Chef Josiah Citrin, Los Angeles, CA, California, Melisse Restaurant, Lemon Moon, West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, In Pursuit Of Excellence, Cookbook, Where to eat, Where to drink, Where to shop, Blogs, Insider Recommendations, Products, Rice, Book Recommendations, Shops. Wine Bars, Restaurants, Locals, Best Restaurants, Where to locals eat
Who
Josiah Citrin is the chef / owner of Mélisse Restaurant in Santa Monica, and co-owner of Lemon Moon Café in West Los Angeles, California.
Why
Los Angeles native, chef Josiah Citrin, is dedicating to sourcing ingredients from local farmers for his seasonally-inspired French cuisine.
Chef Josiah Citrin
December 12, 2011
MÉLISSE
Santa Monica
French
1104 Wilshire Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90401
T: 310.395.0881 (make a reservation)
Website
Lemon Moon
West Los Angeles
American
12200 W Olympic Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90064
T: 310.4442.9191
Website
Melisse Restaurant - Santa Monica | Lemon Moon - West Los Angeles, CA | Los Angeles, CA
Q & A with Chef Josiah Citrin
Q. You have a new book, In Pursuit of Excellence, why did you decide to do a book and how should people use it?
A. My guests have been asking me for years to share my recipes and I finally took the time to write the book. It’s not so much about teaching people how to cook, as it is imparting knowledge and sharing my philosophy so that the reader ends up with an appreciation for the products and process as well as the final result.
Photographs courtesy of Josiah Citrin
Cookbooks
- In Pursuit Of Excellence [buy it]
Recommendations
Josiah Citrin’s recommendations for where to eat, drink and shop in Los Angeles, CA.
Advice / Tips
Acquerello Carnaroli Rice
Photographs courtesy of Acquerello Rice
Store-Bought Ingredient | Acquerello Carnaroli Rice
We use the 7 Year-Aged Acquerello Carnaroli rice from Piedmonte. We are currently serving it cold with carrots roasted and simmered in their juices with Dungeness Crab, Salted Cod and Sun Chokes.
[See details.]
Eat | Restaurants
Cora’s Coffee Shoppe | Park’s Barbeque | Urasawa
Photographs courtesy of: Find. Eat. Drink. | VirtualEm [flickr] | casesimmons [flickr]
Where To Take A Visiting Chef | Mori Sushi or Urasawa
The only way to order is to have the omakase.
Where To Take A Visiting Chef
Parks BBQ
For the Short Rib Soup.
Echigo Sushi
Cora’s Coffee Shop
For the burrata caprese omelette, orange pancakes, fresh blueberries (when available), maple syrup.
Sakura House
For Spicy Chicken Wings, Tomato Maki, Kurobota Pork Sausage, Miso Yaki Onigi
Quintessential Los Angeles | Spago
Since it opened in 1982, it’s truly a classic. Everyone should taste the Smoked Salmon Pizza with Caviar and Côte de Boeuf.
[See details.]
Los Angeles, CA
Find | Markets & Stores
The Godfather at Bay Cities Deli | Watermelon Radishes from Weiser Family Farm | Exotic Fruit
Photographs courtesy of: Ron Dolette [flickr] | Weiser Family Farm | YIM Hafiz [flickr]
Farmers Market | Santa Monica Farmers’ Market
It’s a weekly part of my routine. We support all of the farmers, including Windrose Farms, Coleman Farms, Weiser Farms, just to name a few. We taste throughout the market on Wednesdays for the tastiest produce and then we make our selections for the restaurant.
Food Stores
Bay Cities Deli
Always great -- they have such a wide variety of specialty ingredients from all over the world.
99 Ranch Market
For exotic produce and ingredients not found anywhere except Asian markets.
[See details.]
Drink | Bars
La Descarga
Because of the great entrance and the perfect rum Manhattan.
The Huntley Hotel
In Santa Monica, there’s nothing more spectacular than The Huntley Hotel on a clear fall evening for the sunset view.
[See details.]
Share
Cookbook Recommendations
Cookbooks That Have Inspired You
Simply French | Patricia Wells Presents the Cuisine of Joel Robuchon
Because of its focus on Chef Robuchon’s attention to detail.
La Cuisine C'est Beaucoup Plus Que Des Recettes | Alain Chapel
Chapel focuses on working with individual farms and producers and stresses the importance of utilizing amazing ingredients.
Eleven Madison Park | Daniel Humm & Will Guidara
It’s a beautiful book. You can really see the passion, time and focus that went in to produce such an elegant book.
Online Resources
Food Resources | Gourmet Food World
They have a great selection of quality ingredients.
[See details.]
Blogs
I enjoy reading food blogs such as Chuck Eats, A Life Worth Eating and Ulterior Epicure which help me travel around the world and see what other people are cooking and eating.
[See details.]
Recommendations
Details of Josiah Citrin’s recommendations for where to eat, drink and shop in Los Angeles, CA.
Recipes
