The Art Of The Meal
Jackie Danicki was in town from London, and we had dinner plans with Hillary Johnson. A special occasion calls for a special restaurant: the ever-inventive and ever-fabulous Joe's, in Venice:
Joe's Restaurant. A name as ho-hum as this doesn't usually send gastronomic expectations soaring or set mouths watering. It seems more appropriate for that fallback restaurant you schlep to when every other place is booked. That is, unless chef Joe Miller is wearing the toque.For 11 years, Miller, a man as unassuming as his name suggests, has continued to dazzle the particular palates of Angelenos. He's accomplished this by serving up his trademark "soulful" and "heartfelt" California-French fare, as S. Irene Virbila described it in the Los Angeles Times Magazine. Since opening, Joe's Restaurant has been on just about everyone's "best" list, including Food & Wine, Gourmet, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. But perhaps the biggest testament to Miller's cooking is that "other chefs … congregate here just to roll up their sleeves and eat some good food," as the Wine Spectator's Harvey Steiman wrote in his own Best of L.A. list.
Desserts by Jason, the pastry chef, who made Stilton ice cream to go with this sculpture, and came out to talk to us after he heard how much we liked his handiwork -- the difference between Venice and the rest of the planet of Los Angeles.
Leave a comment