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The Elements of Good Food

Chef Onil Chibás has created a haven for serious foodies at Elements Kitchen

Published on Thursday, March 4, 2010 | 7:24 pm
 

Chef Onil Chibás

Delightful, unassuming Chef Onil Chibás has created an intimate restaurant in the Playhouse complex. While the theatre may be dark, his restaurant is full of light, warm atmosphere and truly great food.

“What we’re trying to build is this story that is fresh, that is quality, and that is interesting and creative,” Chef Onil says. “The dish might be something that you’ve had, but we’ve done it with a little twist. It’s alive. We think about food all day long.That’s all we do!”

Steak and Eggs

The fare at Elements Kitchen is unabashedly rich, but with balance. Chef Onil and Executive Chef Alberto Morales leverage Southern California’s culinary bounty by enhancing their full-bodied dishes with local fresh fruits and vegetables.

Dishes are deconstructed and reconstructed with wit and whimsy, like the delectable “Steak and Eggs.” Grilled rare tuna steak is presented with a “short stack” of spinach blini and Masago caviar. A schmear of ginger/soy reduction makes a great accompaniment to this delicious appetizer.

Beefsteak Tomato Tartare

Another bit of delicious diversion is the Beefsteak Tomato Tartare, in which coarsely chopped beefsteak tomatoes replace the beef in almost perfect masquerade. Seasoned with celery and shallots and served with a yellow tomato yolk and deep-fried capers, this dish delivers big flavors. You won’t be asking “where’s the beef” with this appetizer.

The Dried Fruit and Nut Stuffed Chicken Sausage at once presents savory, sweet and spicy. The sausage is topped with dried fruit compote which is accompanied by parsnip puree and mustard seed cream.

Marinated Glank Steak and Kimchi Tacos

Grilled marinated flank steak atop housemade corn and sesame tortillas create the beginning to Chef Onil’s delicious Steak and Kimchi Tacos. A bit of sambal aioli and pickled ginger and yum complete this fantastic dish.

Like lobster? Then the Grilled Lobster and Mixed Beet Salad is for you. Buttery grilled lobster combined with tart citrus and earthy beets, with an added bit of anise flavor from shaved fennel and tarragon. I can’t think of a better way to eat vegetables.

Monkfish Curry

Don’t let the fact that the next dish is made from beef cheeks put you off.  This is melt-in-your-mouth, no-knife-needed tender, flavorful beef. Gently braised Wagyu beef cheeks are served on housemade porcini fettuccine with musky seared king trumpet mushrooms, salsify, baby carrots and topped off with a rich complex Zinfandel sauce. This is hearty, homey comfort uber food to warm a cold winter’s night.

Curry with Thai notes of ginger, lemongrass and kafir topped delicate monkfish and root vegetables. Delicious on its own, the lily was gilded with the addition of  steamed rice studded with lobster and rich with the taste of butter and sherry.

White Chocolate and Coffee Mousse

As for dessert, I left just enough room for an Apple Tarte Tatin made with a whole apple, puff pastry, crème fraiche and caramel pudding. Elements Kitchen also creates a crème brulee made with macadamia nuts, a housemade macadamia nut brittle, coffee gelee and coconut cream was a delicious change to the traditional. My chocolate itch was satisfied with white chocolate and coffee mousse with a rich milk chocolate ganache, brownie and chocolate glaze, oh my!

Beyond the siren call of its delicious food, the restaurant boasts a cheerful and knowledgeable wait staff, many European, who will cater to your every whim with discreet efficiency.

Grilled Lobster and Mixed Beet Salad

A large cheery bar area faces El Molino Ave. and is screened off from the main dining room. On Wednesdays Chef is offering special tapas made from a single ingredient. Past ingredients used have been avocado, shrimp and scallops. Drop in on a Wednesday and see what new ingredient Chef is using!

The spacious dining room is decorated in shades of cool turquoise, leafy green, and earthy brown with a leaf motif throughout. The kitchen is an open-affair behind a glass partition and the Chef’s tasting table: a nightly floor show for all to see.

In about five short years, Chef Onil has grown the Elements culinary kingdom from a sole operation into a trio of specialized divisions: catering, the Café and the Kitchen restaurant.

“Now it’s trying to find the balance and pay attention to all of them!” laughs Chef Onil. “I guess it’s like having kids. They’re all different. They’re all special. You love each one of the differently.”

Elements Kitchen is located next to the Playhouse at 37 S. El Molino Avenue. Their hours are Tuesday – Thursday and Sunday, 5:00 – 10:00 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 5:00 – 11:00 p.m. For reservations and questions call (626) 440-0044 or log onto www.elementskitchen.com.

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