meeting over broccoli meeting over broccoli toast with labneh, while at dinner, groups share bottles of natural wine and plates of spiced carrots with chickpeas or lamb belly with roasted cabbage. Given their backgrounds, Kramer and Hymanson could have opened a restaurant with a capital "R". Instead they chose to create a place where the community could come together at any time of day and feel comfortable, not like they’re strapped in for a night of one chef’s genius vision. They’re also striving to ensure their staff’s comfort, adopting an open-door management style. “We try to be as supportive and vocal as we can,” says Kramer. In opening Simone (simoneartsdistrict. com), chef Jessica Largey has also focused on creating a supportive work environment. Burned out after almost a decade in fine dining, including the Fat Duck in the UK and Manresa in the Californian town of Los Gatos, she returned home to LA when Clockwise from top left: a sorrelpesto rice bowl with house-made bacon, marinated kale and avocado at Sqirl; the scene at Kismet; Sqirl’s Jessica Koslow her new business partners offered to create the restaurant of her dreams in the Arts District. Largey took more than six months off in order to “get herself back” and think about what kind of kitchen she wanted to run. “I’m transitioning to being a mentor who can impact the staff’s life in a positive way,” she explains. Her cooking, too, has evolved away from rigorous, Michelin-star-worthy plates. When Simone opened in the spring, there was a six-seat chef’s counter where Largey cooks and converses. But even there, she says, her goal is to “strip away pretentiousness: I want people to feel the effort that went into their food”. There will also be 100 seats in the restaurant and bar where, she says, the food will be more approachable and health conscious than what she’s made in the past, with a focus on “finding ways for the ingredients to shine. There’s amazing produce here, which honestly makes it a lot easier!” Niki Nakayama may be the quietest voice among the city’s chefs, but her food has spoken volumes to critics. As a result, n/naka (n-naka.com), her tiny kaiseki restaurant in Palms, is booked three months in advance. The native Angeleno has forged a new path in fine dining, becoming one of the only female kaiseki chefs in not only the US, but also the world. The ritualised 13-course Japanese meal has its roots in Buddhist tea ceremonies. But Nakayama – who got her start at a sushi restaurant – has expanded the formal sequence. She works alongside her wife, sous-chef Carole Iida-Nakayama, who grew up in her parents’ Japanese restaurants in southern California and came to cooking after working as a corporate project manager, to craft masterful dishes that let the season and ingredients speak, such as spaghettini with abalone, Burgundy truffles and pickled cod roe. N/naka could feel like a sterile temple. Instead, says Nakayama, it always feels like a small dinner party, with strangers talking at the snug tables in the spalike rooms. In the kitchen, she hopes to nurture the next generation of female kaiseki chefs. “We know what it feels like to want to learn,” she says. “We hope we can do more.” PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: © SQIRL, ORIANA KOREN, WONHO FRANK LEE 26 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM WHERE TO STAY, WHAT TO SEE IN LA, GO TO: CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
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