Letter of Recommendation Los Angeles
Henrietta Is the Day-to-Night Restaurant Every Neighborhood Deserves
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The first time I walked past Henrietta, I felt strangely envious.
On my way to a meal elsewhere, I was struck by this tiny corner spot, a newcomer to the block, completely packed with people. The glimpses of the food I caught looked fantastic, but more than that, the diners themselves seemed relaxed and happy. They were calm. They looked at home. I envied the feeling as much as I wanted to try the food.
The sensation that a place belongs exactly where it is is difficult for any restaurant to capture, let alone one that’s only been open for a few months. Eager to tap into that intangible feeling of belonging, I went for lunch the next week. Almost immediately, I became a Henrietta obsessive.
It all started with the mushroom dip. Grilled, thick-sliced maitakes, onions both caramelized and pickled, and melty-but-still intact provolone are stacked together on fresh ciabatta from Clark Street Bakery next door. Good, but the crystal sundae cup full of mushroom jus served alongside the sandwich is the real star. The jus is a concoction of white button mushrooms, reduced for what feels like forever with Madeira and sherry vinegar.
Entirely vegetarian, this broth is on par (if not better) than any meaty jus I’ve ever had, and the first real indication that this was not just another sandwich shop. Owner Max Lesser puts it best: “The sandwich is a 9/10, the broth that you dip in is a 700/10.”
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Though Lesser is a first-time restauranteur, he approaches the question of Henrietta’s identity with the rigor of a veteran, and genuinely cares about what the venue represents to the community around it. “Can you be a neighborhood restaurant and also a destination?” he muses. That’s the question he’s been mulling over for the last five years, ever since the pandemic finally gave him the downtime to dream of opening his own spot.
A veteran server with stints at The Publican in Chicago and Chi Spacca here in Los Angeles, Lesser used waiting tables to balance his work as a writer and actor for most of his career. But in recent years, when visiting new restaurants in Los Angeles, he often felt disappointed. “Half the time, it just seemed like no one cared,” he says.
Describing Henrietta as a “California sandwich shop by day, bistro by night,” Lesser isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel. He’s just trying to make the best possible wheel. “Quality and care are the two things we talk about constantly. We’re trying to be really, really good,” he says. “Which I get, isn’t the greatest hook, but it feels the most authentic to me. I know great food and great service. This is a restaurant by a bunch of restaurant professionals for the people.”
The mushroom dip, an L.A. legend in the making, is just one of the five sandwiches that define the lunch menu—all of which are bangers—plus an additional weekend breakfast sandwich and a host of salads. There’s the unexpectedly unctuous broccolini panini, more akin to a broccolini grilled cheese than anything else, filled with smoked cheddar, romesco, and sliced dates. Next, an avocado chop salad reboots the salami-and-provolone original, substituting caramelized crescents of delicata squash topped with “crispy bits” of quinoa, garlic and shallots for a fresher, still hearty version.
Then, there’s the only side of potatoes I’ve ever had actually worth $14: Yukon creamies from the farmers’ market first boiled, then smashed, double fried, tossed in aioli, and smothered in a shower of grated Parmesan and fine herbs. The potatoes are one of the only dishes that appear on both the lunch and dinner menus; you will see them on just about every table. After trying these potatoes once, I thought about them the entirety of the next day, and returned 48 hours later for my second lunch of the week. (And that’s how you get diners that look happy—when a dish as simple as a side of potatoes achieves the Platonic ideal, it’s easy to relax.)
And while Henrietta unequivocally has lunch on lock, the restaurant is firmly day-to-night, offering separate lunch and dinner menus, as they have since opening day. “The entire purpose was to be a neighborhood spot that functioned in both daytime and at night,” Lesser explains. “I think the Italians do that better than anyone. We used to talk about the ‘California Roscioli.’ There’s no hanging meats, but it’s the idea of a neighborhood space that can do different things.”
Silverlake Wine album and former Chi Spacca wine director Katie Vonderheide, whom Lesser knows well from his serving days, put together the independent label-focused wine list for the space. 35-40 bottles with vintages from the last five years or so runs the gamut between New and Old world, with an emphasis on French classics and California standouts like the cult-favorite Ghostwriter Pinot Noir from Hobo Wine Company in Santa Cruz.
The wine is a nice-to-have for lunch when guests order at the counter, but distinctly necessary during dinner, when the lights dim and table service is in order. It’s also when the remarkable range of chef Alexis Brown, Lesser’s first and most important hire, comes into play. Brown, whose longest stint before Henrietta was Alimento— another small, neighborhood-focused Italian gem that relied heavily on local produce—crafts a nighttime menu that operates like an older cousin to their lunch offerings.
Start with chicken liver pate or deviled egg spread to slather on a Clark Street baguette, or choose beef tartare smeared on thick-cut toast with pickled squash and crema, taking the bistro staple in an umami-forward direction. Pale, plump ricotta dumplings served in chanterelle broth are lighter than air but deliciously salty thanks to cacio cavallo cheese, and peppy countneck clams in sherry and stewed peperonata are another hit. A pork collar, seasoned with urfa chile and crowned by arugula and apple, showcases seasonal farmers’ market goods. Nota benne: Brown’s background is in pastry, so the deceptively simple chocolate tart with whipped cream is unmissable, as are the panna cotta with macerated blueberries and the crisply folded apple galette.
No matter what service you come in for, the lived-in, carefree atmosphere is as crucial as the cuisine. Henrietta is a place where guests are able to relax because they know they’ll be taken care of, day or night. Destination restaurants earn their chops by offering an experience guests can’t get anywhere else, and neighborhood staples do the same thing by creating a comforting, familiar atmosphere that regulars want to share with everyone. It’s not a stretch to say Henrietta has already nailed both.
Caitlin White is a food, wine and travel reporter who splits her time between Los Angeles, Toronto, and Cannes. She’s a contributing editor to Santa Barbara Magazine and a hotel critic for The Telegraph. Her work has appeared in The Observer, InsideHook, Fine Dining Lovers and many more. Born and raised in the Willamette Valley, she has a soft spot for Oregon Pinot Noir, but learned to drink in Red Hook bars like Fort Defiance and Sunny’s.
