Spotlight on: The Wood

(Credit: Krista Simmons)

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A few months ago, Demetrios Mavromichalis (of Venice Grind) and Laurent Triqueneaux (of Cafe Laurent) opened the Wood, a local-leaning organic cafe at the corner Washington and Inglewood boulevards. The neighborhood was in dire need of the three C's-community, character and a good cafe-so it seemed natural that Mavromichalis, who also established the Mar Vista farmers market, would want to get involved. Unfortunately, the elements of service, sustainability and culinary sensibility at the Wood weren't quite up to snuff upon opening, and the place was railed at in the blogosphere and on other service-oriented websites.

In response, Mavromichalis has recently overhauled the Wood, and he's hoping things will turn around now that he's in the driver's seat, having cut ties with Triqueneaux. Needless to say, he's excited about the future. "Eventually, there's going to be a huge bike rack and fire pit on the outside patio," he says. "We really want to encourage people to get out of their cars."
 
Mavromichalis' hippy-chic, health-friendly focus has transformed the new menu, on which you'll find items like the flannel hash, a mash-up of shaved beets, potato, red onion and sweet potatoes, all topped with two fried eggs and served with a side of light gravy. Soyrizo has also been brought into the mix; it's a welcome addition, as the previous incarnation of breakfast tacos had an unappealing greasiness. There's been some staff shifting as well, which should patch up some of the service qualms (e.g., serving dine-in coffee in paper cups-no, thanks).

Of the old dishes that have been scrapped, we'll miss the perfectly ironed orange-blossom waffle, which has been replaced by two kinds of pancakes: blueberry flax seed and pumpkin.
 
Thankfully, some of the more successful dishes survive from the old Wood menu, such as the tasty pain perdu. Leftover croissants are chopped, soaked in egg batter, mixed with raisins and cranberries, and dusted with powdered sugar. Shaped like a large pancake, the buttery, flaky delight is perfect for those who can't decide between French toast and flapjacks. The Wood's thick, Catalan-style El Parador hot chocolate also keeps its place on the new menu, giving chocoholics a new item to obsess over.

There's a lesson to be learned here: Wholesome-hearted locavorism paired with an overzealous opening date doesn't equate to success. Everyone loves having a neighborhood breakfast spot-especially one that's reasonably priced, has a sunny patio, and offers free Wi-Fi-but ultimately, the goods and services will determine whether folks come back. In hindsight, it might have been best to have a Zen moment, take a deep breath and work out the details before the opening. But this hood needs a place like the Wood, so hopefully the makeover will succeed. The locals will be voting with their forks.

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