It’s the little things, really. The colorful, weaved tortilleros holding housemade tortillas. Thinly sliced summer peach wafers curled into horns anointing on the salad. A charred onion confit casually nestled in chile guajillo in the birria de res short rib dish. The attention to detail (graceful, never fussy) at Gema, which opened in August 2022, only serves to enhance the ambitious yet approachable gastronomic Mexican cuisine by executive chef Juan Pablo Cruz.
Owned by Sarah Goldman, a local restaurateur, Gema took over the former Tamarindo space (also operated by Goldman, who took it from food truck infancy to brick-and-mortar adulthood) on El Camino Real. Designed by Echo Park-based Stayner Architects, the interior features blonde wood slats highlighting much of the space, from the walls to the ceiling. Most impressive is a chevron-patterned wood screen above the bar that allows diners an obscured peek inside the kitchen while waiting for one of the restaurant’s mezcal-spiked cocktails, while a series of potted plants and floral arrangements give the space its hint of earthy warmth. But the clean and airy décor, which extends to its sidewalk-facing open-air patio, serves as supporting player to Gema’s greatest star: Cruz and his seasonal menu.
“We don’t use anything that doesn’t already exist in Mexico, with 60% of our ingredients coming directly from Mexico,” says Cruz, who was born in California but raised in Mexico and toiled away in some of the world’s greatest restaurants, including one of Mexico’s most lauded restaurants, Pujol. He decided to venture out on his own after the pandemic when, thanks to a third party, he met Goldman and the two teamed up to create Gema.
Gema’s menu changes depending on the season and ingredient availability, and favorites on a recent visit…
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