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PEEL COOKS UP NEW SPOTS ON LA BREA, CULVER CITY
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Sondi Sepenuk
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QUALITY OF spirits intrigues local chef Mark Peel
Mark Peel, executive chef and owner of Campanile restaurant on La Brea Avenue, along with New York cocktail guru Audrey Saunders and other partners, is about to open his highly anticipated latest venture, The Tar Pit. The restaurant and spirits bar that is, according to Mark, “a leap forward and a leap backwards,” meaning you’ll find your favorite classic drinks as well as some new creations hot off the drink menu.
“I started noticing that there’s a whole lot going on in the spirits world,” says Mark about the origination of The Tar Pit, located at 609 N. La Brea Ave. “What’s been happening the last five years in spirits is the same thing that’s happened the last 30 years in food and wine.”
Mark found that the quality of the gins, rums, tequilas, bourbons and scotches out on the market today are so much better than they’ve been in the past, and he was intrigued. “I started looking around, asking questions and partnered up with one of the finest bartenders in the United States, Audrey Saunders of New York’s Pegu Club,” smiles Mark. “She is a guiding light, a demi-god of the cocktail world.”
Under Audrey’s tutelage, “we will make our own bitters, our own infusions, the citrus will be sliced to order, and the juices will be juiced on demand,” proclaims Mark. The bar will also feature multiple ice machines: one that makes big fat ice cubes that take a month to melt, one for pellet ice (perfect for juleps), and there’s even a secret ice-making machine that Mark has yet to see with his own eyes.
“Having great ice is so important. Those big, fat beautiful cubes are what you want —the smaller ones dilute the drink… and we’re going to be making each drink with restraint—not these big bathtub drinks that get warm halfway through.”
The Tar Pit, an intimate, "swellegent" space inspired by the 1940’s film “My Man Godfrey,” will feature sleek, curving lines and a touch of art deco. The food will consist of bold, hip, small plates that create a “more convivial feel.”
If history is any clue, La Brea Ave. is a good spot for Mark to dedicate his latest venture. Campanile and La Brea Bakery, which Mark and Nancy Silverton opened back in 1989 and are also located on La Brea, continue to be thriving landmarks of L.A. cuisine.
Living just blocks away from his restaurant, Mark makes a point to be home every Tuesday and Sunday night to dine with his two young children and wife Daphne Brogdon, a stand-up comic, TV personality and founder of CoolMom, a blog for moms. (Mark also has three older children from his previous marriage to Nancy Silverton).
Mark’s dedication to eating as a family and his desire to write a book highlighting simple, accessible recipes inspired his just-released cookbook, “New Classic Family Dinners,” featuring many of Campanile’s famous Monday night family-style dinner recipes.
“The book is geared towards cooking at home,” explains Mark. “I use the classic recipes that have become clichés, trite, or fell out of usage—yet if you go back, pick apart these old clichés and you do each step properly, using good ingredients, done with care, you find out why it is that they were so popular.”
Old-time favorite recipes included in the cookbook are Chicken a la King, linguini and clams and tuna noodle casserole. “It’s not any harder to cook well than to cook badly,” insists Mark.
As if The Tar Pit and his new cookbook weren’t enough, Mark has also just opened The Point, a Culver City cafe located within sniffing distance of nearly 1,000 ravenous Media District employees. Since parking in the area is nearly impossible due to the obliteration of National Boulevard by MTA rail line construction, Mark has positioned The Point as a take-out and delivery joint, offering sandwiches, salads, fresh soups, wine and beer.
“The way to make amazing things is to break it down to the bare elements, and to do every single small step the best you possibly can.”
In all of his endeavors— past, present and future—it’s easy to see that everything Mark does evolves from his simple, rock solid philosophy: “The way to make amazing things is to break it down to the bare elements, and do every single small step the best you possibly can.”
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