Cabbage is magical. Is it finally having its moment?

Brussels sprouts had their moment when they became a culinary celebrity for foodies in the 2000s. Cauliflower continues its reign as a cruciferous substitute for meat and carb-heavy lovers. Kale invaded the fries and salad section of menus years ago.

I’m here for all the brassicas, but I’m waiting for the cabbage to shine. It’s been a slow but steady road for cabbage, which is often relegated to a supporting role in the form of salads and side dishes. It doesn’t often get the star treatment. When it does, I can’t get enough.

I started dining on kale when Josiah Citrin introduced diners to his charcoal-roasted kale in 2015 at his charcoal-grilled restaurant. The late Jonathan Gold decided in a 2016 review that it was the restaurant’s best meal. I don’t know if I’ve ever visited Venice or West Hollywood’s newest charcoal grill without a charred stick on the table.

“It’s a magical ingredient,” says Clementine Song, chef de cuisine at Tsubaki in Echo Park. “What you can do without touching it is very impressive. I can’t say that about all vegetables.”

Tsubaki’s Kyabetsu Miso-Kushiyaki

Last week, from my corner seat at Tsubaki Bar, I marveled at Song’s kyabetsu miso-kushiyaki. It came as two skewers of charred cabbage atop a pale beige sauce. Plain and simple, it also had the kale-like brightness I’d hoped for.

Green cabbage leaves are cut into precise squares, wrapped tightly around skewers and cooked on hibachi with salt and olive oil. The bottles are a mix of each layer of cabbage with varying degrees of firmness. Some parts are thick and still brown, while others are discolored and almost creamy.

Song cooks the cabbage on the hottest part of the grill to render out maximum fat, leaving the edges black, crispy and slightly smoky.

For the sauce, caramelize some chopped Tokyo-negi onions in oil, then add sake and mirin to the pan. Emulsify the mixture in a blender with sweet white miso and melted butter until it forms a smooth paste.

I took my time plucking the leaves from the skewers, replacing the simple morsels of cabbage with those I skimmed from the sauce beneath. A few drops of lime juice sharpened the miso oil and made the salt flakes pop.

The skewers, Song says, are a play on a marinated and grilled cabbage dish that was first available when the restaurant opened in 2017. Despite its popularity, the preparation went up in smoke in the kitchen and was removed from the menu. He reworked the dish into skewers and introduced them at the restaurant’s seventh anniversary celebration earlier this year.

“I’m really surprised at how well they’re selling, but it’s one of our top sellers,” he says. “Roasted cabbage is delicious with just a little salt and butter.”

I have to agree and happily eat the skewers on their own. But I have a sweet tooth for miso-neg oil and the pan returns to the stove carefully scratched.

Charred Cobb’age from Agnes & Cheesery

Agnes Restaurant’s Cobb’s Grill Age in Pasadena features shredded grilled cabbage on a Cobb salad.

(creative behind the house)

At Agnes in Old Pasadena, Vanessa and Thomas Tilaka Kalb serve up one of the most delicious menus in town. Caramelized baby scallions, spinach, and raclette cheese combine for a warm, melt-in-your-mouth treat alongside wonton chips sprinkled with Kool Ranch flavors. On Thursdays, they put out Kailyn’s Mustard-Topped Grilled Pickles + Kailyn’s Mustard-Topped Patty Melts. They also top grilled kale as a favorite Cobb salad.

It looks like a Cob. It eats like a Cobb. But instead of a brown iceberg, or perhaps a romaine lettuce, there are mounds of charred, roasted cabbage serving as the base of the salad.

“We love cabbage,” says Kalb, who created the dish with chef Sheron Samosir. “We wanted to make it summery and pair it with a Cobb salad.”

The cabbage goes through a laborious preparation that involves salting the vegetables to absorb moisture and then blending them with Old Bay flavors. It is dipped in garlic oil, slowly cooked until soft, and then grilled to serve.

Garlic oil gives each leaf a translucent, sweet, mild flavor sometimes associated with raw brassicas. The exterior is barely charred, with several crispy bits along the edges. The interior remains soft and firm.

It’s generously topped with a blue cheese dressing packed with Maytag blueberry flakes and topped with fresh chives and parsley. Instead of the traditional bacon Cobb, there are slices of prosciutto that break apart on contact. Golden cherry tomatoes and sliced ​​red onion add a bit of freshness. And instead of crushed eggs, Kalb salt cures the egg yolks and then crumbles them over the salad for some extra salty umami.

Like any good Cobb, the Cobb ages well as a meal, looks impressive in presentation, and is packed with enough texture, whimsy, and flavor to make it more appealing than any other salad on the menu.

Beyond the Cobb era, Kalb plans to introduce stuffed cabbage this winter. And he wants to “forgo borscht flavors” with possible beetroot and crème fraîche boxes.

“Everyone thinks cabbage is just for simple salads, but it’s so versatile,” she says. “I love it.”

Me too.