After taking some time off after the end of his tenure at Bastide, chef Paul Shoemaker is back behind the stove again.

And just as his former employer morphed into a burger-hawking bookstore, Shoemaker's cooking has changed too, shifting toward simpler, ingredient-driven fare at his newly opened restaurant, Savory, near Point Dume in Malibu.

Although the location is a bit of a drive (even from Santa Monica), the Malibu location gives Shoemaker access to certain resources that make Savory's menu one of the most locally minded around.

Much of the produce and wines are sourced from Malibu farms and vineyards; the restaurant is across the street from a fig orchard and farm. And from the waters off of Point Dume come hyper-fresh halibut and the occasional spiny lobster catch--the supply of the latter competing with the draw of good waves that distract the surfer kids who dive for the restaurant's crustaceans at night.

The crab cakes' ($15) crisp crust deceivingly houses a wonderfully light and creamy filling, served with a tart Meyer lemon sauce and the smoky spice of Piment d'Espelette--a turf counterpoint to the crab's surf. Fresh fettuccini with clams ($23; pictured) has a similar lightness, Shoemaker forgoing the globs of butter typical of the dish, opting for a vegetable-broth-based sauce enriched with olive oil and the liquor of the steamed bivalves, the bowl dotted with bright half-orbs of cherry tomatoes. Both dishes exhibit what seems to be Shoemaker's ethos at Savory: simple food, done immaculately.

Savory, 29169 Heathercliff Rd., Malibu; 310-589-8997 or savorymalibu.com