Wood & Salt, the Bixby Knolls restaurant from restaurateur and Rasselbock owner Björn Risse, is a space intended to reflect its name. Literally. Smoke and flavor, if you were searching for a synonym of sorts. For Björn—whose five other spaces are all focused on German cuisine—this project has a rightfully special place and, with it, has also taken him on the roller coaster of his entrepreneurial journey.
“It just felt like Wood & Salt was losing its essence across the past year or so,” Björn admitted. “And it’s not as if patrons were extremely disappointed; they still loved the place. But I wanted to return the menu to the place that Chef Brian had it when we first opened our doors.”
Patrons slammed the restaurant when Chef Brian Levin brought with him an Italian-meets-Californian sensibility and seasonality to Wood & Salt. His food reflected an array of stellar pastas that sat neck-and-neck with wood-fired fish and meats. Shortly after the community fell in love with his food, it was snatched away: Chef Brian had to face a family concern that left him with no choice but to leave.
“I feel like Chef Albert really brings a return to the flavors and vibes we were originally about,” Björn said. “I can only hope the patrons agree—and if we can gauge by anything the customers have been saying since we brought him on, I have a feeling they agree.”
Chef Albert Lopez brings on the layers…
Hailing from Sylvester’s—the short-lived but highly praised Italian steakhouse in San Clemente that took over the former Lander’s bar—Chef Albert Lopez is young but wildly talented. Confident but definitively ego-free. And unabashedly obsessed with bold and bright flavors—which is the perfect response to Björn’s desire to return to roots.
Echoing Chef Jason Witzl of Ellie’s when he first appeared in Alamitos Beach, Chef Albert’s food is gorgeously layered and unafraid of sauces, oils, herbs, accoutrements, and, just for the hell of it, yet another layer of something. And they aren’t absent-minded levels untidily stacked onto one another.
Calabrian chile oils. Chimmichurries. Burnt lemon or mustard aiolis. Salsa verdes. Chili crunches. Gravies. There is no sauce left untouched on a menu that—with its massively multi-cultural reach, from China and Italy to California and Thailand—is one of the best of the year.
…and one of the most defining menus of the year with his take on what Wood & Salt represents.
Take his spectacularly created fire-roasted chicken. Drying it above the burning timber of Wood & Salt—dehydrating the sky so that it can satisfyingly crisp up to a Peking duck-like texture—this Cantonese-inspired dish is one of the most stellar fowl dishes in the city. Marinated in a Calabrian chile vinaigrette before being finished over the fire, it is then layered atop an astoundingly acidic mustard aioli—so bright it almost had a beurre blanc quality to it. Drizzled with Calabrian chile oil that has hints of burnt lemon, it is a wonderful example of Chef Albert’s ability to simply go bold.
His pastas stretch from something as wonderful as an umami-slathered papardelle with mushrooms. To his agnolotti, which uses a five-hour braised-and-then-compressed short rib as its star, a gravy made from the drippings, and Robiola Bosina-filled agnolotti that “has that sour cream and chive potato chip quality to it,” in the words of Chef Albert.
72-hour fermented house bread topped with fennel butter or served with mussels slathered in a green curry sauce… Grilled prawns doused in kaffir lime and a bone marrow salsa verde while sitting atop a burnt lemon aioli—oceanic, citrusy, smoky, umami, salty. A perfect pork chop—edges pink from an earthy beet bath—drowning in a pineapple chimmichurri that feels like al pastor-gone-full pork chop.
Surely: one of the Long Beach’s finest menus this year and, with Chef Albert, one our brightest, newest talents.
Exploring the food at Wood & Salt.
Housemade Bread: 72-hour fermented dough | tomato chili fennel butter | ancient grains
Grilled Prawns: Bone marrow salsa verde | Calabrian chili crunch | burnt lemon aioli | kaffir lime
Black Mussels: Curry-spiced broth | pickled Fresno | kaffir lime leaf | sourdough
Short Rib Agnolotti: Caramelized onion | Robiola Bosina | roast gravy
Funghi Pappardelle: Wild mushrooms | taleggio fond | herbs | Calabrian chili crunch
Pork Chop: Sweet beet glaze | pineapple chimichurri
Fire-Roasted Half Chicken: Calabrian chili vinaigrette | Thai basil
And as always, don’t skip out on the cocktails.
Let’s be honest: Wood & Salt Tavern is the epicenter of cocktail culture in Bixby Knolls. And that is thanks to beverage director Gabriel Ducharme. Check out some highlights off his ever-evolving menu…
Concord Fizz: Gin | Lo-fi gentian amaro | Concord grape cordial | Lemon | Aquafaba | Soda | Cinnamon zest
Spicy Cucumber Margarita: Herb and pepper infused spicy blanco tequila | Cucumber agave | Lime | Citrus lava Salt
Oaxacan in the Jungle: Mezcal | Select Bitter aperitivo | Chili liqueur | Pineapple | Lime
Wood & Salt Tavern is located in Bixby Knolls at 4262 Atlantic Ave.
