In a nondescript strip mall on the southeast corner of Palms and Sepulveda, a backlit sign reading “Julie Goes Green” frames a tidy and well-lit interior. Inside, the walls are slatted with reclaimed wood and rustic glass pendant lamps dangle overhead. A wall-mounted TV running a slideshow of their dishes sits next to a wood-framed chalkboard with hand-written musings and illustrations. This restaurant, once the omnivore spot “Julie’s Pizzeria”, is now presenting somewhere between eco-chic health food and friendly neighborhood Italian take-out. This range is evidenced by display beverages that span from bottled coke to kombucha.
The titular Julie cheerily takes our order and immediately makes us feel at home. The single broad table in the room makes for an intimate environment, and as my family and I settle down it seems rude not to take a stab at conversation with the gentleman two seats over. He’s a bit overcooked from an intensive acupuncture session, but is very much in the mood to wax poetic on his love for the vegan community. While we chat, several other patrons come and go with their take-out orders while making familiar small talk with Julie. No more than a minute after our table mate receives his brown take-out bag and offers a beatific farewell to the owner, our own meal arrives.
Broadly speaking, there are two directions that a good Caesar dressing might be taken – – rich and funky or pungent and sharp, with a platonic ideal somewhere in the middle. I’ve always preferred the latter extreme, mustardy and astringent in a weak olive oil emulsion with a strong bite of fresh garlic. Julie’s Caesar is simple but well executed; there is a tangible ‘parmesan’ funk, but it’s just piquant enough to balance it out. It’s a quintessential dressing and should scratch the itch of anyone craving the classic romaine heart and crouton framework.
The fresh-baked garlic bread is light on garlic but well-crusted with herbs, and it comes with a healthy tub of marinara. The crust is light and crackly, and the center would’ve been quite spongy prior to its second baking. While the marinara is more than up to the task of dunk receptacle it cannot compete with the greater designs I have in store for the bread.
The fettuccine Alfredo’s cashew-based cream sauce is fluffy with a very subtle grain, halfway to a ricotta-like consistency. Sun-dried tomatoes and a few planks of cremini mushroom add some interest, but the sauce has enough body that it isn’t wanting for company. I make short work of the fettuccine, and here my garlic bread meets its destiny as a vessel for the remainder of my Alfredo sauce. Though I’m not typically inclined toward cream sauces, this is a lovely pasta that I would readily order again. That it tastes so robust and settles so easily is a wonderful sleight of hand.
To be served by a restaurant’s owner is to have a special opportunity to connect their personal voice to that of their culinary language. Based on nothing more than a brief impression I felt that Julie’s personality clearly contextualized my meal – – unpretentious and welcoming. While it was undoubtedly a leap of faith for Julie’s Pizzeria to Go Green, especially in light of how many formerly-vegan restaurants have bent their values when faced with economic headwinds, the devotion of their regulars would seem to indicate that this faith is being repaid in spades.
