Vespertine

Before Jordan Kahn’s unearthly project Vespertine took up residence in the four-story building at 3599 Hayden Ave. in Culver City, architect Eric Owen Moss simply called his structure “Waffle.” No nickname could be more apt: Its form resembles

will rush home to unpack our meals. We don’t know the specific contents yet, only that the week’s theme is “A Southern Supper.” While idling I think about my last time inside Vespertine — which, when fully operational, is one of the most polarizing

Vespertine   

, Costa Mesa, (713) 463-6060, vacarestaurant.com Vespertine We need artists in the heart of darkness; Jordan Kahn is as much an artist as he is a chef. Among restaurants serving takeout, unearthly Vespertine was perhaps the biggest surprise: How would Kahn

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had leavening agents.” Kahn, who received two Michelin stars for his Culver City tasting menu at Vespertine, said the initial idea for Meteora was “Vespertine, but 1,000 years ago.” He adds, “Vespertine is about discovery. This restaurant is about

While many L.A. restaurants have gotten creative with their outdoor spaces—turning parking lots into piazzas and the like—to offer al fresco dining amidst COVID-19 precautions, Vespertine chef Jordan Kahn is, of course, taking things further. Kahn

, who’s known for his avant-garde take on fine dining, is planning to take over the former Auburn restaurant space on Melrose Avenue for a pop-up called Ephemera. “The Melrose space is more conducive to the Vespertine experience than the outdoor space we

Angeles, things are complicated. 1124 San Julian St., Los Angeles, (213) 749-1099, www.rossoblula.com. Hirame Detail of Vespertine chef Jordan Kahn’s Hirame at his restaurant in Culver City. Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times If you were looking for the

oddest dish being served in an American restaurant right now, you might start with the fish course at Jordan Kahn’s Vespertine, a dish that nudges the idea of culinary abstraction dangerously close to the singularity. It doesn’t look like fish, for one

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If you were looking for the oddest dish being served in an American restaurant right now, you should probably start with the fish course at Jordan Kahn’s new Vespertine, a dish that nudges the idea of culinary abstraction dangerously close to the

, your server would instruct you on how to eat the dish, or at least on where you might direct your spoon. At Vespertine, the server, wearing a severe frock like something out of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” does not. If you prompt her, she may whisper the word

restaurant, Vespertine. She was keen to carry some of the gourmet-toast accoutrements he makes. “He’s been super supportive.” Omsom Spice Packets “They make it easy to create popular Asian meals at home,” she says of these pre-blended seasoning packs. “I love

are behind this ambitious trattoria at the O Hotel. Clay Cassis hails from Bestia and Vespertine; Joel Stovall comes from Josef Centeno’s restaurants. Together, they’re cooking intriguing riffs on Italian classics. Papaya makes an appearance in a pork

. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times) This is Jurado’s first restaurant, although he’s a veteran of Los Angeles restaurants, including stints at Border Grill, Vespertine and the now-closed Red Medicine and Bouchon in Beverly Hills. In the last few years

the fried chicken sandwich: As part of Food Bowl, the Los Angeles Times' annual food festival, Jordan Kahn of Vespertine and Destroyer in Culver City melded minds with Zaiyu Hasegawa of Den restaurant in Japan to make a fried chicken sandwich. It was

chicken with moshio, a Japanese sea salt harvested by scraping dried and hardened seaweed, and added sansho pepper for a piney, citrusy flavor that numbed the tongue. Kahn’s restaurant Vespertine is known for its exquisite tasting menus that challenge