When my friend texted me earlier this week with the name of her restaurant suggestion for Friday night — Pace — I mistakenly called it “payce.” When I went to the website and saw “peace in the canyon,” I realized Pace was in fact the Italian word for peace – “pah-chey.” Four years of studying Italian in college, I should have known!! The menu looked intriguing and its description as a “Laurel Canyon sanctuary (with a) cozy and serene approach to refined Italian cuisine” sounded like a perfect locale for a rainy Friday night dinner among friends.
To my surprise, this LA gem is not unknown but rather quietly famous. We Angelenos tend to keep places like this a secret, only to be shared with our trusted friends who will not allow a great, classy place to become tainted by “the scene.” Here, despite being extraordinarily busy (reservations are a must!), you get the feeling that you’re in a Hollywood crowd; just not that Hollywood. It’s the intellectual, powerful, stimulating Hollywood that has substance, great taste, a demand for high quality, and an appreciation for organic, biodynamic, and savory. Note: this is a place to come dressed fabulously: I kid you not — the man sitting at the next table was wearing a bubble gum pink suit and made it look cool.
Recipient of Open Table’s Diners’ Choice Award in 2011, Pace has hosted celebrities like Zac Efron, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Hilary Duff. Last night, we were too engulfed in conversation and delicious food to even bother looking around to see who was there. It didn’t matter — finally a hot spot in LA where you don’t need to see and be seen.
At Pace, the focus is flavor, quality, and ambience. Head Chef and Owner Sandy Gendel makes art of organic ingredients and fuses a community feel with luxury in the dimly-lit, warm space. Pace’s rustic menu features classic pasta dishes, original salads created with seasonal produce, scrumptious entrees, and innovative ciabatta-crust pizzas. Gendel handpicks his organic ingredients from local farmer’s markets twice a week so that “each morsel travels from the farm to your mouth in less than three days . . . and is infused with the care afforded by organic cultivation methods.” They also maintain a garden that supplies much of the produce, but Gendel is committed to supporting the local agriculture community.
Two things got the evening off to a fine start….
Keep reading this story on The Pacific Punch here.
Tags: Dining, Farm-to-Table, featured, hollywood, Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, Organic, Pace Restaurant
Posted in Food & Wine, Pacific Punch |
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