Chef Nancy Silverton — one of the restaurateurs who helped make sourdough bread a mainstay on American plates, thanks to her Los Angeles institution La Brea Bakery — handled the main course. The culinary titan was humble and dryly funny, telling stories and offering tips as she ground herbs into an Italian salsa verde with a mortar and pestle she’d had since her culinary school days in the late 1970s.
Her dish, a red wine–braised beef short rib with parsnip mashed potatoes, horseradish gremolata, and the aforementioned salsa verde, represented Silverton’s advice: “[Great cooking] is about using restraint. More is not always better.” Not overly seasoned, the meat shone, shredding into tender threads as soon as a fork dug in.
Deliciously rich, the entrée left diners eager for a light and bright dessert. That’s where Top Chef: Just Desserts finalist (and several-time James Beard Gourmet Luncheon host) Zac Young came in, preparing a zippy, tart mousse inspired by a mezcal margarita. The dish came topped with crispy clusters of pistachios, white chocolate, kataifi (the shredded phyllo dough made famous by Dubai chocolate), and bits of ripe mango marinated in Kashmiri chile powder and date syrup.
