Doc Ricketts harmonizes food and entertainment
Few people, for example, know about Ed Ricketts, but this marine biologist from Monterey held salons in his lab during the 1930s and 1940s and was a character in several of John Steinbeck’s books.
With Justin Deering, formerly of 15 Romolo and Conduit, at the stove, they’ve created a multifaceted restaurant in the building that once housed the Purple Onion, the club that launched the careers of Phyllis Diller, the Kingston Trio, Robin Williams and many others.
The bare-bones subterranean room is now called Doc’s Lab, and the place is booked nightly with comedy, music or literary events, with much of the food coming from Doc Ricketts upstairs, with a separate entrance and an independent identity.
In the restaurant upstairs, large windows overlook Columbus Avenue and allow passersby to see the traditional wood bar, the hefty wood tables and the banquette along one wall.
Many of Deering’s dishes incorporate a modern California approach, but he serves two audiences, and, throughout the night, waiters head downstairs to deliver well-charred hamburgers, fries, spiced nuts and other items from the menu.
Hamburgers and booze may fuel the audience listening to the Foxtails Brigade or Doc’s Comedy Open Mic (every Monday), but Deering’s food draws an audience as well.
The eight appetizers include albacore confit ($13), three generous chunks of tuna topped with strips of marinated celery and tender leaves served on white beans and a creamy tonnato sauce.
Fluke crudo ($13) is spaced evenly around an oval bowl scattered with pomegranate seeds, chunks of cucumber, sprouts, shiso and a soy-based sauce that accentuates the sweeter qualities of the fish.
The thick, smooth puree has an intense, earthy flavor offset by a burst of apples, a crunch of nuts and deep-fried cavalo nero leaves.
Many items sound familiar, including an excellent chicory salad with blue cheese, pears and walnuts ($9), and oysters served with mignonette (three for $10; six for $18).
The seven main courses include the hamburger — made with short ribs — and an even more substantial bavette steak with potato puree, mushrooms and Swiss chard ($26).
The standout is roast chicken ($22) in a sherry sauce served with fingerling potatoes, broccolini and toast smeared with chicken liver mousse.
Branzino ($25) is an equally generous portion, with three fillets arranged on piles of quinoa, with wedges of fennel dolloped with milky kefir and puddles of foam.
Dessert includes a puff pastry square ($8) with poached pear, caramel, almonds and a showstopping peanut butter ice cream.
Deering also creates a classic creme brulee with mixed berries ($8) and an ultra-rich chocolate cake with peanut butter ($8); it’s a touchstone for anyone who likes the combination of these two ingredients.
With good food upstairs, and an eclectic mix of events downstairs, Burnett is showing that music and food can go hand in hand and that innovation and tradition are not mutually exclusive.