Hey, y’all! I know it’s been a long time coming but I’m FINALLY getting the chance to write about the amazing weekend I had in Santa Monica in May. There were so many great options that I couldn’t possibly get to them all in three days but if you’re looking for clean eats, this list should get you started!
So, let’s get to it!
DAY 1
Superfood Café
After braving the 405 freeway, I managed to snag a great parking spot close to the Superfood Café, tucked into the corner of a corporate building on Wilshire. It’s a lunch-type spot with cute, granola-y ambiance (see the mural and the chalkboard pics, below).
As a mostly-vegan, gluten-free person, finding a selection of foods from which I can eat is usually a big chore. Not here, though! Not only were there multiple items on the menu, the owner was at the restaurant and he was very helpful in determining which dishes could be made allergy-friendly. We tried a little bit of everything from the curry to the tofu salad with hemp seeds (I learned these can sometimes be contaminated with wheat so it’s best to read packaging labels!) to the GF tuna sandwich. All were tasty and we felt great!
Sweet Laurel Bakery
Okay, so I have a confession to make: I have a huge girl-crush on Laurel Galucci. She bakes gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free desserts, people – what’s not to love?! First off, I have her AMAZING cookbook, full of easy-to-make, delicious, allergen-friendly breakfasts, desserts, and snacks. But, if you’re in SoCal, she has a store in Pacific Palisades – and they deliver! If you’re not in SoCal, they have a variety of cakes they can SHIP to you!! As you will see from the pics, below, the ambiance is adorable But. The. Food. *swoon!* To ensure we were doing the best service to you, dear reader, we forced ourselves to get a full sampling of the items on offer: Chocolate Cake, Raspberry Cake, Mocha Latte with Coconut Milk, Chocolate Chip Cookie, and a chocolate mini cupcake (we didn’t want not overdo it, you see). I also may have purchased a chocolate bar and a take-and-bake cookie dough roll (which, I can attest, was scrumptious). As you can imagine, it was all amazing and totally GOOD for you (if it’s not bad for you, it’s officially a health food #truth).
Beverly Soon Tofu
Okay, for the record, these first three eating establishments were all visited in the same day – from 2pm on! So, if anyone doubts my credentials as a Professional Eater, bring it.
Okay so back to Beverly Soon: I love a good Korean Hot Pot (I mean, who doesn’t??) so when I heard about this restaurant via one of Anthony Bourdain’s shows, I wrote it down and kept it in the “must do when in LA” folder. So, I called an Uber to take me the 15 miles from Santa Monica to Korea Town and, 60 minutes later (LA traffic *yawn*), I was dropped off in a strip mall with very few things I could read written on the signage. My kinda place! Although it was 8pm (2 hours after my usual dinnertime), the place was PACKED! We waited for a bit and then got seated in, what I’m guessing, used to be the back hole of the restaurant where the servers roll napkins when it’s slow. But did we let this get us down? Heck no – there was hot pot to be had! As is the custom, we ordered as much as a small army could reasonably be asked to put away after three days of starvation and proceeded to enjoy watching the little plates take up all the space on our tiny table and then some. (see smorgasbord pic) I’ll be honest here: there was so little room to maneuver, I couldn’t take all the pics I wanted for fear of toppling something or getting run over by the servers rushing to-and-fro across our tiny space. BUT, I did manage to get one of the hot pot before I devoured every morsel (I think I got the vegetarian one but there may have been a shrimp or two in there). Oh, and there was rice. And something sweet at the end. I don’t know what it was but it was good. And, there you have it: an amazing meal of unknown deliciousness.
DAY 2
If you have ever been to SoCal in the early summer, you’ll notice that the mornings have a bit of a lazy quality to them due to the overcast skies and cool temperatures. This, in my opinion, is the perfect time of day to walk to the nearest coffee shop and order a cappuccino. Enter: Dogtown Coffee.
Dogtown Coffee
Ah, the eclectic surfer-meets-hip-hop motif of Santa Monica, where yoga pants, corporate types, and drifters mingle in harmony over the smell of freshly ground coffee beans. How can you NOT feel the love in a place like this?? I strolled up to the register and asked the barista (as I do) if they have any dairy-free milk. Yes, I know, it’s METROPOLIS and I’m obviously not a local because of COURSE they have DF milk. In fact, they have four kinds! You know you’re not in Kansas anymore… Oh, and would you like gluten-free granola in your açai bowl? I mean, if you had asked me what Mecca looked like, could I have even come up with this stuff??! Needless to say, I enjoyed my (first) breakfast, immensely.
Casa Del Mar Hotel
Now, for the record, I was in Santa Monica for a conference (yes, work) but I was very fortunate in that the conference people actually cared about my eating situation. In fact, they made every effort to ensure I had acceptable foods at every meal. So, when I got to the conference room at 8:30 am (after my DF cappuccino and GF açai bowl, mind you), I couldn’t very well NOT eat the coconut-milk yogurt parfait with GF granola, could I?? I mean, I was brought up in the midwestern mindset so that would just be rude. Plus, “waste not, want not”…
When lunch time came around, I really wasn’t hungry (remember: two breakfasts) but, again, I’m not gonna let a good meal go uneaten PLUS they were serving three-course lunches. I mean, what is this, Europe?? So, again, I took one for the blog-reading team and ordered the GF Shrimp and Avocado Toast appetizer, the Roasted Sea Bass with Sautéed Veggies and Tomato Coulis and forced myself to enjoy the GF/DF Chocolate Dessert Truffles on order. The things I do for you people…
Plant Food & Wine
So, if you’re gonna go to Santa Monica, my motto is: Go Big or Go Home! In keeping with that spirit, I found the Santa Monica-est restaurant in town and booked a table for me and my new-found 8 best buds from the conference. Somehow, we got the coolest table in the place – the wine cellar/veranda in the back garden! I WISH I had a good picture of it to show you but it was romantic-y in there and the lighting was not ideal for taking insta-worthy shots. So, you’ll have to use your imagination (or look it up on the Google).
Anywho…my friends were kind enough to let me order (or, rather, “suggest” what they all order so we could get the biggest selection) and, boy, were we impressed! Now, having been banned from the dairy-cheese-eating-world for a couple of decades, now, I have learned to live without. But, I am here to tell you: these people at the Plant Food & Wine place have got a gold-mine on their hands: dairy-free cheeses that taste like the real thing! Not kidding: there was a truffle-flavored cheese, a spirulina blue cheese, a sharp cheddar one…all made of cashews. It’s a whole new world out there, y’all. #mindblown
After this life-changing cheese plate, there was more awesomeness to come. This was not food, these were natur-ific works of art. They simply looked too pretty to eat! There was a Beet Carpaccio Salad, a Chickpea Socca with “cheese” and succulent-looking things on top, kimchi dumplings…I could go on but I don’t have more pics because it was getting dark, remember? If only I’d remembered to pack the studio lighting…
So, if you’re in Santa Monica and want to see foods you’ve never imagined in your life, this is the place!
DAY 3
Can you believe there’s more?? After Days 1 and 2, I was really starting to think about upping my workout regime once I got home. ‘Cuz, it’s not like I’m gonna starve myself…
Breakfast on Day 3 was another lovely coconut-milk yogurt and fruit parfait buffet. Lunch, however, had more surprises in store…
Casa Del Mar Hotel
Lunch was yet another three-course affair. Yes, the struggle was real. It started with a beautiful red and golden beet appetizer followed by a kale and shrimp salad (do you see how perfectly they arranged those shrimp??). Dessert included more of those decadent truffles with a dairy-free ice cream/flan thing on a GF coconut base. I’m not describing it well but let the pictures speak for themselves – and they tasted fantastic.
After all that food in three days, I was seriously considering one of those fasting regimes…haha, just kidding! We know I love food too much to NOT eat it on purpose (so silly!). I will say that Santa Monica is a food-sensitive person’s dream city. You can pretty much get anything here (and at any time of day or night) at all price levels. I mean, if it weren’t for the rent prices, I’m pretty sure everyone would move here. Oh, wait, they already have (see traffic note in intro)! Hope you enjoyed my culinary tour in 3 days of this wonderful town and hope to see you here, again!
In Good Clean Taste,
Claudine