A Bicoastal State of Mind
The restaurateurs pressing blend on the east and west coast.
WORDS: Ninette Paloma
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It is late afternoon on a Tuesday, and already the farmers’ market crowd has laid claim to the terraces that line this particular stretch of downtown, sipping iced matchas and West Coast IPAs as the sun begins to dip behind the buildings. From a distance, the carrot tops peeking out of bulging totes create a verdant canopy against a brick and concrete landscape. From a distance, this could easily be a Tuesday in downtown Santa Barbara. Except that I’m in Tribeca, perched on a stool at Rigor Hill Market watching New Yorkers play out a very left coast scene.
When Dr. Dre released the single “East Coast/West Coast Killas” back in 1996 – featuring rap artists from both LA and NYC – he laid the foundation down for a new era in bicoastal collaboration. Dismissing ideas of regional superiority, Dre instead waxed lyrical over the merits of creative fusion and lifestyle nuances. Kill the competitiveness, was his message. A year later, Pulitzer-prize author Mary Schmich followed up with the essay “Wear Sunscreen,” encouraging folks to “live in New York once, but leave before it makes you hard [and] live in California once, but leave before it makes you soft.” Playing into their differences, Schmich made it clear that the qualities of both coasts were worth pursuing. And many people agreed.
Take Heather Tierney, who left her home in Indiana at the age of 22 in search of kale salad and serious nightlife. In 2012 she transformed a corner of New York City’s Nolita neighborhood into the beloved plant-based restaurant The Butcher’s Daughter before following up with an outpost in Venice, California four years later. Malibu Farm owner Helene Henderson joined her on the reverse, parlaying her success on the Malibu Pier into a South Street Seaport location with stunning views of the Brooklyn Bridge. Soon others followed: Lucky’s Montecito added a Lucky’s Soho; after a few fits and starts and temporary spaces, Gjelina LA debuted Gjelina Noho; and just this past month, Ojai darling Rory McAuliffe of Rory's Place tested the waters with pop-up dinners at Raf's New York and the private room at Happier Grocery - the east coast's answer to Erewhon.
When Dr. Dre released the single “East Coast/West Coast Killas” back in 1996 – featuring rap artists from both LA and NYC – he laid the foundation down for a new era in bicoastal collaboration. Dismissing ideas of regional superiority, Dre instead waxed lyrical over the merits of creative fusion and lifestyle nuances. Kill the competitiveness, was his message. A year later, Pulitzer-prize author Mary Schmich followed up with the essay “Wear Sunscreen,” encouraging folks to “live in New York once, but leave before it makes you hard [and] live in California once, but leave before it makes you soft.” Playing into their differences, Schmich made it clear that the qualities of both coasts were worth pursuing. And many people agreed.
Take Heather Tierney, who left her home in Indiana at the age of 22 in search of kale salad and serious nightlife. In 2012 she transformed a corner of New York City’s Nolita neighborhood into the beloved plant-based restaurant The Butcher’s Daughter before following up with an outpost in Venice, California four years later. Malibu Farm owner Helene Henderson joined her on the reverse, parlaying her success on the Malibu Pier into a South Street Seaport location with stunning views of the Brooklyn Bridge. Soon others followed: Lucky’s Montecito added a Lucky’s Soho; after a few fits and starts and temporary spaces, Gjelina LA debuted Gjelina Noho; and just this past month, Ojai darling Rory McAuliffe of Rory's Place tested the waters with pop-up dinners at Raf's New York and the private room at Happier Grocery - the east coast's answer to Erewhon.
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Far from the Marriot promise of “a home away from home” experience, where every room in every city is a uniform replica of the first, these bicoastal concepts pride themselves on a site-specific experience, blending into their environs and allowing the pace of the neighborhood to set the tone of the restaurant. Tierney may strive to ensure her avocado toast tastes the same on Abbot Kinney Road as it does on Kenmare St., but she also knows her Venice brunch crowd will be digging into theirs at 8am while New Yorkers will amble in way past the 10:00 hour. For her part, Henderson makes it a point to offer up menu variations for each locale – a poblano lobster burrito in Malibu becomes a smoky lobster roll in Manhattan – thoughtfully tweaking her offerings on a seasonal basis. Even the interiors themselves conform to geographical aesthetics (or constraints, depending) as with Gjelina, who trades in the breezy rustic charm of its original outpost for a sleek and greige bistro experience on Bond St. Lucky’s co-owner Gene Montesano struck real estate gold with an address on storied Lafayette St. but had to make due with a sliver of the square footage he’s accustomed to. The results? An understated mahogany bolthole warm with date night lighting and New Amsterdam charm.
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On a sunny morning in May, I am standing in a field at Rincon Hill Farm watching Alice Waters fill her coat pockets with spring garlic; to my right, New York writer Lauren Salkeld is cradling a perfectly ripe avocado with all the gentleness of a mother.
We are touring one of Santa Barbara County’s newest regenerative farms - a pristine stretch of land just off highway 150 in Carpinteria- with owners Young Sohn, Mark Armenente, and nephew Ryan Sohn. The trio is behind Tribeca's much adored One White Street restaurant and Rigor Hill Market, as well as Rigor Hill Farm in the Hudson Valley. With their latest acquisition -historic restaurant The Palms a mere three miles from Rincon Hill Farm - they are slated to debut their farm to market to table concept in California by the end of 2025.
Chef Daniel Kim has set up a makeshift kitchen between the planted rows of kale, sautéing lion's mane mushrooms and slicing into avocados that we picked up along our walk. Waters and I share a bowl of smoky kimchi as Ryan Sohn points out the compact cabin that will serve as the farm’s fermentation station. One White Street might lean into New York City’s Italian persuasion, but The Palms will be paying homage to California’s Asian influence with a variety of miso butters and Korean-inspired ferments woven into the menu. Chef Kim swirls a dollop of sesame miso into a sauté pan and begins to describe the dizzying variety of mushrooms and micro greens and herbs he has been experimenting with in the farmhouse kitchen, ingredients that blend memory and geography into each seamless dish he prepares. Looking around the bicoastal group in attendance, their faces beaming in the late spring light, you can almost hear Dr. Dre in the afternoon breeze: I got crews on both sides together, deeper than the ocean and down for whatever.
We are touring one of Santa Barbara County’s newest regenerative farms - a pristine stretch of land just off highway 150 in Carpinteria- with owners Young Sohn, Mark Armenente, and nephew Ryan Sohn. The trio is behind Tribeca's much adored One White Street restaurant and Rigor Hill Market, as well as Rigor Hill Farm in the Hudson Valley. With their latest acquisition -historic restaurant The Palms a mere three miles from Rincon Hill Farm - they are slated to debut their farm to market to table concept in California by the end of 2025.
Chef Daniel Kim has set up a makeshift kitchen between the planted rows of kale, sautéing lion's mane mushrooms and slicing into avocados that we picked up along our walk. Waters and I share a bowl of smoky kimchi as Ryan Sohn points out the compact cabin that will serve as the farm’s fermentation station. One White Street might lean into New York City’s Italian persuasion, but The Palms will be paying homage to California’s Asian influence with a variety of miso butters and Korean-inspired ferments woven into the menu. Chef Kim swirls a dollop of sesame miso into a sauté pan and begins to describe the dizzying variety of mushrooms and micro greens and herbs he has been experimenting with in the farmhouse kitchen, ingredients that blend memory and geography into each seamless dish he prepares. Looking around the bicoastal group in attendance, their faces beaming in the late spring light, you can almost hear Dr. Dre in the afternoon breeze: I got crews on both sides together, deeper than the ocean and down for whatever.
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