
My only concern was that I would've liked the cauliflower to have a crisper, crunchier consistency. The bagna cauda sauce really added a fantastic depth and complexity to the vegetable, with the lemon providing a sort of overarching tartness that worked too. I'm quite the cauliflower fiend, so this was a must-try for me. Vegetarians may do alright here after all.īaby cauliflower | crushed lemon bagna cauda The bitterness of the mizuna-kale-arugula combo was nicely played here, with a bright, bracing astringency that made sense against the contrasting flavors of the apple and walnut, all while the cheese added a weighty, salty overtone to the dish. The kitchen then sent out a complementary salad course. Mizuna, baby kale & rucola | apples, red walnuts & piave However, I really wanted more textural variation in the dish, as everything seemed to have a sort of uniform mouthfeel. Squash blossoms arrived brimming with ricotta, its lush, creamy, subtly sweet taste working well with the tart tomato. Warm squash blossoms ripiene | ricotta & tomato vinaigrette

It was delicious alone, but the whipped lardo added even further luxuriousness to the dish. The accompanying bread was superb, displaying a certain sweetness that recalled the essence of Chinese youtiao. I especially enjoyed the crisp carrot and cabbage varieties. Yum.Ī plate of pickles was useful in cutting some of the weight of the meat. Finally, we had the butcher's pâté, a finer, more aromatic preparation with a heady, liver-y flair to it.


At the beginning of 2013, the Salumi Bar expanded its days of operation, all seemingly in preparation for the launch of chi SPACCA. He even won 2011's Cochon 555 tasting along the way. He even built a special walk-in dry-curing room in the back, and established LA's first fully legit, fully legal salumi program.Īs such, Colby began serving his resulting product at the Scuola dinners, and then, in May 2012, started a special Salumi Bar night on Thursday evenings. These became quite the sensation, and during this period, Colby had also been experimenting with preserving his own meat. Nancy Silverton and Matt Molina started out teaching cooking classes there (hence the name Scuola di Pizza), but in late 2010, Silverton tapped Manhattan Beach native Chad Colby to hold weekly family-style, prix fixe dinners in the space. The long-awaited restaurant debuted on February 4th, and features Chef Chad Colby's well-regarded housemade salumi and other meat-centric plates.įor those unfamiliar with what's been going on, it all started with a private dining room, one situated inside Mozza2Go and featuring an exhibition kitchen and plenty of seating.

Yes, the holy trinity-Batali, Bastianich, Silverton-have just opened the butchery-focused chi SPACCA ("cleaver" in Italian) in the space once occupied by their Scuola di Pizza.
