seem odd or interesting wrapped back into something that’s
accessible.”
Shook adds, “It’s not about the wow factor. It’s translating
what we love into something customers will love.”
That’s a great formula not just for restaurant cooking but also
for cooking at home. Oftentimes, we who are food lovers try to
foist uncommon or intimidating ingredients on our guests, only to
have them politely spit their food into their napkins. The trick is
to fuse challenging ingredients with elements that are comforting
and familiar.
Look, for example, at the salad that Shook and Dotolo make
with lettuces from the Santa Monica farmer’s market. Those
lettuces—with names like “freckle lettuce,” “lola rosa,” “black
seed simpson,” and “red perilla”—are a far cry from iceberg and
romaine. But Dotolo and Shook don’t dress these eclectic lettuces
with exotic cheeses and oils you can barely pronounce, let alone
eat. Instead, they make a dressing with sour cream and Meyer
lemon juice and toss that with the lettuces, feta cheese, pita chips,
beets (both raw and cooked), and avocado. The end result, piled
up on the plate, looks like an iconic California salad that partied all
night in Vegas. And the taste—which is both bold and refreshing—
reflects that too.
Though it may seem like anything goes in the kitchen of Animal
(where stocks and braises and pig ears simmer away), there’s a
method to the madness. With their P’tit Basque—a gratin of
onions and leeks cooked in wine with thinly sliced chorizo and