Simon Elmaleh is an infinitely warm, kind and soulful man who speaks with equanimity and engenders a feeling of familial unity when you’re in his endearing presence. I speak of Chef Simon of the former restaurant in Sherman Oaks, Simon Café, which has served for many years the Sherman Oaks community with a glorious celebration for the authentic cuisine of Morocco. After a movie outing at the Arc Light theatre at the Sherman Oaks Galleria, my dad and I have had the tradition of dining at Simon Café afterwards. For as much as we relished Chef Simon’s genuinely love-crafted dishes, such as the combination appetizer of hummus, babaghanoush, roasted peppers and tomato relish, house made merguez sausages, the lamb and dried fruit chicken tagines and royale couscous to complement, we gravitated toward Chef Simon’s restaurant because he extended his place as another home for us to be together.
After watching Independence Day: Resurgence during opening weekend on June 26, 2016, my dad and I walked over to Simon Café with my sneaking premonition that the restaurant was still closed until further notice. Shockingly, the doors were open under a new name, Mizlala, and a new design. Immediately my dad and I searched for Chef Simon but to no avail. However, we did discover his son, Chef Danny Elmaleh, who has opened his sophomore self-branded restaurant in his father’s former, unassuming location after debuting at Cleo in Hollywood. Chef Danny possesses the striking humility as his father and, of course, the same extraordinary talent in the kitchen but with an innovative modern twist to the tradition. I asked Chef Danny how he came up with the name of the restaurant and he said that his father named it after a Hebrew word meaning “Pig Out.” Suffice it to say, that is exactly what my dad and I did on this first of many future visits.
After watching Independence Day: Resurgence during opening weekend on June 26, 2016, my dad and I walked over to Simon Café with my sneaking premonition that the restaurant was still closed until further notice. Shockingly, the doors were open under a new name, Mizlala, and a new design. Immediately my dad and I searched for Chef Simon but to no avail. However, we did discover his son, Chef Danny Elmaleh, who has opened his sophomore self-branded restaurant in his father’s former, unassuming location after debuting at Cleo in Hollywood. Chef Danny possesses the striking humility as his father and, of course, the same extraordinary talent in the kitchen but with an innovative modern twist to the tradition. I asked Chef Danny how he came up with the name of the restaurant and he said that his father named it after a Hebrew word meaning “Pig Out.” Suffice it to say, that is exactly what my dad and I did on this first of many future visits.
First, Autumn, our fastidious and receptive server, brought out Chef Danny’s palate teaser, pickled cucumbers, cauliflower, Serrano peppers, fennel, and olives.
Chef Danny then brought out a series of starters, referred to as “Salatim,” on the menu. The first of these starters was the brussel sprouts, perfectly charred and complemented by hazelnuts, chilies, orange and sherry. Self-evidently, Chef Danny strikes a brilliant balance in his food with the utilization of culinary principles of flavor harmony, texture, acidity, variation of temperature, and heat.
The next “Salatim” was the roasted root vegetable slaw with roasted sesame, tahini apple cider vinaigrette and garnished with cilantro. The roasted multi-colored carrots with the carrot puree makes a playful statement on texture and distillation of locally sourced produce.
Then came the beet and avocado salad with sunflower seeds, cilantro and pomegranate, accented by pickled shallots.
The hummus came seasoned with paprika, cumin and sumac with extra virgin olive oil drizzled atop with fresh parsley to finish. I had a chance to witness in the restaurant’s back kitchen Chef Danny preparing the traditional Mediterranean “laffa” that accompanied the hummus.
Like father like son, Chef Danny shows his pride in his home, his family, and his culture, a manifesto that Chef Sean Brock promulgates in his book, “Heritage.” Through this soulful relationship between food and heritage, an inspiration shines through eating Chef Danny’s home-bound food with complex and creative nuances. Chef Danny’s deeply satisfying potato latkas that are texturally crispy throughout the plate size latka is wonderfully accented by sauerkraut, pecorino, apple chutney, labneh and pickled shallots. If this dish does not inspire the Old World, I don’t know what does. The magic of comforting satisfaction also resides in the green falafel plate with tabouleh, picked fennel and tahini. I was saying my prayers that Chef Danny’s falafels were as great as his father’s. My prayers are compellingly answered!
Our inspirational journey of family eating delved deeper with pristine oysters with raw horseradish and lemon, the soy marinated skirt steak kebab seasoned with cumin and ginger, and the exquisitely tender and supple octopus with potato foam and highlighted with smoked paprika and maldon salt. In honor of his father, Chef Danny also features his father’s famous, house-made lamb merguez sausages.
The culmination of our meal was the branzino with cauliflower cous cous with labneh, a uniquely conceived fish dish that defies what you expect in the emotional epiphany that rises within you when you indulge in such a subtly sublime satiation of sumptuous salaciousness.
Much like our times with Chef Simon and, nostalgically, with our own parents and grandparents over a family meal, Chef Danny and his wife share time with their guests, genuinely caring for the bond we share with them, the food and being at home. Chef Danny is preserving with honorable fortitude his father’s munificent legacy while setting a culinary precedent with creative, accessible, delicious, home bound, and culturally rich food. Upon reflection of my experience at Mizlala, I realize that there is so much hope and inspiration for all of us to renew the deep-seeded connection that we should all experience with our loved ones when we eat together.
Mizlala is open for dinner only from Tuesday through Sunday with lunch service to be added at a future date. Given the unassuming location at 4515 Sepulveda across the street from the Whole Foods, please note that there is plenty of parking in the back of the building.
Much like our times with Chef Simon and, nostalgically, with our own parents and grandparents over a family meal, Chef Danny and his wife share time with their guests, genuinely caring for the bond we share with them, the food and being at home. Chef Danny is preserving with honorable fortitude his father’s munificent legacy while setting a culinary precedent with creative, accessible, delicious, home bound, and culturally rich food. Upon reflection of my experience at Mizlala, I realize that there is so much hope and inspiration for all of us to renew the deep-seeded connection that we should all experience with our loved ones when we eat together.
Mizlala is open for dinner only from Tuesday through Sunday with lunch service to be added at a future date. Given the unassuming location at 4515 Sepulveda across the street from the Whole Foods, please note that there is plenty of parking in the back of the building.