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This Encino restaurant covers lots of tasty culinary bases

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Over the years, I’ve encountered more than a few restaurants that declared their wonderfulness with their name — which has rarely turned out well, simply because the wonderfulness is almost never all that … wonderful.

Without putting too much memory into it, I have a recollection of a place called The Best Little Sandwich Shop in Town — which wasn’t the best anything. And another, which sat down the street from the fabled Nate ’n Al’s in Beverly Hills, and named itself The Best Deli on the Block. It was gone before the paint was dry.

Neither of them are still around. And that penchant for predicting success in a restaurant seemed to be writ large on the sign over 18047 Ventura Blvd., which boldly declares … Popular. (Or perhaps I should say, “Popular!”) It’s a curious name for a Middle Eastern/Italian/Japanese concept, and perhaps even more curious is the fact that … it fits. Perfectly.

Popular really is popular, during a wide range of hours built around being closed Friday night and for breakfast and lunch on Saturday, to honor the Jewish sabbath.

  • In a part of the San Fernando Valley where Israeli restaurants abound, Popular in Encino raises the bar on both the setting (casually upscale) and the food (uniquely creative), says restaurant critic Merrill Shindler. (Photo by Merrill Shindler)

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In a part of the San Fernando Valley where Israeli restaurants abound, Popular in Encino raises the bar on both the setting (casually upscale) and the food (uniquely creative), says restaurant critic Merrill Shindler. (Photo by Merrill Shindler)

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Popular (3 stars; 18047 Ventura Blvd., Encino; 818-796-2276; www.popular-encino.com) is an upscale sibling of Tel Aviv Grill and Tel Aviv Authentic Kitchen. Where its forebears can be rambunctious and noisy, Popular is, if not exactly quiet, at least not so much filled with assertive locals who like to be heard. Indeed, while the main room, with its lively bar tends to drown conversation with music, the side patio can be downright affable for conversation. Though, of course, you might find yourself busily trying to figure out dishes not normally found this far from the shores of the Mediterranean.

And very good those dishes are, too.

I thought I knew my way around most Middle Eastern/Israeli/Mediterranean dishes. But there are a few dishes, and ingredients, on the menu here that do challenge my Google. Hummus Msabbaha, for instance, is similar to hummus in that they’re both made from chickpeas. But otherwise, it’s warm and chunky, rather than room temperature and smooth, with both whole and mashed chickpeas in a tahini sauce, olive oil and the green chile, garlic and lemon juice condiment called tatbila.

Moroccan Frena is a thick, fluffy flatbread, a cousin of focaccia, but chewier. It’s served here with butter flavored with za’atar — which is so good, you’ll want to take it home in a small plastic container. This is butter in all its glory.

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There’s bishbash — which is as much fun to eat as it is to say. It’s a North African fennel salad with lemon and olive oil. Mashwiya is also North African, a dish of roasted vegetables like bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic and hot chili peppers, all very finely chopped. Marduma looks like jam, which I guess it is, except it’s made with tomatoes, peppers, garlic, olive oil and paprika.

Many of those dishes are found under the heading “mezze options” on the lunch menu, where the small mezze come with the skewered baked salmon, the striped bass, the branzino, fish schnitzel, sea bream, white bass and Chilean sea bass.

As you can probably surmise, Popular is what used to be the Tel Aviv Fish Grill. Only where the Fish Grill was loud and involved standing on a line to order, Popular is a sit-down restaurant with very good service. And an assortment of dishes that go well beyond fish and veggies.

There are pastas like wild mushroom gnocchi, sea bream risotto, arak rigatoni, bucatini cacio e pepe … and flower-shaped gigli pasta alla puttanesca. For a little touch of Japanese, there’s a bluefin sashimi and a yellowtail sashimi. There is no meat, for Popular is kosher — and, in this case, it’s milchig (dairy) and parve (neutral, which includes seafood).

But it’s not alcohol-free. There’s wine and sake, served by the glass and by the bottle. And both the wine and the sake are used in cocktails — though more sake than wine. Soto Black Junmai is mixed with watermelon, guava and pineapple to create a Tropit. Mix the sake with cucumber, mint and lime, and you’ve got a Far East-Side. Toss in peach, pineapple and green tea, and it’s a Kyoto Tropic.

As for myself, I’ll take my morning shakshuka with frena bread, Israeli salad … and Turkish coffee. Dark, strong and without a hint of sweet.

Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.

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