Dinner parties
Si! Mon, Franklin Hills, Westside private dining, Flour + Water, the Dolomites, Paris Olympics, MORE
RESTAURANTS • FOUND Table
Say yes to the chicken
Si! Mon may be awkwardly named. And hard to find online, too (no, it’s not Simon, the former restaurant of the Sofitel in West Hollywood, or Simón, the excellent mariscos truck in Silver Lake).
But once you get beyond the confusion to make a reservation at the Panamanian restaurant in Venice, you’ll be rewarded with an experience worthy of its discovery. Namely, a vibrant fusion of Central American flavors and Californian culinary culture, in a space with ambiance of a beachside retreat — earthy tones, lush landscaping, and wicker chairs. Oh, and a revelatory fried chicken.
Chef José Carles is renowned for his restaurant Fonda Lo Que Hay in Panama City. Here, he teams up with the folks behind Hatchet Hall on a boldly original menu. Standout dishes include tuna carpaccio laced with smoked achiote on a yuca tostada, Afro-Caribbean shrimp dumplings in a sweet coconut bisque, and kaffir lime-scented kanpachi cooked in a banana leaf. Of the cocktails, “Little Rituals” is a highlight, made with palo santo-infused whiskey and coconut water. Pure Venice Beach.
While Carles’ creative approach to seafood is undeniable, his masterpiece is a trio of chicken drumsticks, twice-fried, slathered in herbed salt, and served with curtido and spicy ketchup. They, alone, are worth the trip to the West Side. But as long as you’re here, might as well linger over that coconut flan. –Victoire Loup
→ Si! Mon (Venice) • 60 N Venice Blvd • Mon-Thurs 5-10p, Fri-Sat 5p-12a • Reserve.
LA RESTAURANT LINKS: Santa Monica’s Georgian Hotel debuts Sirena, where ‘Amalfi Coast meets California’ • Final piece of DTLA’s Level 8 at the Moxy, seafood-centric Mother of Pearl, has opened • Sorry, Lawry’s, SF’s House of Prime Rib has you beat • California wine is in serious trouble • Why tiny drinks are on the rise.
REAL ESTATE • Sold
Gold in them thar hills
The Franklin Hills neighborhood — a pocket of secluded Eastside cool between Los Feliz and Silver Lake — is a favorite around FOUND HQ. As we’ve seen lately in other inventory-deprived neighborhoods, many homes here are selling quickly (and often over asking price) soon after they hit the market. One that took a little longer to find a buyer: this former residence of Graham Nash that sold in March after six months on the market (but still for $150k over original ask).
Here, three Franklin Hills properties that traded quickly in the past few months, all for more than the initial asking price, including 3900 Clayton Ave., which closed nearly $1M above its original ask:
→ 3900 Clayton Ave (Franklin Hills, above) • 3BR/3.1BA, 2822 SF • Mid-century residence with curved pool and pergola-style pool house • Listed: 4/2/24 for $2.495M, sold: 5/2/24 • Sold price: $3.48M • Agent: Cari Field, Compass.
→ 4122 Holly Knoll Dr (Franklin Hills) • 2BR/2BA, 1724 SF • Two-level backyard with pool and deck on top of hill • Listed: 3/23/24 for $2.275M, sold: 5/2/24 • Sold price: $2.5M • Agent: Imraan Ali, Compass.
→ 3877 Franklin Ave (Franklin Hills) • 4BR/3BA, 2026 SF • Spanish-style house with French doors to expansive backyard • Listed: 2/8/24 for $1.995M, sold: 3/1/24 • Sold price: $2.5M • Agent: Robert Kallick and Laura Martinez, Compass.
LA WORK AND PLAY LINKS: Checking out LA estate sales, and the people who love them • A tale of two downtowns: as offices languish, apartments thrive • And nightlife is fueling the DTLA recovery • Is LA ready for Meow Wolf? • Could ketamine be the next fix for workplace depression?
WORK • Wednesday Routine
This post appeared in yesterday’s edition of FOUND SF. Looking for a little more San Francisco in your life? Subscribe to FOUND SF, with new issues dropping each Wednesday.
Making the dough
RYAN POLLNOW • co-executive chef & partner • Flour + Water Hospitality Group
Neighborhood you live in: Haight-Ashbury
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I rotate between the restaurants in our group (Flour + Water, Penny Roma, and Flour + Water Pizzeria). When it’s one of my Pizzeria days, I head to North Beach from my place near Golden Gate Park. The first thing I do after turning the lights on is turn on music, to set the tone for the day (today, I start with Bad Bunny, an artist the entire team agrees on). There's dough being mixed, and I'm tackling portioning and balling 500 pizza doughs for lunch and dinner service alongside our prep team. Deliveries are starting to arrive. Our CDC, Elliott, is working on the slice of the day.
I'm in charge of making family meal — today's is mapo tofu, so we'll use our pizza sausage in the base. I'll throw our first round of meatballs into the oven, put rice on the stove, and set a timer for both. It's now 10:30 a.m., an hour ’til opening, so we're conducting our line check (checking quantities and tastes of each stations' mise en place) and throwing our first tester pie into the oven. We're happy with the tester, but the dough didn't get quite as much rise as we want, so we'll change the proof setting to ensure that it's ready for our first guests.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Flour + Water is celebrating its 15th anniversary this month and we’re offering a "Greatest Hits" pasta tasting menu featuring favorites from our past throughout the month. After lunch, I’m checking in on that. Our weekly manager meeting is from 3-4 p.m. this afternoon, and I've got a chef's financial training for my sous chef right before. We're on the eighth round of testing for our GF pizza dough — so far we've been semi-happy with the results, but want to make sure it has the same quality and integrity as our standard dough program, so we'll continue testing. My partner Sophie is tasting at Golden Sardine so I sneak out of the Pizzeria at 8 p.m. to meet her for a glass of wine before popping over to Hilda & Jesse for dinner. We take the dog for a walk and fall asleep to reruns of Top Chef.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
This weekend I'm stoked to check out Four Kings in Chinatown, a new hot new Cantonese restaurant run by some talented Mister Jiu's alumni. We'll hit Moongate Lounge for a drink (and who are we kidding, probably a snack) before dinner. I've got the weekend off so I'll sleep in and hit Breadbelly on the way out of the city to go hiking up north around Mt. Tam.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I'm looking forward to getting back to the bocce court at Golden Gate Park across the street from my house. My friends and I always put together an epic spread of snacks and plenty of sparkling wine.
Any weekend getaways?
This weekend I'm going to Tahoe for some end of the season snowboarding, and plan to check out Tangerine, a new restaurant in Truckee run by one of our former Flour + Water chefs and owned by one of my business partners in FWHG. On the way up I'm obviously getting In-N-Out. I'll snowboard at Palisades and come back late Sunday night, order Burmese food, and fall asleep to more Top Chef reruns.
What was your last great vacation?
Last October I took a trip to Alto Adige and the Veneto and spent time hiking around the Dolomites, discovering the lesser-known pastas of the region. I was so inspired by the food that we hosted an 'Alpine Wine Dinner' at Penny Roma this April to share some of my favorite dishes from that trip.
Alpinn, El Brite de Larieto, and Finstewirt from the surrounding areas were all restaurant highlights for me. Alpinn showcased creative modern Alpine cuisine with absolutely breathtaking views. El Brite de Larieto is agroturismo at its best — farmstead cheeses produced on site and simple, rustic fare that changes daily. Finstewirt had a classic elegant setting with refined (but traditional) cooking techniques and presentations. One of my favorite discoveries from that trip was My Arbor, what they call a 'wellness hotel'. I was living my best Alpine life, using their sauna twice a day.
Photo: Kristen Loken
CULTURE & LEISURE • Jokers
Ali Wong, Netflix is a Joke Presents, The Wiltern (Koreatown), floor 1, $173 per
Cruel World Festival, Duran Duran, Interpol, Blondie, more, Brookside at the Rose Bowl (Pasadena), Sat @ 1130a, VIP, $549 per
Trevor Noah, Netflix is a Joke Presents, Hollywood Bowl (Hollywood), Sat @ 730p, garden, $225 per
GETAWAYS • Paris
Olympian feat
Despite the hoopla surrounding the Olympic Games in Paris this summer, July 24-August 11, hotel rooms are still plentiful, as are seats on flights from the U.S. The airlines and Parisian hotels are getting nervous, offering promotional fares and rates. Should you book? Know this: Paris is a world-class city that understands how to handle big crowds efficiently and with European service — this isn't Salt Lake City. It’s walkable and bikeable, and the Metro is safe and clean.
Here’s how to make it work for you:
Plan to stay in the heart of the 7th Arrondissement. Centrally located for the games, the neighborhood is a peaceful respite after navigating the city all day. Tourists are sparse, except when you get too close to the Eiffel Tower.
Specifically, stay near where the Parliament convenes at the Assemblee Nationale on Rue Université. The police are everywhere, and you’ll need special access during the Olympics. A hotel room in the area solves that problem. Next to Parliament, the Bourgogne Montana Hotel is a good option (€358 per night in July).
From LAX, book a direct Air France flight in business class, around $4500 round trip to CDG.
If you want to luxe out while you’re in town, download the Wheelie app and cruise around La Grand'Ville in a Maybach. Or call Clemence ( +33 6 58 93 46 10) and say you are a friend of Monsieur Inman. You’ll be in excellent hands; she doesn’t speak English, but it doesn’t matter. She drives like a true Parisian, aggressive, but respectful, and knows the city well.
iPad hospitality is still taboo in Paris.
Oh, and tickets to the Olympic games: they, too, remain available, except for women’s basketball. Don't be deterred; StubHub is always an option. –Brad Inman
GETAWAYS LINKS: Ojai Roots planning new farm shop in Ojai • Your new favorite cheeseburger is in Redlands • Highway 1’s Big Sur Bakery destroyed in fire, owners says will rebuild • Latest on Highway 1 reopening: May 25 • Highway 1 is the climate challenge California can’t fix • Why a trip to Leadville, Colorado, is a must for some shoppers.
ASK FOUND
Three FOUND subscriber PROMPTS for which we are seeking intel:
I know I should be eating in the San Gabriel Valley, but where?
I need to buy a housewarming gift. What are the best homeware stores in LA?
What’s your favorite restaurant in LA (if you haven’t told us already)?
Got answers or more questions? Hit reply or email found@itsfoundla.com.
RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Private dining, Westside
Hatchet Hall (Culver City, above), communal table and vintage decor anchor elegant private dining room