Si Mon Cafe Provides Panamanian Seafood to Venice

To actually have an understanding of Panamanian delicacies, just one has to first have an understanding of its historical past and geography. “Panama was the initially-ever colonization in the Pacific aspect of the entire continent of The us,” says José Olmedo Carles Rojas, a chef who was born and elevated in Panama City and continues to get in touch with it house. “From the 1500s, each individual single culture that you can consider went by way of Panama to get to other spots.” The result is a “melting pot” that is as varied as a area like Los Angeles, he states, with myriad influences which includes Chinese, French, Spanish, African, and Caribbean, among the other folks.

When Carles’s initially stateside restaurant opens on Thursday, September 14 in Venice, Angelenos will get a flavor of the chef’s particular design and style of Panamanian cooking, which pulls from the country’s abundant foodways and was made above many years of running a duo of acclaimed eating places in its funds metropolis (Fonda Lo Que Hay and the now-shut Donde José). Veteran restauranteurs Louie and Netty Ryan (Hatchet Corridor, Townhouse, Menotti’s Espresso) partnered with Carles on the restaurant following assembly via mutual acquaintances in 2021.

Si! Mon, which just interprets to “Yeah!,” requires about the former James Seashore place on Venice Boulevard. The courtyard, with its plentiful greenery and earthy terracotta accents, captures a lush tropical scene. “What we tried using to do is make it come to feel like you are in a Central American yard that is shut to the beach,” Carles states. The cafe will initially seat 40 diners on the outside patio, with options to double capacity by mid-October when the major eating place opens for company.

The opening menu focuses on seafood and shares the “same essence of flavors” as Fonda Lo Que Hay. But while the chef describes his cooking in Panama Metropolis as “playful” — dishes usually get there with guidelines on how to take in many components — Si! Mon’s culinary approach is “more straightforward” and seasonal. Dishes on the “elevated road food” menu are meant to be shared: The chef recommends buying four or so plates per particular person. Carles claims that the menu will expand to close to 25 dishes when the key eating room opens.

Not to be skipped are Carles’s signature yuca tostadas, which initially appeared on Lo Que Hay’s menu and consider a few times to prepare. The flawlessly sq., delicately crisp yuca rafts are deep-fried and topped with paper-slim slices of uncooked tuna, cachucha pepper aioli (“It tastes like a habanero but it is not spicy,” Carles says), black lime, herbs, and served with a lime wedge. A vegetarian version of the tostada will come with hummus built from a starchy fruit grown on palm trees called pixbae (“There’s certainly nothing you can assess it to because it’s just pretty special,” he claims), marinated Sungold tomatoes, and thinly sliced avocado.

Fried hen drumsticks are a different notable dish carried in excess of from Lo Que Hay. Marinated with salt, garlic, and culantro, the gluten-no cost fried chicken is showered with a blend of salt and roasted rice powder. Carles realized how to make the “chicken salt” topping from a Vietnamese cafe in Panama. Chef de delicacies Christian Truong’s (formerly of Manuela) Panamanian-fashion dumplings will be on the menu, bringing collectively Chinese and Afro Caribbean flavors. Crammed with chopped shrimp, shrimp mousse, Panamanian-design and style sofrito, ​​aji chombo, herbs, and aromatics, the dumplings are served in a shrimp bisque with a coconut curry reduction and completed with burnt scallion oil.

Si! Mon’s beverage menu capabilities cocktails by barman Mitchell Bushell. “The concentrate for the beverages has been gentle and bright, beverages that engage in perfectly with foods but do not overpower the sensitive notes,” Bushell tells Eater. The Si! Mon margarita features mezcal, passionfruit, and vanilla, though the Umami Previous Fashioned is produced with a rum mix, mushroom amaro, and MSG. Wine director Duncan Mischo curated the restaurant’s completely orange wine checklist, which involves bottles predominantly from California and the place of Georgia, although the beer lineup features Central American brewers like Imperial, Victoria, and Panama Cerveza.

In the early phases of bringing Si! Mon to lifestyle, Carles sought to determine the restaurant by discovering two concerns: “How does a Central American seafood cafe appear in LA?” and “What does it imply to be in LA and be Central American?” With Si! Mon, he might be closer to the reply than at any time.

Si! Mon is positioned at 60 N. Venice Boulevard, Venice, CA 90291. The cafe is open up from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday to Saturday. Reservations are available on Resy.