CULINARY Q&A WITH MICHAEL CIMARUSTI
By Leslee Komaiko
For dineLA.com
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Michael Cimarusti |
Don’t let the boyish looks and easygoing personality fool you. Chef Michael Cimarusti can cook. And he brings an intense focus to every plate he serves. After stints at New York’s celebrated Le Cirque and Osteria del Circo, the New Jersey native moved west in 1996 to work with Wolfgang Puck at the original Spago. Cimarusti then spent nearly seven years at Water Grill. Three years ago, he stepped out on his own and opened Providence in the old Patina space on Melrose Avenue. Providence, featuring Cimarusti’s high-end seafood specialties, is on the short list of Los Angeles restaurants to have received a Michelin star. More recently, Cimarusti consulted on the menu for La Mill, the stylish Silver Lake coffeehouse.
Had you been looking for a location for a long time before you opened Providence?
Yeah. We looked at a number of places and negotiated on a couple unsuccessfully. This thing came up thanks to the relationship I had with Joachim Splichal. He used to come to Water Grill every once in a while and eat with his wife. One day I was frustrated and having a hard time finding a space. I figured he never had trouble finding real estate. So I asked, “Do you have someone’s name for me?” I met with a broker. A couple weeks later I got a call from someone in his office. He proposed the idea of my taking over Patina.
Did you know you were going to do an upscale seafood restaurant?
I feel like all the time I spent at Water Grill, I developed such an affinity for working with fish. To do anything else would be to cut against the grain.
Plus, you’re a fisherman right?
I don’t fish as much as I’d like. It’s still definitely a big passion of mine. Saltwater sport fishing.
Did Providence being awarded a Michelin star effect business?
Maybe a little bit. People come in and congratulate you.
How do you overcome being seen as a special occasion restaurant? Or don’t you?
We prefer to see people once a week. We’re definitely not trying to be too precious or pretentious. But it’s not a cheap place. It’s not like Pizzeria Mozza or Fraiche where you would just happen in.
How did the La Mill gig come about?
Craig [one of La Mill’s owners] is a friend. We use their coffee here. He asked me if I would want to be involved. The person running the kitchen and pastry are both former employees of Providence.
It seems like it would be a fun project.
It’s completely different from what we do here. The challenge is to make food that is high craft but mid price.
Are you looking for an additional location?
We’re looking all the time. But I don’t want to do another restaurant just to do another restaurant. It has to be something I feel strongly about.
Will it be another Providence?
Certainly not in LA…[but] whatever we do next will definitely be in LA. I spend precious little time at home anyway.
It seems like you and pastry chef Adrian Vazquez have a real kinship. Tell me about him.
He has an original voice. He’s very demanding and very exacting. I feel like it’s a common inclination for creative people to be satisfied with their first or second effort. He’s exhaustive. He doesn’t tire from doing things over and over.
What are you really excited about these days in the kitchen?
A new piece of equipment we have called a CVap. It’s like an oven that cooks at 100% humidity at whatever temperature you like. It’s like you’re cooking in steam but the steam is tempered. We use it a lot for service for cooking different types of fish.
Where do you find inspiration?
More and more now I think I’m getting back to simplicity: to do whatever I can to exalt the ingredients. There’s a difference between flattery and embellishment. How to draw the line between those two things is something I constantly struggle with. Nowadays, I’m trying to get the protein just to that perfect point on the plate and accompany it with things that are seasonal and a little interesting.
You have one of the most celebrated restaurants in Los Angeles. But I imagine a lot of people in Los Angeles don’t know your name.
At the end of the day it’s not really why I started cooking. If that’s a by-product of the whole thing, that’s fine. But it’s not my goal.
So you’re not that interested in the limelight.
A lot of people get into cooking for that reason. It’s created a bit of a mess: a bunch of people who get into it with the wrong intentions. They think they’re going to be the next Emeril. It’s silly.
If you weren’t a chef, what would you be doing?
A fisherman or a drummer in a reggae band.
Tell me about some of your favorite local restaurants.
I like Terroni on Beverly Boulevard for pizza and Park’s BBQ for Korean on Vermont. For Mexican there’s a place called My Taco in Highland Park that’s really good. Jonathon Gold included them in his top 99 for their carne asada fries.
Any thoughts on the LA restaurant scene and the seemingly feverish pace of openings?
It’s crazy. Like every week some new big name chef is opening a restaurant. I do think Los Angeles diners are pretty discerning. What I’ve learned is, in order to satisfy people in LA, it has to be your best effort.
You don’t worry about over saturation?
I feel like people will return to the places they feel most comfortable and get the experience they’re looking for.
Providence, 5955 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, 323.460.4170
