Breaking Free: L.A. Wine Culture

Anne Fishbein

Bastide’s wine auteur, Pieter Verheyde

Anne Fishbein

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More About

• Pieter Verheyde
• Vincenti Valentino
• Joe Pytka
• Wine
• Seafood

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Wilson foodbarcafeThe new breed of Culver City restaurant has connections at the Farmers Market, the serious-casual vibe of a Prada sweater and a birth announcement on Daily Candy. Beer lists are as long and as carefully curated as wine cards. The chefs have usually escaped from well-regarded but mainstream restaurants, and their dining rooms are temples of personal expression. This high-design restaurant from Michael Wilson, set into the bottom level of the new Museum of Design Art & Architecture building, is a Culver City place right down to the eel on the BLT, the La Espanola chorizo flavoring the mussels, and the organic Semillon on the wine list. Wilson's appetizers tend to be small-plate modern-tapas things designed to be nibbled at the bar with a glass of sauvignon blanc. A smoky, slow-cooked pork shoulder does double duty as pulled pork at lunch and as an entree-size roast at night; tea-smoked whitefish is a dinner appetizer and the basis of a mayonnaisey whitefish-salad sandwich at noon. 8631 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (310) 287-2093 or www.wilsonfoodandwine.com. Lunch Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; dinner Mon.-Thurs. 5:30-10 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 5:30-11 p.m. Full bar. Street parking. AE, MC, V.