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Chef Jason Witzl of Ellie’s has had one helluva past couple years.

He opened up his Jolie’s space on Coronado Island in San Diego, he was lauded as Chef of the Year. This was on top of bouncing between that very space and his two Long Beach restaurants, his flagship Ellie’s and the neighboring Ginger’s. Even more, this was all after the strenuous years of the pandemic, where Chef Jason hit a triple hardship: The inability to move Ellie’s to the Compound in Zaferia; that, in turn, prompted the loss of his Ellie’s Deli concept; and then the permanent closure of his Lupe’s space in DTLB to make way for Toma.

Truthfully, the past few years have showcased Chef Jason’s resilience far more than echoing the struggles he (and nearly every chef-owner) experienced over the past half-decade. And, well, another truth be told: it made us severely miss him here in Long Beach. Surely, his Ellie’s and Ginger’s spaces were running fine, especially under the watchful eye of culinary director Pedro Quintero. But Ellie’s still missed that, well, Jason-ness.

Add onto this events: He recently tackled a tradition that most Italians and Italian-Americans know very well and most food-centric Americans know from the stress-inducing series that is “The Bear.” It’s the Feast of the Seven Fishes, which took over Partake Collective’s R&D kitchen in a sell-out.

It not only marks some of Chef Jason’s best food—including my favorite dish he served while competing in the Grand Prix Fixe—but has some noticeable deviations from Ellie’s that showcase Chef Jason’s desire to look beyond his Alamitos Beach staple.

Written and photos by Brian Addison.

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