West Magazine

May 17, 2007

 

SAMIR MOHAJER

A WELL-HONED MEDITERRANEAN VIBE

SANTA MONICA IS AWASH with glitzy hotel restaurants and trendy sushi bars and steakhouses. But until this year, it had nothing like Rustic Canyon. The unpretentious wine bar and restaurant is just what the neighborhood needed someplace to drop in for a glass of wine and a bite after work, or to settle in for a long evening with friends. The menu is solid, mostly Mediterranean cuisine from lranian born chef Samir Mohajer, who grew up in Los Angeles and attended the California School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena. He was cooking French and Moroccan food at the Little Door before Rustic Canyon owner Josh Loeb hired him. Here, the 30-year-old now gets the chance to cook his way through the entire Mediterranean if he likes. The food

has a natural homey vibe that matches the focus on topnotch produce and other ingredients from local farms. Stop in for plates to share, such as Mohajer's salad of mixed baby beets, toasted hazelnuts and Onetik cheese with blood orange avocado oil, or a delightful mixed Moroccan salad plate with grilled flatbread and a bright-tasting homemade harissa. The burger is seared in a cast-iron skillet, and the Niman Ranch flatiron steak comes with horseradish slaw and golden hand-cut fries. The dishes aren't revolutionary, just uncommonly well-prepared with uncommonly good ingredients. Come to think of it, it's exactly the kind of food many chefs would make for themselves on their night off–uncomplicated and direct.