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Explore Sparr Heights' gourmet ghetto

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Contributed by: Miriam Johnston on 5/8/2008

On a stretch of Verdugo Boulevard south of Montrose, nestled between the workaday businesses that service the community, lies a budding destination for epicurean exploration.

This section of Sparr Heights has attracted several entrepreneurs devoted to fine food, wine and dining.

Most locals are familiar with the long standing businesses that cater to food enthusiasts, such as La Cabanita Restaurant, Shreiner's Fine Sausages and Berolina Bakery, all located in the triangle where Ocean View and Verdugo Boulevard meet.

If you continue north on Verdugo, you'll discover some newer entries, each dedicated to recreating a European ambiance. And it all began with one man who brought his vision of fine dining to the area.

Back in 2002, Chef Michael Ruiz became a pioneer of sorts when he opened Bistro Verdu, a small European-influenced restaurant, the type that formerly required a trip to the west side or Pasadena to find.

He and his wife had just returned to Southern California from Seattle, where he had worked in restaurants for almost a decade. He recognized that the demographics of the neighborhood were changing and the time seemed right to go out on his own.

Ruiz chose to open his restaurant on Verdugo because he liked the location, and when it became available, he knew "the timing was perfect ... to open the kind of restaurant I liked to eat in and work in."

He won many fans by offering a sophisticated menu at reasonable prices, prix-fixe dinner nights, and, before the restaurant secured its license to serve wine, charging no corkage fee to diners who brought their own bottles.

He now owns and operates Ingredients, a gourmet specialty food shop located a block north of his former location.

Ruiz says his interest in food began in his grandmother's Mexican restaurant in Whittier. He attended art school and considered a career in graphic arts, but when he applied for a busboy position in a restaurant, the chef took Ruiz under his wing and his kitchen career began.

Although he has no formal training, "I'm lucky to have worked in a lot of good kitchens with a lot of good chefs", he says, which include Stars, Chez Panisse, Olivetto and a six-month apprenticeship in Burgundy, France.

Walk into the shop and take in the faintly exotic scent of spices, neatly laid out on one counter in tiny bags. It's reminiscent of a Mediterranean spice market in miniature.

Artisan cheeses and meats fill a refrigerator near the entrance, and shelves with packages and bottles of top quality goods line one wall, but the fun begins at a long wood counter running towards the back of the store, where visitors can sample Ruiz's products and cooking.

That's where I find Ruiz, stacking translucent slices of different cheeses on brown paper, ready for a tasting.

When referred to as a pioneer, Ruiz chuckles. He accepts his status with modesty, but his enthusiasm for quality food is evident. He relishes the opportunity to introduce his products to the curious by way of his small bites and tasting menus which reflect his casual upscale style of cooking.

"We seek out artisan products and incorporate them in the menus we do. It's an interactive way of cooking and serving food," he said.

It's also a way to introduce some of the more unusual ingredients to customers, effectively "taking the scare out of some of the products" by combining them with more familiar items and demonstrating how to put together interesting meals.

As an example, Ruiz explains how he would prepare something ordinary, like a salad, with a few unexpected products. He brings out a package of duck confit from his refrigerator - the leg meat has been slowly cooked in its own fat - and suggests "use pears, baby arugula or lettuce, a simple vinaigrette with sherry for dressing, add shredded duck confit and quince jelly...I'll show how to put these components together to make something unique."

Ruiz began a neighborhood movement which is now spreading as new food-oriented shops and restaurants open on the Boulevard.

Although each business is independent, there is an interconnection between them borne out of a mutual love and respect for fine food and wine, which residents should appreciate.

"Chefs are everywhere now," explains Ruiz. "If you live here, you don't have to travel to the west side or Pasadena" to enjoy a fine meal.

He believes that the food renaissance will continue in Sparr Heights. "I don't know how long it will take, but I see our little stretch becoming more forward thinking, more food-related, for sure," he said.

Ingredients is located at 352A N. Verdugo Road, Glendale.

For more information, call 818-249-4971 or visit www.ingredientsshop.com.

While Ruiz may have started the gastronomic trend on the Boulevard, a few others soon followed. Tomorrow, visit a wine shop whose owners strive to find the perfect blend of countries and styles to serve the needs of the community.

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