Whenever my cousin Jimmy comes to town, he wants to eat at the hottest restaurants with the best people watching. Enter Michael Wilson’s eponymous restaurant, situated in the corner of snazzy new MODAA, the Museum of Design Art and Architecture. Chef Wilson, formerly of Venice Beach fave 5 Dudley and scion of late great Beach Boy drummer Dennis Wilson, emphasizes seasonal ingredients and Italian-influenced flair.

[Note: I forgot to take a photo of my favorite Wilson design element. Above the bar in the dining room is a blown-up postcard of a head chef leading his underlings (all in chef’s whites) on the roof of Manhattan’s Commodore Hotel, circa 1920. Very cool.]

Each meal begins with a complimentary basket of terrific bread, including dark oat-crusted slices, soft Italian bread, and dynamite focaccia, served with a twin-compartment dish of balsamic and olive oil for dipping.

This was one of the soups du jour, curry corn, which Jimmy described as spicy but tasty.

This beef & scallop carpaccio with caper dressing was a selection from the “foodbar.” Inexplicably, the dish had literally no scallop, just thin-sliced beef. I flipped the beef over, jabbed my fork in the holes of the beef slices. No scallop. At least it tasted good, really top quality beef drizzled with oil and spicy dressing.

These baby field greens were served with luscious croutons, each topped with a different ingredient: prosciutto, fromage blanc chevre, candy-esque eggplant, and herb pesto.

This juicy Jidori chicken came crusted with savory cilantro pesto, served atop spicy wasabi mashed potatoes.

Since Chef Wilson partners with Antonio Mure and Stefano de Lorenzo of Westside Italian restaurants Piccolo Ristorante and La Botte, it’s no surprise pasta has infiltrated the Wilson menu. Potato & fig tortelli come “in a bed of parmesan fondue.” I’ll sleep in that bed any night.

This juicy duo of swordfish and olive oil poached tuna was fabulous, served over the magical eggplant stew known as caponata, a mix of eggplant, olives, onions, olive oil and more.

As stellar as the entrees were, there was some falloff with the desserts. The almond-studded crust of the peach crumble was terrific, but it was dense and overwhelmed the few peach slices within. The dish of creme Anglaise did nothing to remedy the situation.

This dish of chocolate pudding came topped with chocolate shavings. It was tasty, but nothing special. Still, the meal was very good. Jimmy labeled it the best meal we’ve shared in Los Angeles, giving the restaurant high marks for food and the all-important buzz. He even collected a celebrity sighting to take back with him to New Jersey: Matt Groening.

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This entry is filed under California, Californian, Italian, Los Angeles, Southern California, Westside.