The aughts were a very different dining scene in Los Angeles. Chefs like Wolfgang Puck and names like the Ivy ruled the roost, while Suzanne Goin, Nancy Silverton, and Suzanne Tracht became more instantly recognizable. After helming Silverton and Mark
Peel’s iconic Campanile as chef de cuisine and opening Jozu in the 1990s, Tracht debuted Jar in 2001, where it became an early hit. Tracht garnered accolades like Food and Wine’s Best New Chef and appeared on Top Chef: Masters, earning high praise from Los Angeles Times critic S. Irene Virbila, who noted her continued refinement of its dishes. Tracht has long credited chef de cuisine Preech Narkthong, who helped infuse Asian ingredients and techniques to make duck fried rice, lemongrass chicken, and kimchi Brussels sprouts in ways that complemented her reimagined American comfort fare. After 25 years, numerous television and film appearances, and a midcentury modern dining room that still beams with character, Jar remains one of the most reliable chophouse dinners in Los Angeles.
What to order
- Order the vodka lychee martini, served in a massive six-ounce glass that’s easy to tip over. Nothing says the aughts quite like a sweetened martini, but thankfully this one is balanced and very refreshing, making it an ideal starter to a chophouse dinner spread.
- Crab-topped deviled eggs still come from the original menu, featuring small dollops of fresh crab over well-blended egg yolks. Heirloom tomato salad with big sweet onion slices also makes for an evocative early course, with juicy rounds of salted tomato bedded beneath a mix of fresh herbs such as parsley, tarragon, chive, and mint. A pickled ramp vinaigrette brings a wonderful complexity.
- Fresh oysters with black pepper ponzu add just the right tangy, savory touch to the ice-cold shellfish.
- Char siu pork chop, pulled from Tracht’s menu at Jozu, gains nice char from the grill and a gently sweet-savory flavoring on the outside. Don’t expect something saucy; instead, the ruddy five-spice marinade adds that patented, aromatic Cantonese flavor.
- Breaded chicken schnitzel won’t outdo the veal rendition from Spago, but the pickled leek butter makes for a luscious sauce to counter the nicely browned crust.
- Grilled Kansas City steak (essentially a bone-in New York strip) with peppercorn sauce feels like something Don Draper would order at Jar, the piquant sauce adding a savory punch to the juicy, nicely medium-rare interior.
- Fried rice topped with tender pieces of well-browned duck, sauteed pea tendrils, and kimchi Brussels sprouts are fantastic non-traditional sides that bring freshness to a part of a steakhouse meal that’s usually quite heavy (think mashed potatoes or creamed spinach, which do moonlight on the menu as well).
- Most people will have the caramel pudding but the classic carrot cake, with three layers and cream cheese frosting, remains the best throwback choice.
Best for
Dressing up for no reason and going on a classy date night; martini-fueled hangs with longtime friends visiting from out of town; cinemaphiles who recall Jar’s dining room from La La Land; fans of Kate Berlant and Jacqueline Novak’s Poog podcast, since the hosts are completely enamored with everything Jar.
Insider tip
Jar’s pot roast is the most iconic dish on the menu. It’s a stunner, topped with roasted vegetables and caramelized onions, but probably best when the weather’s colder outside. Same goes for the New England clam chowder, crusted with toasted bread crumbs; it’s soul-warming but almost too rib-sticking for the last vestiges of Los Angeles’s summer weather.
The takeaway
At a time when restaurants seem to chase trends, Jar remains solidly midcentury in appearance and aughts in sensibility. Tracht and the team use irreproachable seasonal ingredients with just enough adornment to add some flair to the otherwise traditional chophouse menu. The room and service are wonderfully old-school, and even the prices are a touch below Mastro’s and Musso & Frank’s of the world. It’s a modern classic L.A. restaurant that still feels worth celebrating.
