Looming large on the back wall is a ginormous print of chefs in uniform, doing some sort of athletic activity on a rooftop. It's hard to get too stuffy about dinner with that kind of backdrop.

Wilson's square, simple dining room sits at the corner of the MODAA building, a sparse testament to Culver City's continued reinvigoration. On one Friday-night visit, we sat comfortably amid a crowd ripe for some discreet deconstruction. (That regal beauty looks like a former model; those guys chatting her up from the next table have to be entrepreneurs still impressed with their own expense accounts.) Once settled in, we focused on the menu filled with spicy, comforting options by chef Michael Wilson. Tea-smoked whitefish is an unusual starter to entrees like monkfish stew (filled with shrimp, calamari, scallops, shiitake mushrooms, daikon radish, baby bok choy and a bamboo rice cake) or the "slowww-roasted pork." With a longstanding inclination to sample any entree with three consecutive "w"s, we were not disappointed by this selection, done up with African spices, maple grits, hominy and cranberry barbecue sauce—though we did have some trouble transferring a sample of the incredibly tender meat across the table by fork. (The resulting pork-doused tealight was removed and replaced graciously enough by our server. Sigh.) Baked wild Alaskan salmon arrives with stewed shallots and creamed Swiss chard; the vegetarian "with love" plate beckons the seafood-averse. At lunchtime and on warm evenings, the back patio is a pocket of warmth and appreciative chatter. —Lonny Pugh