At Wood & Vine, chef Marc Johnson is all about the salumi and punk rock

Wood & Vine, a small-plates kitchen and wine bar in Hollywood, has a new chef: Marc Johnson. The Los Angeles native graduated from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and has worked at Lincoln Steakhouse in Santa Monica, the Avalon Hotel and La Seine in Beverly Hills, Culver City’s Waterloo & City, Haven Gastropub in Pasadena and West Hollywood’s STK. At Wood & Vine, he has revamped the menu with lots of terrines, pâtés and salumi. “Working at Waterloo & City really turned me on to making charcuterie,” he says. Also on his new menu: roasted cauliflower with peanuts, salsa verde and lovage; beets with horseradish, kumquat and amaranth; house-made pastas, such as agnolotti with English peas and wild boar; octopus and blood orange with fennel, Fresno chile and mustard seed; and pork meatballs with collard greens, bacon and Calvados.

What’s coming up next on your menu?

A new dish that I just put on the menu that I really like is the braised lamb. It’s braised lamb shoulder with chickpea gnocchi, English peas, fennel, sorrel and harissa.

Latest ingredient obsession?

Citrus. Especially blood oranges and kumquats. It’s that time of season.

What restaurant do you find yourself going to again and again?

Well, I live in Pasadena, and when I go out to dinner I tend to stay local. My favorite restaurant in the area is the Arroyo Chop House. It’s simple and straightforward. I always order a rib-eye steak medium-rare with a side of Lyonnaise potatoes and corn.

The one piece of kitchen equipment you can’t live without, other than your knives?

Blue tape. I have to have everything labeled and organized. I may have a little OCD.

Favorite kitchen soundtrack?

In my kitchen you will hear a lot of Misfits, Tiger Army, the Clash, the Stooges and the Descendents. So in a nutshell, punk rock. However, I do tend to throw in a little country now and again, which my cooks hate.

Wood & Vine, 6280 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 334-3360, woodandvine.com.

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