Category: Gastropub

  • The Wallace

    The Wallace

    Sometimes it takes visiting a new place to discover a, well, still relatively new place, but not as new as the newer new place.  Um, yeah.  Anyway, I “discovered” The Wallace when I went to check out Hanjip, a new Korean BBQ restaurant in Culver City–yes, I’m behind on my post for my visits there […]

  • Umami Burger’s Tasting Menu

    Umami Burger’s Tasting Menu

    Last month, I was invited to try Umami Burger‘s 9-Course Tasting Menu challenge!  I gathered up three poker buddies and descended on Umami’s Hollywood location on a cloudy Saturday afternoon.  Two and a half hours later, we had worked our way through 3 appetizers, 8 burgers, 3 full-sized cocktails, and 2 small pours each of […]

  • The Independence in Santa Monica

    The Independence in Santa Monica

    Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade-adjacent Asian-fusion restaurant Buddha’s Belly closed last year and reopened in January of this year as The Independence.  Initially, the kitchen was to be headed up by b.o.s. chef David Bartnes, but those plans fell through.  Instead, chef Tom Block, formerly of Beelman’s Pub, helms the back of the house.  Earlier […]

  • Fork in the Road’s Happy Hour

    Fork in the Road’s Happy Hour

    Charcuterie plate?  Check. House-pickled vegetables?  Check. Flat breads from a wood-fired oven, located just outside the kitchen, in view of the dining area?  Check. Main Street Santa Monica’s Fork in the Road opened in late 2013 and had all the essential ingredients to make it a hit with “food enthusiasts” (my alternative term for “foodies”), […]

  • The Misfit’s $5 Bar Fly Lunches in Santa Monica

    The Misfit’s $5 Bar Fly Lunches in Santa Monica

    [Update, January 2015:  The Bar Fly Lunch menu has changed somewhat.  The burger is no longer available as a $5 lunch option, replaced with a chicken salad, and some of the other items moved days of the week.] If someone asks you what Santa Monica is known for, as far as food goes, there are […]