Lesley at Eater LA has the lowdown. She's right to say that Chef Dominique Crenn is lovely in person, and brave both in person and online. But in her ankling (to use the Variety slanguage), Abode's owners have a second shot at success.
In two dinners at Abode, the food was well prepared but overworked, to the point that the restaurant's so-called dedication to "sustainabilty" seemed completely beside the point.
Granted, if you're at a fine-dining restaurant, you're not saving the planet. Your meal probably requires 10 gallons of water just to wash the dishes that are changed with each course. But if you're going to show off fabulous vegetables and meat from free-range, emotionally stable livestock, then please don't paint things on plates or beat the sauces into foamy submission. With all due respect to Wylie Dufresne, how much can you tell about the foodstuffs' sources under those circumstances? It could be a farm in Paso Robles or an 18 wheeler from Sysco.
What Cyril Kabaoglu will bring to Abode as its executive chef, of course, remains to be seen. Like Crenn, he came to Abode from Manhattan Country Club in Manhattan Beach, where he served as her chef de cuisine.
BREAKING: Dominique Crenn leaves Abode [Eater LA]
What does $26 worth of vegetables look like? [The Knife]
Fraiche v. Abode [The Knife]
Abode's painful review: A small difference of opinion [The Knife]
Abode comes back swinging [The Knife]
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