Michael Ruiz, former chef-owner of Bistro Verdu, resurfaced in the north Glendale neighborhood of Sparr Heights in December 2007 with this boutique gourmet shop. Ruiz said he chose the name because “That’s where you start. You get good ingredients, you get good results.” After sampling seven of his “small bites,” it’s clear that Ruiz is indeed getting good results.

The space features an olive green awning and unfinished wood picnic tables, both inside and out. Ruiz calls the design “country European.” The shelves, counters and glass-fronted refrigerators are stocked with gourmet ingredients. He attracts affluent locals and JPL employees, plus Silver Lakers and Echo Parkers who shoot up the 2 freeway for DIY tasting menus.

Ruiz’s blackboard menu changes according to the seasons, but he makes sure to offer at least 20 Mediterranean small bites each day. To fuel daily specials, Ruiz scours three different farmers markets: La Cañada, Pasadena and Hollywood.

Deviled eggs ($3) were incredible, mixed with bacon bits, dusted with sea salt and smoked paprika, and topped with a tuft of razor-thin radish shavings. Several dishes, including the eggs, were served on butcher-paper lined cutting boards. Ruiz figured out a clever way to hold the eggs in place: more deviled egg yolk. To complete the dish, he drizzled around the eggs with house-made basil oil.

Ruiz paired our goat cheese terrine ($4) with the Verdu beet stix ($6), a dish that dates to Bistro Verdu. The goat cheese terrine featured alternating layers of sweet red pepper. Twin slabs cradled a pile of bursting heirloom tomatoes. Bracketing the dish were pours of pesto. Nice dish.

Verdu beet stix ($6) also featured alternating layers of vegetable and goat cheese, in this case roasted golden beets and peppered goat’s cheese. The vertical towers were drizzled with crumbled pistachios and balsamic-honey. Delicious.

Pork shoulder ($8) is slow braised with Cara Cara oranges (aka navel oranges). Ruiz covers the pig meat with a glass dome and introduces swirling applewood smoke.

Ruiz lifted the lid to reveal the luscious shredded pork, garnished with roasted green peppers and ringed with parsley oil.

Duck confit ($8) – shredded duck meat poached in duck fat – was tossed with shavings of sweet pear, shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, Marcona almonds and quince vinaigrette. Good, but not compared with the pork shoulder.

Reserva Serrano ham ($6) came on spicy tomato-slathered bread with shaved Leyenda. Ruiz described Leyenda as a “Spanish sheep’s milk cheese similar to Manchego, soaked in brandy, cured in pork fat and herbs for 14 days, another way we feature pork products.”

A crumbly slab of Baked Ricotta ($4) was studded with pistachios and dried figs, topped with thin-shaved speck, green beans and accented with drizzles of 50-year sherry vinegar.

A Daily Special, strawberry gingerbread shortcake ($5), featured layers of moist, slightly spicy bread, fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

The gourmet market sells Fra’Mani salumi, Marcona almonds and sacks of spices, sold by the ounce, including ground ginger, smoked paprika, cumin seed, turmeric and ground coriander. Ruiz also sells containers of house made walnut mustard, olives marinated in orange oil and cumin, and pimenton butter.

To drink, Ruiz encourages people to bring their own wine or stop by neighboring Rosso, Jeff Zimmitti’s boutique wine shop that specializes in varietals from France, Italy and Spain.

Every Thursday night, Ruiz presents a different tasting menu, pairable with Zimmitti’s wines. Ruiz doesn’t have a “conventional kitchen,” so he likes to challenge himself by cooking “good quality ingredients with simple preparations” relying on crock pots, sous vide and slow roasting. So far, he’s cooked five-course halibut, Moroccan and “swine-a-licious” pork tasting menus, to name three, and plans to cook from Thomas Keller’s French Laundry Cookbook in the coming weeks.

This summer, Ruiz plans to add a tasting room and begin growing ingredients in a back garden. He and Zimmitti have also discussed a wood-burning pizzeria. While his future plans are exciting, Ruiz has already managed to carve out a delicious niche for himself in Northeast Los Angeles.

This entry is filed under California, Los Angeles, Mediterranean, Southern California.