Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
A Peek Inside Commissary, Roy Choi's Rooftop Restaurant And Greenhouse
Between his consulting gig on the wildly successful "Chef" film, opening POT at The Line Hotel in K-Town, the continued success of his memoir, and the announcement of his new show "Street Food" on CNN, it's fairly safe to say that 2014 is Roy Choi's year. The cherry on top of it all is the opening of Commissary at The Line Hotel. The rooftop restaurant is situated inside a poolside greenhouse, and it couldn't possibly be more SoCal in its sensibility.
Choi has said that the restaurant was meant to be a b-side to POT, but it seems like more than that. He said humbly, "It's just our place for everybody to eat well."
And you will eat will eat well. Really, really well. This is the type of deeply satisfying and deceivingly simple food chefs cook on their night off or for a showy staff meal. They're comforting and expertly-prepared dishes that do justice to great produce and draw on eclectic international influences. And those who've worked in kitchens will find comfort in the fact that their drinks are served in delis. (Chefs drink ice water from the plastic take-out containers while working the line because they are readily available, hold a lot of liquid, and won't shatter if they're dropped in the heat of service.)
Each dish at Commissary is plated with a smattering of five different types of sauces, Choi's mother sauces, if you will: red (chiles, garlic, onion), green (garlic), brown (chiles, soy), yellow (onion, soy), and rainbow (nuts, garlic, chiles). Though the emphasis is on vegetables, there are hearty meaty options too, like thinly pounded pork schnitzel, succulent scallops, and steak served with hearty dose of brown sauce mixed with A1.
Support for LAist comes from
Choi's charred carrots served atop tomatillo, cilantro and garlic "green" sauce give Ludo Lefevbre's famed barbecued version a run for their money. And his grilled corn done in a mash-up style combining the grilled goodness of elotes and the flavors of Southeast Asia might make you wish you had enough room to plant rows with the corn seeds you'll take away as a parting gift at the end of the night. The veggie-heavy menu serves as a testament to the trend of chefs placing a premium on produce.
The one snafu at Commissary is the menus, which are a bit confusing in their multi-card presentation and read like one of those root word match games from SAT prep. They require you to match base ingredients from a particular price point on one card with their seasonal preparation on another card. There's yet another card decoding the sauces that go with each dish. The reasoning behind this format is that it allows for fluctuation in seasonality and gives the chef and his team creativity in day-to-day in preparation. Which is all well and good, unless you're a few delis of mezcal cocktails deep.
So whether this was meant to be some heady departure from all the Korean fusion that Choi is known for or just a chance for change in pace, Commissary definitely puts most "secondary" restaurants and quick-serve cafes at hotels to shame. And like most albums' b-sides, it gives us a little peek into where Choi's head is at when he's not crafting fusion hits on the Kogi truck and hanging out with Jon Favreau.
He's at the farmers market with his family (we frequent the same neighborhood Sunday market, actually), cooking honest food that lets the Cali sunshine sing. Bathing in the golden hour at Commissary with a deli in hand, you can't help but listen.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist