Smoke.Oil.Salt Flips to Weekend Residency by Barbara Jean Chef Jason Fullilove

It was a sad day for Spanish food aficionados when smoke.oil.salt. quietly closed on Melrose at the end of last year. Well now the question of who would take over the restaurant once helmed by opening chef Perfecto Rocher has been answered (at least for now), as chef Jason Fullilove has announced that he will step in with a weekend residency of his concept Barbara Jean.

You may remember Fullilove as the Campanile and Patina Restaurant Group alum who has worked around town for years, but has been pushing his very personal pop-up series since June 2016. The name of the game at Barbara Jean is soul food with a particular focus on meats, offal, ancient grains, vegetables, and fermentation, tracing a menu that draws inspiration from the chef’s time spent in Africa with his mother.

The weekend restaurant offers both a la carte options and full tasting menus priced at $45 for dinner and $30 for brunch. Offerings include everything from classic comfort food dishes like black eyed pea bisque to more contemporary takes from preserved lemon pyramid agnolotti with Heritage pork belly and charred okra for dinner to Grandma Jean’s BBQ neck bone hash for brunch. Interestingly, smoke.oil.salt partner and wine director Stephen Gelber has selected the beer and wines for the new residency.

Barbara Jean opens this week with hours from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and offers Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reservations can be made on OpenTable.

• Smoke.Oil.Salt.'s Closure Leaves Gaping Hole in LA's Spanish Food Scene [ELA]
• Jason Fullilove Re-Emerges With Pop Up Project Barbara Jean [ELA]