23 Feb Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Openaire at the Line Hotel

I have found myself at The Line Hotel rather often lately. Whether checking out the space for a possible event to hosting an event to attending an event there, I keep ending up at The Line Hotel in Koreatown. And, on more than one occasion, I have enjoyed lunch at Openaire, the airy and inviting restaurant and the Please The Palate pick of the week. Formerly, the space was Roy Choi’s Commissary. From the start it was a beautiful space, a sort of green house located next to the hotel pool. The glass-windowed building with live greenery hanging throughout always had an inviting feel. But, as Openaire, a restaurant in collaboration with two-star Michelin Chef and native Angeleno Josiah Citrin, it is all the more brighter, lighter and fresher inside. Josiah Citrin, the owner of the former Melisse restaurant and the current owner of Charcoal in Venice, has developed a menu that features fresh seasonal California ingredients. On the one hand, the Openaire menu has many hotel classics, such as a Cobb salad, Caesar salad, burger, grilled cheese and tomato soup, club sandwich, spaghetti & meatballs and chicken noodle soup. But if you are not looking for comfort food, the rest of the menu will entice. The Hamachi is very light and citrusy with orange, yuzu and citrus vinaigrette but the endive and pecan add an extra texture and layer. The burrata with Asian pear, persimmon, wild arugula and rustic croutons was a favorite. The creamy burrata was balanced with the sweetness of the persimmon and pear and earthiness of the arugula. For the sirloin steak salad, grilled pieces of steak are on top of gem lettuce, baby tomatoes, rustic croutons and shaved Parmesan cheese and topped with a tasty Parmesan vinaigrette. The honey nut squash and parsnip are tempura battered and served with sherry-honey yogurt, pomegranate seeds and manchego. The Mushroom Banh Mi sandwich with pickled vegetables, herbs, nuoc chom aioli on a baguette is tangy and served with a really flavorful tomato and cucumber salad. The “Burnt Ends” lettuce wrap with garlic labneh, fermented chili cucumbers and fried shallots is served in four lettuce cups. I loved the combination of savory meat, creamy labneh and fresh lettuce. Sitting under hanging plants with bright light streaming in through the glass windows, enjoying a flavorful seasonal lunch makes Openaire the Please The Palate pick of the week. Openaire 3515 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90010