Like the ebb and flow of California harvests to which its menu so closely hews, Rustic Canyon has had its own seasons of change. Last summer Zarah Khan, then executive chef, made the most intricately spiced and cloudlike dal I’ve tasted in a restaurant. When she departed soon after, chef-owner Jeremy Fox (who also runs Birdie G’s across Santa Monica as part of Josh Loeb and Zoe Nathan’s Rustic Canyon Family restaurant group) stepped in, redirecting the menu toward a careful swirl of Italian, Japanese, Mexican and French flavors. Chef de cuisine Elijah DeLeon now builds on Fox’s aesthetic with his own vision. A late September meal mirrored the week’s weather: bay scallops surrounded by barely liquid tomatoes and bits of fried bread, a salad built around pears and dates, softly curried roast chicken with plums, an herbed pork chop covered in slices of poached quince. Was it summer or fall? The world isn’t always easily definable, but one thing came through clearly: Rustic Canyon is having another grand moment. — B.A.

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