72 Market Street Dishes It Out Venice Beach Restaurant

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Description: Located in the heart of Los Angeles's thriving art community (not surprisingly) on fabled Market St. in Venice, 72 Market St. was founded in 1983 by filmmaker Tony Bill and actor Dudley Moore. Wanting a place close to home (Tony's office is across the street; Dudley's house just a little more than a mile away) where they could go to enjoy fine food and music in a comfortable setting, the two men assembled a group of entertainment industry friends as investors, and founded the restaurant in an historic building, once the site of the renowned Ace Gallery. 

Architects Thorn Mayne and Michael Rotundi of Morphosis gutted and redesigned the interior in spectacular surfaces of glass, steel, slate, concrete, and oxidized metal, softened by sunlit vanilla-colored walls, a revolving show of artwork by local artists, and music from Dudley's grand piano. The finished space was a work of art, and it drew public interest and critical praise. But what made the restaurant an instant hit was the food. 

Ignoring the prevailing trend of serving precious, stylized dishes intended to be visually impressive rather than satisfying to eat, Chef Leonard Schwartz dazzled patrons by offering traditional American favorites such as meat loaf, grilled chicken, and chili, prepared with care and elegance, but without pretension. How did people react? They ate it up. Reviewers wrote in glowing terms of the restaurant's "crackling energy and glamour," (Gourmet), and called it "one of L.A.'s best A' tables." (Los Angeles Magazine). And Chef Leonard Schwartz went on national television to prepare his famed meat loaf. 

As 72 Market St. moved into its second decade, in stepped renowned chef and restaurateur Roland Gibert. Classically trained in his native France, but a Los Angeles resident long enough to appreciate the tastes of local diners, Chef Gibert s goal was to maintain 72's traditions but to revitalize them by adding his own culinary flare. To do this, he kept many of Chef Schwartz's original dishes on the menu, but offered new choices as well, such as Dungeness crab and crispy noodle galette, eggplant and bell pepper terrine, and warm pear and Roquefort torte. Soon regular patrons were foregoing the crab cakes to sample the lobster napoleon, and instead of finishing their meals with a brownie, they were ordering apple galettes or the dramatic chocolate bombe. 

Each year since Chef Gibert arrived at 72 Market St., the restaurant has received the Excellence award from The Wine Spectator and Three Stars from the California Restaurant Writers Association. In answer to patrons' requests for private parties, Chef Gibert and his staff cater dinners in the picturesque setting of an art gallery just across the street, as well as in homes across the city. And through the restaurant's World Wide Web site and e-mail address, the chefs communicate with diners and cooks from all over the world. 

Now Chef Gibert offers the home chef the opportunity to prepare and serve seventy-two of 12 Market St. s new and old classic dishes. To enhance recipes, the book is illustrated with portraits of some of the restaurant's celebrated patrons and friends, enjoying their favorite foods in creative ways -- as we hope you will! 

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Condition: Small tear in dust jacket. Further good condition.