Joe’s restaurant on Abbot-Kinney in Venice, California is a delight and a deal. Michelin thinks so, having just given this French-California gem a star. And my entire family agrees, and we are not always the most agreeable foursome. Our recent love affair with Joe’s began when I took my husband there for his birthday lunch several weeks ago. A friend joined our table. We ordered from a three course prix fixe menu that ran about $17.00. There was also a two-course lunch with many choices that was much cheaper. The dishes were innovative and fun, reminiscent of my favorite French or Bay Area menus (Larkspur Inn, Aqua, French Laundry). Even the bread was incredible. The service was great and, important to me, flexible and easy.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Bar Hayama
What is wrong with me? Why do I drive past intriguing places and keep on
driving? Or, why do I keep going to the same places because I know
them, they are familiar and safe? My friend, another foodie, Andrea, had made a plan with me last night to
try a Japanese restaurant. Then, she kept reading reviews online that
scared her straight. This new Japanese usually costs $100 per person.
She called me ahead of time to warn me and then told me she really likes
this other place on Sawtelle. So now we really have two choices.
When I hopped in her car, she navigated her way around the city in such a way as to end up directly in front of the alternative restaurant and not the original terribly expensive restaurant. I still don’t know whether she did that on purpose, but I was hungry and said, lets just go in there. I had seen it before and it called to me. When she mentioned a place on Sawtelle I just thought it was Hide Sushi and I do already go there all the time.
The Golden State
Two years ago, I made a decision that forever changed my
dining experience. I stopped being friends with anyone who doesn’t like
to
eat. Living in Los Angeles, the city of beautiful people, this wasn’t
an easy feat. But frankly, I was tired of sharing meals with the likes
of someone who either pushed their food around their plate as if eating
were a punishment, called themselves fat during the
entire meal in their size zero glory, or deliriously eyed my order
because the
last time they ordered anything that truly tasted good was a distant
memory. Turns out it was a damn great decision because without this new
rule in my life, I wouldn’t have my fellow foodie girlfriends Tannaz
and Rachel in my life which means I would have never been introduced to
my summer food crush and what I seriously consider the best new
addition to my Fairfax district neighborhood – The Golden State Café.
Located on Fairfax Blvd, smack dab across from Canter’s Deli, is the laidback and downright delicious Golden State which serves the kind of food that even if you were on the date from hell, you’d be able to withstand it because the food here is just that good. Seriously. So courtesy of the advice Tannaz and Rachel gave me, here is what you should be indulging in the next time you want to eat a meal that reminds you why eating is an activity that is meant to be enjoyed.
One Pico
Tables lined up along the windows at One Pico
offer not only an ocean view, but also a glimpse of Santa Monica's
glitzy new Ferris wheel. Its complex computer system dials out the
colors, changing light patterns the way a kaleidoscope does when the
barrel is turned. In the foreground, palms nod their shaggy heads in
the breeze, and the sand below is dimpled with hundreds of footsteps.
Joggers streak down the beach as the waiter in a fitted vest pours
glasses of Guigal Viognier from the northern Rhône.
Something is different about the restaurant in Shutters on the Beach
hotel in Santa Monica, and it's not just the reasonable wine prices or
the interesting selection. To celebrate the iconic beach hotel's 15th
anniversary, One Pico has undergone a much-needed makeover. And the
powers that be have had the good sense not to go for a trendy
restaurant-slash-lounge, but a comfortable and casual place with an
updated California menu that emphasizes simplicity over complication,
seasonal ingredients over the pricey and precious. It's a strategy
that's bringing in locals along with summer's hotel guests.
Baby Blues BBQ
After a screening of the frightening (and somewhat hilarious) Paranormal Activity
my pals and I wanted to grab a drink and maybe some chow. Three of us,
on separate occasions, by different people, had Baby Blues BBQ
recommended to us.
This is a place with a great vibe and some pretty delicious BBQ. We all
chatted and laughed over a few beers, some sloppy ribs and crumbly
delicious cornbread.
I opted for The Deuce, which is a platter
consisting of 1/2 a rack of Memphis style ribs, 5 of their BBQ shrimp
(which were recommended to our table by some random cook who came out
for no reason other than to tell us we should order the shrimp - they
were delicious), cornbread and my choice of two from an extensive list
of "fixins". It reads like a who's who of barbeque: collard greens,
potato salad, baked beans, mac 'n' cheese, okra - fried and sauteed,
mashed potatoes, stewed tomatoes, pork 'n' beans, etc. I opted for cole
slaw and fried okra. At $22.95 this wasn't such a bad deal.
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