Ethnic Swings at Monkey Bar

We know that fancy French food has taken a hit from the recession. Also a bust, at least creatively, is the eclectic-cuisine movement, which has mostly deteriorated into a mix-and-match formula of ethnic greatest hits. Putting tacos and linguine on the same menu may seem daring, but it’s a good way of covering your bets in an economic climate that discourages real experimentation. Of the eclectic places that opened in the past year, only John Sedlar’s Bikini in Santa Monica really advanced the cause of modern ethnic cooking.

But now there is the Monkey Bar. It’s a grown-up version of Olive and Trinity and Tryst, a nightclub-like spot full of rich, pampered faces. Jack Nicholson is an investor.

More interesting is the food. Chef Gordon Naccarato--once chef at Michael’s and most famous for his Aspen restaurant Gordon’s--put together a menu full of ethnic flavors: Jamaican and Cuban, Thai and Japanese, Italian and Moroccan. Naccarato cooks as someone who loves ethnic food. His Thai noodle salad with shrimp, for instance, is not overly sweet, is properly oily and has just the right tang of fish sauce. You get the sense that he’s spent plenty of late nights in Hollywood Boulevard Thai noodle shops.

His Puerto Nuevo-style lobster tacos are not dead-on authentic (there is the matter of the white beans), but come with a good, smoky hot sauce. There are more subtle things too: ahi sashimi and wild mushroom salad flavored with truffle oil and Parmesan shavings. Naccarato’s Moroccan-spiced lamb, roasted and served with polenta and mushroom confit, proves he knows the Urban Rustic thing.

Cross your fingers and hope that Monkey Bar’s kitchen stays sharp. If we’re lucky, this is the direction high-end ethnic cooking is going--food inspired not by cookbooks, but by direct experience.

* The Monkey Bar, 8225 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 658-6005. Entrees $16 - $26.