broccoli and pork cheek. Hanger steak with escarole. Sand dabs. Bay scallops. Brussel sprouts. Persimmon salad. Kale salad ... (We all shared it all, ok) and the delish apple pie with cheddar cheese (high praise because I consider myself fairly authoritative on apple pie. In fact, both meals I've had (so far!) were shared with Alona, and when I asked her what the best thing about the whole deal was for her, she said, "Having friends over for pie". Delightful!

The whole thing is just a joy, from the super friendly and informative staff to the signs and art drawn on butcher paper by Brian's girlfriend, Lacey K. Cowden.


Wolf in Sheep's Clothing ... remarkable! They're open for a completely great evening all nights but Mondays, from 5:30-ish to 10:30/11-ish (Venice hours). No reservations unless it's 6 or more. You should get there, have some fun, and know what it means to have an emotionally delicious meal. Soon - while it lasts!


***Update - Wolf in Sheep's Clothing is now open in the former Lilly's space on Abbot Kinney. It is the same in name only, as the original Chefs Dunsmoor and Tominaga have now opened their own place on Melrose, The Hart and the Hunter. Get there!

Abbot Kinney's Capri

We know all about Abbot Kinney's dream for an American Venice, but we also have an American Capri here. Alona Cooke's Capri Restaurant on Abbot Kinney came about in a kind of similar fashion too. After many visits to the Italian island of Capri (including a memorable 11th birthday trip), she wanted to recreate a place that shared the vibe of the Capri cafes she'd eaten and felt comfortable at, in her own town - Venice, CA. Twenty years later, Capri has catered to locals and tourists alike, and watched out its windows as Abbot Kinney Boulevard has morphed and shifted.


Alona grew up in West Covina, California, the daughter of parents who liked to travel - and eat - a lot. They'd go to Europe by ship, and young Alona developed a palate for good food, and a curiosity for trying new things. She was interested in architecture and design, and studied at Long Beach State, but wasn't positive about the direction she wanted her life to take. She got political, and did a lot of speaking on behalf of Women's Rights, moving to L.A. proper in the middle of it all. There she befriended a group of artists (dating Chuck Arnoldi for a bit), who encouraged her to join them in moving down to Venice, which was still real cheap and ever-funky.

The first house Alona lived in was on the canals, and she opened a little clothing shop where Cafe Collage is now, called "Chi Chi Del Rey", where all the local girls bought their bikinis and cute dresses. After that stint, she started getting freelance design work, to decorate homes and stores, but it wound up not being as fun or social as she'd imagined, and she started to think about other lines of work. That led to her being a founding owner of the West Beach Cafe (now James' Beach), because she just wanted a good cup of coffee, she says, and the West Beach was the first place to have a legitimate espresso machine. She and the other owner parted ways after a while, and Alona began thinking about a place of her own.


While traveling around Italy to look at furniture and things for design clients, Alona kept thinking about all the great little cafes on Capri, and how she'd find one she loved, and would keep eating there night after night, because it was just how she liked it. Relaxed, no scene, good Italian food, good wine, and cool people for regulars. That was it. "I just do it", says Alona, "I have a vision and I make it happen."

Yes, she did. She found the little place on Abbot Kinney that Capri still resides at (1616), and knew she would call it Capri, as "There's just something very special and magical about that place". The size of it was little, like Capri, and it just fit. Since 1989, Capri has been serving great food (honestly, every bite I've ever had there has been delicious) to the locals, and tourists love it because they can always get a table, a good meal with delicious wine, warm hospitality, and Venice flavor all at once.

I sat down to chat with Alona last week, and right off the bat, she gave me an education via a demonstration about how the different size and shape (both matter) of the glasses she poured our wine into, made a drastic difference as to bouquet, flavor and feel. Even subtle differences in shape were uncanny, and I humbly apologize to any people I waited on in college who I thought were bitchy for being super particular about the glass their wine came in (though it was a glass tumbler kind of joint).

Alona's didactic flow continues, with seminar brunches from a James Beard Award winning cookbook author here, and a wine tasting from a California vintner there, with something interesting to glean every time. Capri hosts special events all the time, like closing down last year to host our dear friend, Erinn and Tim's, wedding ceremony right there in the dining room. Special, special memories have gone down in this room, and you sense that every time you clink a glass.


As far as local flavor goes, right now Alan Shaffer's Neighborhood Numbnuts photo exhibition is up on the Capri walls, featuring photos of and works by the guys around the neighborhood named Moses, Conal, Edge, Dill, and Bell. This again, education, in local art is up until August 28th, when it will soon thereafter be replaced by a show of surf art ... just in time for Summer, if it ever arrives.


Alona has been feeding food, drink, stories, and fun to Abbot Kinney denizens all along, as fancier, newer restaurants open and close all up and down the street. Capri is a place that just feels like it's always been there, so you can forget about it as a dining option with all the hoopla going on around it. Being that place that feels like it's always been there isn't easy, and I'm so glad that I got to dig a little deeper into the story behind what is a true neighborhood landmark. I also got to dig a little deeper into some delectable swordfish with light fluffy mashed potatoes and crisp zucchini, with my gorgeous red wine (in the perfect glass for it).


The people of Venice amble by outside, there is no rush to turn you out of your table, and everything just feels comfortable, cozy and, best of all, easy. This is real, old school, artist Venice, and Alona invites you to "C'mon down!" anytime ... because "You gotta get up to get down". Exactly.


Rediscover Capri Restaurant ... it's delicious.

And located at:

1616 Abbot Kinney Blvd.
Venice, 90291
310.392.8777