Five Must-Order Dishes from Highly Likely’s New Dinner Menu
Before Kat Turner became the chef and co-owner of Highly Likely, the art school grad sported a platinum blonde mohawk, toured with The Smashing Pumpkins as their private chef, and worked as a go-go dancer, among other things.
“My 20s were a blast,” she laughs.
While she was working on a remote mountaintop in Utah, cooking for 200 people at an invite-only event, Cary Mosier, co-owner of Gracias Madre and Cafe Gratitude, asked Turner if she wanted to open a restaurant with him. She told him she didn’t know, to which Mosier replied: “If you can cook food this good on a top of a mountain in Utah, you can run a restaurant in Los Angeles.”
What emerged from that conversation was Highly Likely West Adams, a bright, airy, and casual all-day cafe with natural wines, expertly pulled espresso drinks, and breakfast and lunch dishes created with local ingredients (including an outstanding bowl of Japanese breakfast porridge and a charmingly self-aware “Ubiquitous Avo Toast.”)
Turner and Mosier opened the second location of Highly Likely in Highland Park at the end of last year. What sets this location apart is an enchanting back patio that’s lit up like a dream and designed for day-to-night hangs. Turner and her aesthetically savvy partners have had a blast creating a space that transitions from light and casual during the day to sexy and cozy come evening.
There’s also, for the first time, a full dinner menu at the Highland Park location, with yuzu deviled eggs, schnitzel, and a knockout burger; as well as a full bar with cocktails like a colatura-spiked martini and a Mai Tai with housemade cashew-coconut orgeat. Here, Turner walks us through five must-try dishes on the new menu.
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Fattoushy Salad
“I love fattoush. I wanted to have a salad that was fattoush-adjacent and hit on some of the flavors of that region. We do a za’atar vinaigrette, dried tart cherries for a little sweetness, finely shaved pickled red onion, and Persian cucumbers and chopped lettuce for crunch. It’s like a great chopped salad with some Levant-region influence. A lot of the play is between the bracing quality of the red onion, the creamy-tangy-saltiness of the feta, and the sweetness of the cherries. We also add fried pita and creamy chickpeas, and it becomes a textural journey.”
Artichoke Fritto
“This is our runaway hit — three fat marinated artichoke hearts, on the stem, fried up until they’re golden and crisp. They almost look like fried tulips. We serve them with a Calabrian chile-infused aioli and a little lemon wedge for brightness. They’re decadent and meaty. If you’re a vegetarian, they’re a great starter.”
Yuzu Deviled Eggs
“I’m from Wisconsin, and the idea of a deviled egg, to me, is so Midwestern. It’s a very retro little comfort food bite. The egg yolk gets blended with a little yuzu vinaigrette, Dijon mustard, yuzu kosho, and Kewpie mayo, of course. I love using yuzu, I think it’s the queen of citrus, and yuzu kosho is such an incredible secret-weapon ingredient that packs saltiness, heat, and brightness. It’s a perfect foil to the richness of the egg yolk.”
Chicken Liver Mousse
“I love chicken liver mousse, but I think liver in general can be a bit polarizing for people. If you like chicken liver, this is a great one. It’s a classic, French-style mousse that’s spreadable and creamy. It comes with crostini, cultured butter, prune mostarda, and cornichon. My favorite menu hack is: Order the mousse but don’t eat all of it, then order the burger, and spread that saved bit of mousse on the burger. [Ed note: you’re welcome.]”
The Burger
“I wanted to make a perfect, simple burger. We use a sesame brioche bun from Bakers Kneaded, one of our great local Highland Park vendors. The burger is a six-ounce patty made from a chuck-brisket blend. It’s not a smash burger; it’s just the right size. It gets topped with a Parmesan-peppercorn cheese sauce, crispy fried shallots, and a prune mostarda. I do some recipe development for The California Prune Board (aka Big Prune), and that was a condiment I created for them years ago that’s found its way on a few different dishes at Highly Likely. It’s sweet, sour, edgy, and good with anything that’s kind of fatty, because it can cut through it.”
Erin Mosbaugh is a food and travel writer who has worked in kitchens in New York and L.A. and co-created the James Beard Award-winning food site First We Feast. Follow her on Instagram and TikTok; follow Resy, too.
