LA Weekly Says Jordan Kahn’s Ambitious New Restaurant Could Be Just What LA Needs

What is Jordan Kahn up to today, and how far along is his new high-end dining experience Vespertine? Let’s take a look. This is KahnWatch.

LA Weekly food critic Besha Rodell chimes in on this week’s news about Vespertine, Jordan Kahn’s ambitious new tasting menu restaurant slated for Hayden Tract in Culver City. The primary question: Is this the sort of restaurant missing from Los Angeles?

Rodell’s side says, essentially, yes — a high-minded, high-execution, high-priced tasting menu restaurant is often a signature in other global dining cities like Tokyo and New York City and Copenhagen, but has largely been left out of the Los Angeles conversation. Adding Vespertine to the mix is a stamp of sorts, a culinary marker about where our city is at, and how seriously it would like to be taken globally.

She says:

The dominant narrative is that L.A. is very good at food and not very good at high end dining. Vespertine could change all that.

Of course, there are caveats.

And I have a lot of faith in Kahn's ability to provide something astonishing. It's possible Vespertine will be too precious, too pretentious, too expensive. But it's also possible it could put L.A. on the map at that worldwide level...

If all goes well, Vespertine should open this spring.

• Jordan Kahn’s Ridiculously Expensive Fine Dining Restaurant, Vespertine [ELA]