A breakout hangout

I hardly ever order bruschetta in a restaurant anymore -- too often it means wimpy bread, out-of-season tomatoes and low-quality olive oil. But at Literati II, a new restaurant offshoot of Literati Cafe next door in West Los Angeles, the bruschetta is terrific.

Here, it’s thick, toasted country bread topped with baby octopus stewed in red wine with a little blood orange juice and wild spinach. Messy and delicious, it’s a great introduction to Chris Kidder’s soulful cooking.

You could follow it with his wild salmon. Cooked to a beautiful custardy texture, it came one night with Sardinian fregola, a kind of couscous, and fresh fava beans, the pods split open and grilled to give them a smoky edge. What a great early summer supper.

Set at the corner of Bundy and Wilshire, and nowhere near a restaurant row of any sort other than the fast-food joints, Literati II is a breakout restaurant for the neighborhood. The location is so unlikely, I had a hard time persuading anybody to come with me to try it.

One night’s would-be dinner guest wrinkled his brow, trying to picture the address. Wasn’t that insidious cartoon-themed kids’ restaurant right there? Or was it that low-rent all-you-can-eat Japanese buffet, he asked, dubious and desperately casting about for some excuse to break our dinner date.

Actually, it was last a branch of Koo-Koo-Roo. But that’s all in the past. There’s nothing predictable about the kitchen under Kidder, who used to be chef de cuisine at Campanile.

Everything about this new restaurant feels right -- the proportions of the room, the wooden shutters that filter the light, the way people settle in with their friends, leaning in to talk, more intent on visiting than checking out any scene of which there is none.

The design, which includes spines of books set into the wall by the bar, plays off the literary conceit without turning it into a fetish. A table lamp wears an alphabet lampshade, a giant wooden pencil is mounted high on one wall and a fountain pen gushing ink is painted on the floorboards.

And Kidder’s one-page menu is almost haiku -- it’s so concise. Everyone at the table falls silent, actually reading it, because many of the items are so original and wonderfully quirky. They’re not copycat anything, though they do share a sensibility with Campanile’s rustic Mediterranean cuisine.

Because Kidder is a big believer in the farmers market, the menu changes frequently, but not so often you can’t find at least a couple of your favorites still ensconced somewhere. The trappings or the vegetables might be different than they were on a previous visit, but instead of disappointing, the variation on a theme gets your attention.

The one staple seems to be the deep-flavored, roasted red pepper sauce, an updated romesco sauce, that arrives with the bread. If somebody at the table manages to scarf it all down before you get your fair share, not to worry. The waiter keeps an eye out and brings more as soon as it’s gone.

The moment you sit down, a server is right there cradling two bottles of water and proposing flat or sparkling. It’s the only off note in the otherwise commendable service, which is both unpretentious and professional.

Anyone who loves wine pounces on the savvy wine list with relief. Not only is it filled with thoughtful choices, many of them available by the glass, the prices are reasonable enough that you can actually find a number of interesting bottles hovering at the $35 level. For example, a Domaine des Beaumard Savennieres at $37. There’s also a 2001 Castello della Paneretta “Le Terrine” from Tuscany at $58. They have some serious stemware too.

For starters, I’ve had some terrific soups, such as one night’s sweet pea and green garlic soup. The flavors sashayed across my tongue, spelling out spring. A cauliflower puree garnished with grilled shrimp was delightful too. These are soups from somebody who isn’t just paying lip service to the idea, but actually cares about the genre.

Order the fritto misto, or “mixed fry,” too, made entirely with vegetables -- no cockscombs or sweetbreads the way they do it in Piedmont. This is asparagus spears, fresh artichokes, green beans, onion, etc., in a light, crunchy batter. Eat them plain or dip them in a lemony aioli. There’s something about finger food like this that’s grounding after a day in the city’s grind.

Kidder’s salads have personality too. He’ll take shavings of cauliflower, toss them in a lemony dressing and serve them in cupped radicchio leaves. Whole romaine leaves go into the respectable Caesar -- to be savored leaf by leaf. And a salad of butter lettuce strewn with avocado, walnuts, feta and citrus segments is as graceful as they come.

Generous servings

There’s a generosity to Kidder’s food that’s very endearing. Order the steamed mussels and you’ll get a large bowl of Taylor Bay mussels steamed in vermouth and served with a slab of grilled bread to soak up the juices. He’ll pan-fry oysters to a dark crunchy brown and pile them on top of another slab of bread with Tuscan black cabbage.

He knows where to find the best seasonal ingredients. One night, he was serving sand dabs, which I hardly ever see on a menu, and I managed to nab the last order. Sauteed in butter and served with lemon wedges and pickled capers, they made quite a statement.

Most of the meat is organically raised and from Niman Ranch in Northern California. Hanger steak is the cut that’s served as a classic steak frites. But sometimes there’s a Kansas City steak that’s chewy and flavorful, served with halved fingerling potatoes and fat, shaved asparagus marked by the grill.

One night I notice the tiny woman at the next table digging into a double-wide pork chop with relish. It looks terrific, and I like the accompaniments -- a potato galette, some wilted radicchio, grilled leek and dried plums.

A few weeks later, the dried plums are replaced by roasted cherries when cherries come into season. When I try it, the flavors all make sense, teasing every bit of flavor from that mild pork.

A little later in the evening, I can’t help noting the humongous chocolate cake she orders. It’s called carpe diem, and no wonder. It’s seven layers of dark, dark chocolate cake sandwiched between the appropriate number of layers of dark and milk chocolate ganache. It should carry a warning label: Don’t try to eat this on your own. It’s meant for sharing. So is the impressively large carrot cake.

But for daintier appetites, pastry chef Kimberly Sklar, who is married to Kidder and also was at Campanile and most recently at AOC, whips up a fine lemon curd tart. The killer, though, is her churros, the best I’ve ever had, fat squiggles of dough deep-fried, sprinkled with sugar and served piping hot. The chocolate pudding dipping sauce merely gilds the lily.

At Literati II, most main courses are less than $25 and you can get a wood-grilled burger -- with fries -- for $14. A restaurant with good food that’s priced more to be a neighborhood hangout than a special occasion kind of place? This is the future of dining in L.A. and it can’t come too quickly. We’ve always had the high-end places and the bargain ethnic restaurants, but very little in the everyday price range. Even valet parking is only $2. Unbelievable -- at a time when valet parking is edging ever upward -- and also very smart, because it sets you up to feel generously toward the place.

When a restaurant such as Literati II appears on the scene, where the food and the setting and the service all work in synergy, I can only advise carpe diem. And hope for a long run.

*

Literati II

Rating: ** 1/2

Location: 12081 Wilshire Blvd. (at Bundy), Los Angeles; (310) 479-3400

Ambience: Modest West L.A. restaurant with a literary theme and appealing and earthy food from a former chef de cuisine at Campanile.

Service: Charming and personable.

Price: Dinner appetizers, $8 to $16; main courses, $14 to $34; sides, $5; desserts, $6 to $12.

Best dishes: Shaved cauliflower salad, citrus salad, bruschetta with baby octopus, vegetable fritto misto, steamed mussels, wood-grilled hamburger, cavatelli, sand dabs, wild king salmon, wide-cut pork chop, steak frites, carpe diem seven-layer chocolate cake, fried churros.

Wine list: Savvy choices at reasonable prices. Corkage, $15.

Best table: One of the corner banquettes.

Details: Open for lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; for dinner 6 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 5:30 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Starting June 25, open for brunch 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Full bar. Valet parking, $2.

Rating is based on food, service and ambience, with price taken into account in relation to quality. ****: Outstanding on every level. ***: Excellent. **: Very good. *: Good. No star: Poor to satisfactory.