Destroyer Is “The Most Instagrammable Restaurant in the Known Universe”

Besha Rodell kicks off 2017 with her review of Destroyer, chef Jordan Kahn’s Culver City restaurant that “follows a new set of rules that seem contradictory to the idea of success and longevity.” That means terrible parking, a minimal buildout, and odd service hours. The Weekly critic calls this the “new normal,” which is unfortunate if room and service is important to you, but “if you're in it for the food alone, you're gonna be aight.”

That’s because Kahn is turning out some pretty outstanding dishes at what B. Rod describes as the “most Instagrammable restaurant in the known universe:”

Despite the pointed modernism of this food, most of its underlying pleasure is actually built on comfort. A loose rice porridge that comes beneath a carpet of tiny broccoli flowers is pure edible warmth, teetering at the edge of bitterness here and there but brought back to nourishing comfort by the sweetness of onions that have been singed just so. This is cerebral food, but it also speaks to your more emotional needs. [LAW]

Besha concludes with some pretty high praise for the Hayden Tract eatery:

If the future of dining is food so singular and expressive that it transcends comfort and setting, then so be it. I was just happy that Kahn had found a way to make the food he wants to make, and that I had found a way to eat it. [LAW]

Destroyer earns three glowing stars.

• The Most Important Lines from Jonathan Gold’s Destroyer Review [ELA]
• Red Medicine's Jordan Kahn Opens Super Serious Breakfast Spot in Culver City [ELA]