Boxer Is a Bistro for Talented New Chefs Who Pack a Tasty Punch

One of L.A.’s most engaging neighborhood bistros, Boxer, just got a new cheffrom out of town. It’s not the first time. This 5-year-old restaurant, just across from CBS on a block of Beverly Boulevard replete with vintage steam bath-massage centers and a clutch of edgy boutiques and design stores, has become the off-Broadway of the Los Angeles dining scene, the kitchen where young chefs make their L.A. debuts before moving on to bigger venues.

Boxer is basically a storefront done up charmingly in a square and rectangle motif, with a dining room small enough to allow fledgling chefs to experiment and see which ideas fly.

Boxer’s alumni include Neal Fraser, who went on to Rix in Santa Monica followed by the short-lived Jimmy’s II, and most recently, Brooke Williamson, who takes over the stoves at Zax (the renamed Woodside) in Brentwood this week.

Meanwhile, Daniel Wright has stepped into the lead role at Boxer. Wright hails from Chicago, where he was sous-chef at Zealous, and before that, cooked at Blackbird. Chicago rarely sends chefs our way, so it must be the prospect of another Chicago winter coming up--or love, or both--that blew Wright in this direction.

On a recent drop-in visit, the little restaurant welcomed guests with a double row of miniature poinsettias back-lit with Christmas lights. The crowd, as always, was eclectic--groups of friends dropping in after an art opening, earnest writers discussing a script, couples on a first wary date. Next to our table, a couple fed their baby, who opened his mouth wide for each spoonful. Oops, when two more guests walk in, the father leaps up to lead them to their table. That’s when I recognize Boxer’s owner, Steven Arroyo, who also owns Bicentennial 13, the wine shop next door. (Boxer has no wine and beer license, but if you want to drink something, you have only to walk next door to pick up an interesting bottle.)

Wright struts his stuff with the specials, such as sauteed sweetbreads on a salad of diced celery root and potatoes with whole-grain mustard. A salad of bitter greens and Cabrales, the blue cheese from northern Spain, is pleasant enough, but flavors might stand out sharper if the honey vinaigrette were less sweet.

Boxer seems the perfect place for American comfort food, and Wright cottons on to the idea with such things as the terrific rough-textured meatloaf with silky mashed potatoes and a fine gravy.

As another young chef makes his debut at Boxer, drop in for supper and the cooking of newcomer Daniel Wright, late of Chicago.

* Boxer, 7615 W. Beverly Blvd., L.A.; (323) 932-6178. Open nightly for dinner. Appetizers $6 to $12; main courses $16 to $22.