365 Places to Eat

From the buzz about Huckleberry, knew that the place gets crowded fast on weekends. One Saturday when we were all up early, we decided to take a chance and walk down for gourmet brunch.

Even getting to Huckleberry before 9:00, the line was to the back door. Credit to Huckleberry, though, their line management is pretty effective. No table sitting until you place your order and the food comes out pretty quick. Plus, truth be told, the pre-10am crowd is usually the family set that is on a tight schedule to get in and out before the kiddies have a meltdown. The post 10:30 hangover set tends to linger as they nurse their cafes…

I couldn’t avoid ordering the signature Green Eggs and Ham: La Quercia prosciutto on
house made English muffin topped with eggs (poached in my case) and then covered with a fresh arugula salad and drizzled with a mild pesto oil. For $12, it seems expensive, but the ingredients and the combination of flavors make it a worthwhile treat.

Being a specialty bakery, the home made English muffin is a gem. Flavor, texture and depth kicks Mr. Thomas’s buns. We also tasted a couple of the sweet breakfast items. The fresh strawberry crostada was so delightful that we practically giggled while eating it. How could something taste so fresh and light and buttery at the same time?

With an expertly concocted Americano on the side, brunch at Huckleberry is a real treat. It’s true that the prices are high and that it’s crowded. The crowds are manageable and the prices are worth the quality and creativity of the menu. Also, most dishes are rich enough to be shared. I would split the Green Eggs and Ham along with a pastry between two people and you can get out of there for a comparable cost as most other local breakfast spots.

Huckleberry
1014 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 451-2311

I had heard mixed reviews, which is the best way to get me to try a place. If I get a bad review, I usually skip it, if I get a great review, my expectations are usually too high. To cut to the chase, my review was that the food was great!

My wife ordered a Buffalo Burger and I went for the Haute Dog. The menu is limited mainly to salads and sandwiches. All of the options looked appetizing and even without a ton of choices, it wasn’t easy to narrow things down. I angled for the sandwiches but that Haute Dog caught my eye.

The Buffalo Burger ($8.95) was juicy and flavorful. It came on their panini bread, topped with onion, arugula, tomato, Fiscalini white cheddar and
Sweet Harissa Mayo. As far as I can remember, it was my first taste of ground buffalo. I agree with my wife who described it as “a more flavorful turkey burger”. The meat was leaner than a beef patty, but much juicier than a turkey patty. Over all the buffalo burger was a winner, well cooked, well topped and with great bread.

My Haute Dog ($7.95) was a smoked venison sausage, split in half lengthwise and sandwiched between two pieces of a French baguette. The dog is topped with horseradish mustard, blue cheese cream, and cioppolini onions. I liked the idea of the blue cheese cream, but the horseradish mustard way overpowered it. The flavors came together though, and the nicely toasted baguette was a perfect wrapper. Like the buffalo burger, I hadn’t had venison sausage before. 2 for 2 on new meats.

There were two soups on the menus that day, potato leek and lima bean. I ordered a cup of the potato leek to share. The soup was good, but was the very thin and brothy, I like my potato leek soups a little thicker. As far as I could tell, there wasn’t any cream either, the broth was the color of the stock (chicken, I assume). The soup wasn’t bad, but wasn’t remarkable either.

We did love the burger and dog. Two unique takes on American classics. I would have pictures, but there were no fewer than three 8×11 signs saying “no photography”. I’m always curious what spawns those types of signs. Is it blogger/yelp/chowhound backlash? Fear of copycats? Seems a little silly to me.

It does take a little while for the food to be prepared, but there is a nice patio to sit on. There isn’t much indoor seating, other than a small bar area.

Service was friendly and courteous. A lot of customers from the main store were in and out of the cafe. Most for some great looking coffee drinks. Others ordered meals and the servers at the cafe announce when the orders are ready over the PA system so customers could hear no matter where they were.

Cafe Surfas
8777 W. Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
310-558-1458
Breakfast Served 8:30AM- 3PM Monday - Saturday, 10AM Sundays
Lunch Served From 11AM- 3PM

The Bookmark Cafe at the Santa Monica Public Library might be one of the best kept lunch secrets in downtown Santa Monica.

For around $8 you can get a half sandwich, a small soup and a small salad. Add in a brewed iced tea to go with it and you have a full lunch for $10 in the tranquil library courtyard.

Soups vary daily, last time I was there it was cauliflower (my choice) or lentil with sausage. You can choose from a list of sandwiches, I like the tuna on rye. Their tuna has some nice extra crunch from cucumbers, don’t see that in tuna too much. Teh small salad is no slouch either. It’s not just iceberg lettuce and dressing, there are pieces of broccoli, zucchini and mushrooms along with the normal salad base.

The cafe also has a full coffee bar and also serves breakfast and dinner. Afterward you can go check out some cookbooks…

Bookmark Cafe at the Main Santa Monica Public Library
601 Santa Monica Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA
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The light yellow building is easy to miss, on the corner of Washington and Walgrove, just east of the Costco megacomplex. Parking is available, but not abundant, be sure to observe the street signs.

After are short 10-15 minute wait, we scored one of the booths right under the window. Even with the blazing heat outdoors, the open windows and high ceilings invited a cooling breeze — even though we were on a major boulevard, it almost felt like we were in the tropics.

The Maxwell’s menu is extensive, with the standard breakfast fare, as well as unique options such as a number of breakfast sandwiches, a selection of different benedicts, a few breakfast burritos and a range of sausages. I went into selection overload and had a hard time narrowing down my choices. Our incredibly nice waitress was kind and patient as I waffled (ha) over my order.

I finally settled on one of the breakfast sandwiches, the one with the chicken cilantro sausage on rye bread with some Swiss cheese. You can see by the picture above that the thing was massive! It was stacked with tomatoes, the sausage patty, cheese, scrambled egg, lettuce and light mayo. I was actually only able to finish half, but I enjoyed every bite.

My wife had the breakfast combo with french toast, egg whites and two strips of bacon. Thick bacon, cooked chewy, the way that she likes it.

Maxwell’s has a comfortable, local diner feel with the counter and friendly, efficient servers. I saw a number of people who came in to eat at the counter by themselves chatting with other folks seated around them. It’s just that kind of place.

I will note that the prices are on the higher side for a casual breakfast, but not outrageous or out of line for the quality you get. For instance, omelettes range from $8-$14 which seems to be about $2 more than the average joint. I think that my breakfast sandwich was about $10, but easily could feed two people (and lasted me for two meals).

Open for breakfast and lunch.

Maxwell’s Cafe
13329 W Washington Blvd,
Los Angeles 90066
(At Walgrove Ave)
Phone: 310-306-7829

On the corner of Culver and Cardiff in Culver City is Ugo Cafe, an Italian eatery that aims for the feel of a European sidewalk cafe.

With a simple style and basic menu, Cafe Ugo is a relaxing spot to enjoy lunch and a glass of wine or beer with friends. When the weather is nice, it’s imperative that you grab a seat outside and watch the people walk by.

The menu is basic, as I said, but there are plenty of choice options. I had one of my favorite chopped salads at Ugo. Everything was cut up with near scientific precision and uniformity, plus the dressing was light but flavorful so that it didn’t overpower the ingredients.

Service seems to be spotty, in the sense that it can take a while for the server to stop by, and perhaps takes a while to get your food, but in the end the atmosphere and the food win over.

Prices are very reasonable, with most dishes in the around $10 plus or minus a few bucks. There is a range of Italian beers and Italian wines by the glass or the bottle, plus a dessert menu that will transport you back to Rome.

Ugo Cafe
3865 Cardiff Ave
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 204-1222

3 Square, five nights ago, Hans Rockenwagner brought forth on the plates in front of me, a new dining experience, conceived in his newest kitchen, and dedicated to the proposition that not all meals are created equal.

Now we are engaged in an internal struggle, tasting whether that bread, or any other bread delivered, can live up to Hans’s long enduring reputation. We are met with a great menu. We have come to dedicate a portion of our stomach, as a final resting place for three dishes. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate our entire appetite to meats and cheese and bread, we cannot pass up this bounty from the ground — white peaches, arugala and almonds — we hallow this salad.

The brave wife and I, who struggled with the menu, have cooperated, far above our poor power to narrow down choices, we split two dishes. The world walking down Abbot Kinney took little note, as we bit first into the flank steak. This was divine dining, rather, this new dedicated location for Hans looks somewhat unfinished in its simplicity.

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that we eat the steak, and the fries, and the spatzel — that we here highly resolve that these dishes will not clog our veins — that these delectable morel mushrooms and white asparagus in the spatzel shall be eaten before we are at last full.

This restaurant, under Hans is a new birth for him — and that restaurant is priced for the people, with food for the people, shall not let his cuisine perish from the earth.

(my apologies to Abe)

3 Square Cafe + Bakery
1121 Abbot Kinney
Venice, CA 90291
310-399-6504 (P)
310-399-6518 (F)

If you have seen a movie at either of the large theaters in Westwood, you have probably seen The Gypsy Cafe. It’s over by Diddy Reese and there were probably groups of college students outside smoking hookas.

Outside the Gypsy Cafe

I’m not a hooka fan, but I do love the famous Gypsy Cafe tomato soup. It is rich a creamy, I think with some bread to thicken it up. The tomato soup still holds its tang though, and is very satisfying on a chilly evening.

Gypsy Tomato Soup

The rest of Gypsy’s menu is pretty good, standard Mediterranean food with kabobs, falafel and pizza (?). I would make a special trip to Gypsy for the soup, but not necessarily for the rest of the menu. Dining choices are relatively limited in Westwood though, and if you’re catching a movie, Gypsy is a reliable choice.

It can be maddening to park in Westwood, but the lot on Broxton (the one-way street near the theaters) gives you a couple of hours free and has lots of spots. Head to the lower levels, they seem to be under utilized.

Gypsy Cafe
940 Broxton Ave, Los Angeles
Map

I have been up to the Skirball Center twice. Once with my dad to see the Einstein Exhibit and once with my mom to see the Noah’s Ark installation. Both times, I timed the visit so that we could eat at the Zeidler’s Cafe.

I’m a sucker for museum cafes in general. Maybe they just feel a little more civilized because they are surrounded by culture. I think there is more to it than that though, most of the museum cafes in Los Angeles really do serve good food.

Zeidler’s Cafe is a relatively small space, set up in almost a triangular floor plan. Two of the walls are windows to the outside and one back towards the museum. It’s almost like outdoor dining indoors.

The menu has basic lunch sections, but each one of them is stocked with simple, delightful choices. When I first saw the menu, I immediately locked on to the Salmon Pastrami Club. In fact, both times I have eaten at Zeidler’s I had this sandwich.

Last time I went, my mom and I split the sandwich. It is huge, more like two full sized sandwiches stacked on top of each other. Even the two of us had a hard time finishing it. From the menu, the details are: Pepper Cured Salmon Pastrami, Sliced Red Onion, Tomato, Avocado and Dill Dressing on Toasted Rye Bread ($10.95).

The ingredients in the Salmon Pastrami Club play together perfectly. Fresh, soft rye bread, lightly peppered salmon sliced thin and piled just high enough, juicy tomatoes, creamy avocados, subtle red onions and when your mouth is already having a party, a touch of dill dressing to brighten all of the flavors.

As my mom commented, it’s worth stopping by the cafe just for this sandwich, even if you’re not going to the museum.

To balance the sandwich, we also split a Chopped Salad. Field Greens, Tomato, Cucumber, Roasted Peppers, Mozzarella, Green Beans and Artichoke Hearts Topped with Avocado. Served with Balsamic Vinaigrette on the Side ($9.50). It’s hard to tell from the picture above, but there is a lot of stuff packed in and around the greens. The green beans are a nice touch, blanched and chopped along with the other goodies, adding crunch and flavor. Who doesn’t love crunch and flavor? I don’t want to know.

If you already are planning on visiting the Skirball, make sure to take time to visit the cafe. If you’re driving up the 405 over the hill to the valley, take time to visit the cafe, there is free parking and you don’t need to pay museum admission to eat there. If you have kids, take them to the Noah’s Ark exhibit. You and they will have a great time. It’s a big, creative art piece that you can crawl all over and explore with all of your senses. I do recommend making reservations since there is a timed entry (and exit) to keep the crowds down.

Zeidler’s Cafe (at the Skirball)
2701 North Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90049
(310) 440-4515

Cafe Montana is located appropriately, on Montana Avenue, Santa Monica’s boutique filled shopping street.

While the menu isn’t wildly creative or unique, the space is open and airy, giving way to a comfortable atmosphere to enjoy a couple of my favorites such as their calamari appetizer or their fish specials.

Floor to ceiling windows on the corner lot give good views for people watching, and on my morning runs to Peet’s down the street, I see the breakfast crowd lining the dinging room.

Prices at Cafe Montana are a bit higher than I would expect for the fare that they serve. This is probably due more to the high rents on Montana Ave than anything else. For a nice meal with family or a romantic evening with your date, I do enjoy dinner at Cafe Montana and a stroll down the street.

1534 Montana Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90403-1877
Phone: (310) 829-3990