If he was given only one cuisine forever, Chef Jeremy Fox would choose Chinese takeout.
That’s a far cry from Rustic Canyon, where Fox plates delicious local fare that leaves you feeling hale and frisky — rather than, you know, ballasted to the couch under a pound of General Tso’s finest.
But in this issue of Meal Plan, Fox recounts six of his favorite meals in L.A., from his favorite loaf of bread to the best cheese, pasta and wine combo in town.
Oh, and if you want to stay in, be sure to pick up a copy of On Vegetables, Fox’s new cookbook. Just don’t let the name fool you: this isn’t so much a book for vegetarians as it is an ode to plant matter, packed with delicious recipes that pair great with meat and help the aging gentledude keep an eye on his metabolism.
Breakfast: Sqirl
“I go there for crispy rice bowl and get what I call the Foxy J. The name has not caught on there — I always bug Jessica [Koslow, head chef] about that. I’ll feel like I’ve really made it when it’s actually called that. It’s the crispy rice bowl with double sausage, no egg (cause I don’t love eggs) and a side of hot sauce. It’s like crunchy, toasty rice. There’s a lot of mint, cucumber and the hot sauce is lacto-fermented like green hot sauce, which is one of my favorite things.”
Coffee: Proof Bakery
“We walk to Proof from our house. Actually, these sandwiches they do, it’s the stucco bread like Jim Lay uses in the No Knead book. It’s almost, like, coated in salt, and that bread is just amazing. The sandwiches change, but I really like it when it’s butter, ham, radish and cornichon. It’s a great sandwich to have there.”
Lunch: Dune
“Dune is great. I don’t know how they get their hummus so smooth. It’s like there’s no structure to it. Like whipped cream. Get the falafel plate since it’s got pickles and a salad with about eight different things on it. It feels like junk food. It feels like you’re really eating something bad for you, but you’re not. It’s fatty, it’s creamy, it’s crunchy, it’s all those things.”
Cocktails: Mozza
“I don’t have a watering hole. But I do like to go to Mozza, and sometimes we go to the early bird thing where you get a mozzarella dish, a pasta and a glass of wine. I forget how much it is, but it’s a really good deal.”
Dinner: Petit Trois
“We just went to Petit Trois the other night and had white asparagus with hollandaise and foie gras, the fries with Monnet and the omelet. Even left out at room temperature in a to-go box the next day, the omelet is still good. I usually get a cocktail there — I actually had one the other night. It was a tiki drink, very tropical, but the glass was lined with an entire fig leaf, so they were all looking at my drink and asking about it. It was pretty impressive. The ambience is crazy. I love looking at the kitchen. It’s pretty impressive: the amount of food and quality of the food in such a small kitchen.”
Dessert: Bestia
“I love going to Bestia for dinner, but the desserts at Bestia are great. If a restaurant really sticks out in my mind for desserts, it would be Genevieve’s desserts. She did this kind of layered creamsicle cake a while back that was amazing, and every fall she does this really great persimmon dessert.”
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