#31 - Michael's

I'll admit, I didn't know about the Santa Monica institution that is Michael's restaurant. The night I made a last minute reservation and told friends and colleagues about it, everyone else seemed to know that they'd recently gotten a new chef and changed the menu up. So who knows what it was like before, but I'm really into their current menu (February 2018) I want to try out their happy hour too, specifically their daily $1.79 cocktail from 5:30-6:00pm only.

The restaurant itself is quite a surprise. I had already been told they have a nice courtyard, but that is an understatement. The whole restaurant completely opens up to this giant, plant and tree filled outdoor space, with a few steps down.

Burrata with tangerine, marinated cauliflower, and sour plum

Black lentil with cabbage, sunchoke, and curry leaf

Cavetelli with braised shiitake, english peas, and parmigiano-reggiano

Sea bass with bonito-rosemary agile, spiced carrots, and turnip

#11 - Rustic Canyon

For a restaurant basically just down the street from me, it took me long enough to make it here. It's actually quite a small place, with easy to obtain open bar seating, even on a Friday night at prime time. But luckily I made a reservation. Same day too... so despite this being one of those kinda annoying places that requires everyone in your party to be present before they will seat you, it worked out in my favor with some help from the very kind hostess.

Now on to the food!

I will say while delicious, it's a bit expensive for what it is. It's all meant to be eaten family style, but at a minimum $17 for one small dish, this is a bit unattainable for most budgets. So you likely won't be stuffed unless you drop a pretty penny. But I don't personally have a problem with that!

Some really tasty, herbaceous olives and that delicious Milo & Olive Bread to start

Rapini Malfatti. Did not know what this was until looking it up after my friend ordered it. Turns out it is a dumpling-esque ricotta pasta that was said to have been created in Napa, though there is some dispute. It was really tasty. Looked kinda like a tortellini.

Grist & Toll Polenta. I thought it was a bit too rosemary-forward, but otherwise I enjoyed the texture and other flavors going on.

The black cod.

100% the best thing on the menu, hands down. (at least of the items I tried...And the item I had been eyeing on the menu days leading up to my reservation!) Toasted squash seed spaetzle with delicata squash, brown butter, and sage. I am now dying to learn how to make spaetzle and try my best to recreate this. It was superb. All of my guests thought so and I think they should have waited to try this dish until they had finished off their own, so as not to be disappointed.

elliptifit: the (soon to be) new workout craze

It's sweeping the nation!  Actually, as far as I know, it is currently one-of-a-kind.  I'm talking about a new kind of workout class, elliptifit.  Think spinning class, but with brand new, very high-tech elliptical machines.  I'm a sucker for any kind of group fitness class, (besides "boot camps") especially when there is a groupon deal!  I actually found out about this place from my friend Rachna back at the beginning of the year and was on the lookout for deals every since.  A few months ago I bought a deal for 5 classes for $35 and had been anticipating the end of my semester ever since.

I went last week for the first time, and without even texting her to let her know, Rachna was in the class!  What a small world...  The class is great, 45 minutes of cardio, mixing things up by concentrating on just your arms, just your core, just your lower body, and doing things like sprints/hills/etc.  Rachna told me that each class is slightly different so you never get bored.

The studio is clean and elegantly designed with a nice industrial modern flair.  The front and right sides of the room are lined with mirrors and there are 5 rows of ellipticals split into 3 per side (approx 30 total machines.)  There are kinda cheesy lights around the front mirrors, which my instructor, Jill, changed based on the pace/portion of the class.  I laughed to myself every time they changed, but it's a nice touch and shows that the owners really thought of everything!

After the class I was drenched with sweat and my legs were a little sore the next day.  It's not a killer strength workout by any means, unless you bump up the ramp/resistance far past your comfort zone, but it is a great new cardio workout and really fun!

happy valentine's day!

Some people hate Valentine's Day, stating that it is a "hallmark" holiday forcing consumers to go out and buy crap their significant other does not really need.  I say these people don't have anyone on valentine's day and just want to ruin everyone's fun!  But as a side note, I hate hearts and teddy bears holding them, so I do agree with some aspects of the V-day haters reasoning.

Saturday night my husband had made reservations for a super romantic spot on the edge of Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades called Caffe Delfini.  I was so surprised.  In the 8 years that Danny and I have been together, I have been working really hard to get him to be romantic and surprise me, this was finally it!  He reserved the window seat, tucked into a corner of this tiny Italian place, owned by real Italians none-the-less!  We ordered a nice bottle of Italian red wine and had a very lovely dinner just a block off the PCH.  And tiramisu to finish it off, some of the best I've ever had!

I also would like to point out the fact that we celebrated V-day not on V-day...this is another thing that can be said against the date is that restaurants love to take advantage.  Pre-fixe menus that cost double what they normally would.  Terribly obvious foods like chocolate covered strawberries (which I love, but come on!) and pink champagne.  Gag.

I am a hopeless romantic and Danny has learned how to appease my idealism.  Good job Danny, best Valentine's Day ever!  I love you!

I hope everyone has a pleasant day today.  Cheers!

FIG Santa Monica

I said I wouldn't be reviewing restaurants, since that is what I use my yelp account for, but I will make the exception for superb restaurants that require a double review.

FIG is located in the Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows on Wilshire and Ocean.  But FIG is not a hotel restaurant.  Though it is actually in the hotel, it totally stands up for itself.  First there is the gorgeous interior, with marble table tops and big comfortable armed dining chairs, the epitome of California Style.  The bar houses many wines, knowledgeable bartenders, and a delicious looking tray of cheese.  The menu changes faster than the seasons with a careful selection of sustainable local ingredients made into innovative contemporary dishes.  The bottom of the menu informs you as to what is currently in season, what ingredients they will be getting soon, and what is going out of season, that way you can imagine what you might try the next time you return!

My favorite was the scarlet quinoa salad with chard, apple, and heirloom carrots.  I also had a yummy drink with tequila, pineapple, and strawberry, but I can't recall the name of it.  My husband enjoyed the three onion soup which was suuuuuuper cheesy (he loved that part of it)  The soup was huge, enough for a meal for some people.  We also tried the buffalo mozzarella with hand mashed pesto, tasty, but nothing special, not worth the price.  And finally we shared the pastaless lasagna.  I highly recommend it.  It is also very cheesy (the chef loves his cheese!) and the sweet potatoes, zucchini, and eggplant mixed with the sauce did not make me miss the noodles at all!

Oh, and the bread and butter they bring at the beginning of the meal, don't get me started!  It's the most crispy outside with super soft and warm inside served in a cute little FIG paper bag and a big tub of arugula butter.  Mmmmm, I HAVE to have more arugula butter!!!

Of course I had dessert.  The chocolate pot au creme with fresh berries and little butter cookies on the side.  It was good, but next time I will try the churros!

We will be back.

The Grade:
Interior: A-
Wait Staff: A+
Flavor: A
Look of Food: A
Price: B
Overall Score: A-