Vegetable that’s still non grata

NEVERMIND those FDA reassurances about spinach. Most of L.A.’s restaurateurs have written the leafy green right off the menu for a while. And now that chefs are scrambling for substitutes, it’s suddenly emerald-clear how omnipresent spinach used to be.

The dreamy creamed spinach served at Wolfgang Puck’s steakhouse Cut is now being made with Swiss chard -- but the sunny side up egg on top remains. At Chinois, the chefs have had to tweak one of the restaurant’s original dishes, the Shanghai lobster introduced 23 years ago. Now they crisp-fry watercress leaves instead of spinach to accompany the chunks of lobster in curry sauce.

Gino Angelini, chef at Angelini Osteria, has reworked his signature lasagna verde omaggio nonna Elvira, which he normally makes with homemade spinach noodles. Although the dish still appears on the menu under that name, in reality it’s no longer “verde.” Instead the noodles, still homemade, are yellow from egg -- which is tough for the chef from Rimini, Italy, because, as he explains, “In my region, the lasagna is green.” Angelini flirted with using chard. “But I didn’t want customers to think it’s spinach,” he says.

Angelini Osteria isn’t the only Italian restaurant with spinach issues. One of the most popular items at Mulberry Street Pizzeria is the white pizza, which is actually green with spinach. Lately though, the chefs have been substituting chopped broccoli for the spinach. Co-owner Joseph Chiapetta says customers are trying and liking the broccoli version, but a front-line employee volunteers that sales of the white pie are down. At Valentino, Selvaggio says rapini has been the most common stand-in. Asparagus and mustard greens have also gotten more play.

At Surya, the Indian restaurant on 3rd Street, saag paneer, homemade mild cheese and creamy spinach, is normally a bestseller for owner Sheel Joshi, but it’s off the menu for the time being, as is the spinach naan. “We’re not taking a chance,” Joshi says.

Spinach-loving diners at Hugo’s in Studio City are faced not only with modified versions of dishes such as tofu scramble, very green casserole and Italian casserole, but also the loss of the cafe’s usual spinach lemonade -- yes, you read that right -- which was introduced just a few months ago but quickly developed a following. It’s on hiatus.

At least one area restaurant has stayed true to Popeye’s favorite. Throughout the spinach debacle, Tender Greens in Culver City, the 4-month-old casual eatery that specializes in salads and grilled items, has continued to serve fresh spinach. The restaurant’s owners have felt confident that their greens purveyor, Scarborough Farms in Oxnard, was not affected.

Still, many Tender Greens’ customers are taking a pass. Overall sales are the same -- diners, it seems, haven’t been scared off of salads in general. But when it comes to raw spinach, says David Dressler, one of the owners, “We went from 15 to 20 pounds a day to about 60% of that. Spinach was our most popular side salad prior to this happening.”

But Dressler sees an upside. “It gets people to try other things.”

Leslee Komaiko

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Small bites

* Don Dickman, former chef of Rocca in Santa Monica (which closed late last year), and sous-chef at Trump’s in West Hollywood in the ‘80s, has resurfaced. He just took over the kitchen at Matteo’s in Westwood.

Matteo’s, 2321 Westwood Blvd., Westwood, (310) 475-4521.

* BottleRock, the wine bar/wine shop that opened in Culver City in August, has lost its chef, Jason Travi. Owner Adam Fleishman says Travi’s menu remains in place until a new consulting chef is found.

BottleRock, 3847 Main St., Culver City, (310) 836-9463.

* The Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects is sponsoring its second Restaurant Design Awards. This year, however, the public is invited to vote for their favorite. Finalists include Katsuya in Brentwood and Sprinkles in Beverly Hills. To vote, visit https://www.aialosangeles.org.