Chef Johnny Messina is taking traditional flavors some places they don’t often go
It’s said that New Orleans is a city of many fine cooks but very few chefs. There are many restaurants at which skilled technicians work from tasty traditional recipes, but rather few where artists flaunt tradition and experiment with flavor. That is probably as it should be, since both locals and tourists there like Creole food just as it is. Chefs who love both tradition and innovation can always find work in cities where such experiments are appreciated, like New York, San Francisco, Hollywood, and…El Segundo?
There are plenty of cities that I skipped in order to include a town best known for its oil refinery, but El Segundo has sprouted a crop of interesting restaurants while most people weren’t looking. The latest is doing interesting things with Louisiana cuisine. A space that has housed several poorly thought out ventures in the last two years is now turning out non-traditional Southern cooking, and though things aren’t perfect yet, something interesting is going on here.
Kip’s is on Main Street in a blink-and-you-miss-it spot. Trees hide the sign, and even if you’re looking for it you’ll probably pass it once. The décor is high-style, white tablecloths and well-displayed wine contrasting with rustic art and excellent terracotta pottery to create a space that is interesting to the eye.
The menu is a mix of country French, Louisiana favorites, and contemporary experiments, along with an array of daily specials. The portions on starters here are large and priced accordingly, so those who enjoy variety but are in a small party are stuck with hard choices – root beer braised short ribs with jalapeno cheese grits, popcorn crawfish, or ratatouille? Or one of the soups — corn chowder, lobster bisque, roasted garlic, or French onion? Or one of the specials, which sounded alluring on both visits?
The soups sounded like a light option and our server recommended them, so on our first visit we selected the lobster bisque and a daily special of “seasonal winter soup.” On this day it was pumpkin and potato with cream and basil. The winter soup was a winner. It was not as sweet as the squash soups many places serve and enlivened with savory herbs. The basil added a nice hint of fragrance as it floated on top of the soup, but was designed for beauty rather than eating. The big leaf made an impressive presentation, but it would have been better shredded so the flavor could have been enjoyed in several bites. With or without the basil it was excellent, and we used our bread to mop up every drop from the bottom of the bowl. The lobster bisque didn’t have the same fullness of flavor. There were plenty of lobster chunks, but was under-seasoned. A judicious hit of red pepper or a dash of sherry or brandy in the pot would have enlivened it a bit. It was close to right, but not quite there.
On a subsequent visit I intended to sample one of the other starters, but all were intimidatingly large, so I tried the French onion soup. This was a classic recipe expertly executed, a rich beef and onion broth topped with a large crouton, with baked cheese and a sprig of fried thyme. Traditional items like this at an innovative restaurant tell me if the chef knows when to leave something perfect alone, which the chef evidently does.
Several interesting salads were also offered, such as arugula with fried green tomatoes and a warm andouille dressing. We were attracted to a special of baby greens with figs, goat cheese, and pine nuts. Where they found fresh figs in December I don’t know, but these were nice, and the salad was calculated to bring out the best in the fruit. I’ll try the arugula or a crab and fennel salad another time, if I’m not distracted again by a special.
One of our main courses on the first visit was chicken Tchopitoulas, dubbed after a street in New Orleans that is named for a long-vanished local tribe. I doubt the Indians dined on roasted herbed chicken breast served with Bearnaise sauce very often, but the residents of New Orleans certainly do, and it’s a delicious dish. The meat was perfectly cooked and had a hint of Cajun spice that was a perfect counterpoint to creamy Bearnaise, and I’m hungry for it again as I write this. It’s usually served with a sausage and ham hash rather than candy-striped beets, but these accompaniments made a refined companion to the chicken.
We also tried a daily special of roasted duck breast with a white wine gastrique, served with mashed parsnip and green beans. This was the French country side of the menu, a dish centered on simply roasted duck with a fruity, slightly tart coating along with sweet parsnip and simple beans. It was one of those plates of which it can be best said that it worked exactly as planned. Everything done right and all flavors in balance.
On my next visit I decided to indulge in one of the more traditional Louisiana items, and selected cornmeal-crusted catfish with chili-hollandaise sauce, mustard greens, and purple potatoes. The cornmeal crust turned out not to be the rough-textured, highly spiced traditional version. This batter had a fine texture and a delicate flavor. Red pepper and herbs were in the mix, but it was a whisper rather than a shout. The fish arrived at the table hot and moist inside a crisp crust, with hardly a spot of oil. The chili-hollandaise took the place of the traditional remoulade, simultaneously cooling and a bit spicy, and it worked nicely. The mustard greens were a good accompaniment, but the purple potato slices needed something. The presentation was pretty, but they seemed to have been cooked with very little salt and no herbs; a dash of spice would have made them better.
We had plenty of choices from a well selected by-the-glass list. Kip’s doesn’t serve hard liquor, but this isn’t food you’d want to pair with a knockout punch to the palate. The Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay was excellent with the bisque and salad, and Bearboat Pinot Noir matched the spice in the catfish nicely.
We tried two desserts, the bread pudding and beignets. I’d have the buttery bread pudding with bourbon sauce any time, but wasn’t impressed with the beignets. The fresh-fried doughnuts arrived piping hot, but were heavy and chewy. I’ve had them at the temple of beignet-dom, the Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter, and I know they can be lighter and still have that crisp exterior.
On the balance, I was happy to find Kip’s, even though they’re still working out the kinks that bedevil any new restaurant. On both visits our servers were eager to please but there were hiccups in timing. On my second visit there were two servers, and for a while each thought the other was taking care of me. On the plus side, Chef Johnny Messina is taking traditional flavors some places they don’t often go, and he has excellent instincts about what works. There is ambition and style here, and it’s worth a visit to sample excellent cooking in an attractive and artistic setting.
Kip’s is at 402 Main Street in El Segundo, one block north of Grand. Open Tue.-Sat. for dinner, daily except Monday for lunch, Sunday brunch. Street parking, wheelchair access okay, some vegetarian items. Starters $7-$20, main courses $16-$38. Menu at kipsrestaurant.net. Phone (310) 529-1132 for reservations. ER
