Speaking of hyperlocality, RVR is the heavily Japanese-influenced restaurant from chef-owner Travis Lett, the founding chef at Gjelina, which was itself wildly influential in creating a specific brand of California-infused Italian fare. On the ever-rotating menu at RVR, you won’t find many obviously non-Japanese dishes. Instead, Lett adheres to izakaya-style classics (i.e. skewers, grilled dishes, noodles, etc.) made with peak-season local produce and a bit of creative license — using duck instead of chicken in the tsukune, for example.
For some chefs, childhood dishes with global roots define their version of California cuisine. At Budonoki in Virgil Village, chef Dan Rabilwongse drew from his Thai heritage, his upbringing in nearby Historic Filipinotown, and other cultures to put together his playful menu. “When it came time to make drinking food, I knew we were definitely going to do naem,” he says — a type of Thai pork sausage Rabilwongse’s mother made and sold to local markets when he was growing up. “This is a very deep-rooted dish for me and a way of honoring her legacy,” he adds.
Another cross-cultural hit, which Rabilwongse says “started as a joke,” is the Budo-gnocchi, which features Korean rice cakes, black winter truffles, shimeji mushroom, and parmesan cheese. “Here, we’re drawing from all of our experiences and all of our cultures to create this very unique dish,” Rabilwongse says. “Now it’s one of our top sellers, so we can’t get rid of it.” Indeed, the L.A. izakaya has become a blank canvas for personal expression for both him and many other chefs.
AloJapan.com