Joe's

1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd Venice, CA 90291-3386 (310) 399-5811
Tue-Thu 12pm-2:30pm, 6pm-10pm
Fri 12pm-2:30pm, 6pm-11pm
Sat 11am-2:30pm, 6pm-11pm
Sun 11am-2:30pm, 6pm-10pm

Website

We decided here on a Sunday afternoon for brunch, after being disappointed at the menu choices of a nearby eatery. I've heard about this place a couple times from my friends who are locals to Santa Monica and Venice, but the name was so vague and default, "Joe's", that I couldn't tell anything about the restaurant by only the name.

We walked in we were immediately seated --right next to the loud, bustling kitchen; I could practically feel the flames off their grill. We requested a table in the back where it seemed more quiet and serene, but they said it was only for guests with reservations, which meant only 1/3 of the restaurant, the booths near the doorway, and a couple of tables next to the kitchen were available. Looking around we saw that the booths in the front seemed kind of nice, so we sat there and hungrily stared at the short menu. My eyes immediately turned to the Prix fixe brunch special for 14.00, and everything sounded tasty. My friend decided on a breakfast burrito. I'd have to say, for 11.00, that's the most expensive breakfast burrito I've seen!

Prix fixe Lunch special

Cauliflower soup. Who knew cauliflower could taste so good?

Some sort of fish that was undercooked and I had to send back to be cooked through. It was definitely too bland.

Fig ricotta tart with chocolate. Mmm..

and my friend's breakfast burrito...

Green chili and turkey chorizo breakfast burrito, ranchero sauce, guacomole, sour cream.

Cuisine
Californian
Ambience
Warm, inviting California-French restaurant with a loyal local following. Joe's encompasses the original tiny space (which is now the bar) plus an adjoining high-ceilinged dining room and outdoor pocket patio.
Best dishes
Poached eggs with roasted asparagus and English pea sauce, rösti potato with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, porcini mushroom ravioli, beet risotto with asiago cheese, kurobuta pork loin, grilled quail.
Best table
One of the two corner booths in the bar.
Desserts
Frozen crème fraîche soufflé, pistachio lemon trifle.
Of Note
Outdoor patio. Full bar. Valet parking, $5.
Prices
Dinner appetizers, $8-$17; main courses, $23-$27; desserts, $7; lunch, $10-$15; brunch items, $9-$14. Chef's prix fixe menus, $55 and $68.
Service
Professional and attentive, though the pacing can be slow.
Wine list
California-centric with some older bottles and interesting choices from smaller producers. Corkage, $20.

Library Alehouse

2911 Main St Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 314-4855

My first time at a microbrewery. I am not a big fan of beer, although Fat Tire beer, a dark Belgium brew, is good on occasion but until recently Fat Tire was only available in Sacramento. At Library Alehouse Fat Tire is now available on tap. Located on Main St., this place is pleasantly casual and non-intimidating for a brewery. The menu has a good variety of options, including many vegetarian dishes to accomodate non-meat eaters. By 7pm the people started pouring in, many heading for the candlelit and heated outdoor patio in the back.

What we ordered:

Ahi tuna burger w/ sweet potato fries -- $11.95 --The first thing I noticed was the bread: soft, warm, and fluffy. Instead of one thick cut of ahi tuna steak, the patty was made of chopped up pieces of ahi tuna and seared which made it easier to bite into. The only other ingredients were coleslaw, wasabi mayo, and daikon sprouts. It was good as it was, but I was thinking it would've been tastier with avocado and caramelized onions. The sweet potato fries were delicioso, baked, not fried -- just like I like them...


Pumpkin ravioli -- $13.00 -- Overall a very light dish, the creaminess of mascarpone cream sauce and the sweetness of the pumpkin filling went together nicely. However, pumpkin ravioli in general is a little bland to my taste, but it was good with the rest of our meal. I think it should normally be accompanied with some sort of salad.




Shrimp fajitas -- $14.25 -- Good, but there were only about 5 pieces of shrimp total and by the first 10 minutes of the meal there was only bell peppers and onions left. Plus, it didn't come out sizzling such as fajita platters should! But then again, I had to remind myself this is a brewery, not El Torito.





Beer sampler --$7.00-- We got to choose/have the waitress choose for us, any five 4oz. beer samples. Lined up from light to dark, our selection included Pale Ale and Spaten.






Details:

Cuisine -- Microbrewery

Rating-- Two Stars

Ambience --Long, narrow indoor with a bar on one side, a row of candlelit high tables with bar stools on the right, 2 flat screens playing sports channels, and a heated outdoor patio in the back.

Best dishes -- Fat Tire beer, Alehouse burgers

Prices -- Beers, $3-$6. Entrees $10-$22

Service -- Good. Since the indoor dining space is fairly narrow, and the waiters pace up and down, it's very easy to catch a waiter in their stride. They also remind you if you're not satisfied w/ your meal you can return it and get something else, or if you want, they can "spruce it up".

Parking --Street parking, spacious metered lot on Ashland west of Main St.

When to go --During the week, 4pm to 6pm, pints are $3, 32-ounce drafts are $4. Assorted tacos cost $2, while papaya quesadillas and buffalo wings are $4 each. Tuesdays, pints are $5, including a free glass, which can be refilled any Tuesday for only $3.00 (excluding Belgian beers).

Library Alehouse
2911 Main St
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 314-4855

I'm going to my favorite restaurant, Sona tommorow with one of my hardcore foodie friends who's been wanting to go. Going for the 6-course Découverte again. ! It's about time I write a review about that one.

Eat for a good cause. Has anyone gone to any of the restaurants participating in the 4th Annual S. Pellegrino Dine Out Los Angeles? For a limited time some of the finest restaurants in your area are offering a special three-course prix fixe gourmet menu for just $20 at lunch and $35 at dinner. For each Dine Out meal served during that time (Aug. 15th-19th, and 22nd-26th), S.Pellegrino will donate $1 to Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit organization that is committed to building the first hunger-free generation in America. I'm probably going to go to Ciudad for lunch, Tengu for dinner, and Vert a Brasserie for dinner. I'll let you know how it goes.

Cobras & Matadors

7615 Beverly Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90036 (323) 932-6178
Website

Haven't had tapas in a looong time.









The dish on the left, lomo embuchado (dry-cured pork loin) & cheese on raisin toast, asparagus cloaked in a walnut vinaigrette with shavings of aged Manchego, a Spanish sheep's milk cheese and socca (chickpea pancake). We also had the roasted beet salad. The embuchado was excellent -- the combo of saltiness, cheesiness and sweet from the raisin toast along with the salsa was perfect. Bill came out to $30 for 4 dishes which is average fare for tapas.

Details:

Cuisine--Spanish
Rating-- Two Stars
Ambience--Engaging storefront restaurant with a handful of sidewalk tables, banquettes and a wood-burning oven at the back.
Best dishes--Asparagus and Manchego, embuchado, cockles with sidra, albóndigas (meatballs), green lentils and jamón, wood-oven roasted mushrooms, roast game hen, grilled skirt steak.
Prices--Tapas, $3-$7. Entradas, $9-$13.
Service--Pleasantly casual.

Le Pain Quotidien

8607 Melrose Ave. West Hollywood, CA 90069 (310) 854-3700

Daily 7:30am-7pm

Light and airy as a farmhouse, the restaurant's simple decor and pine furnishings radiate rustic ambience. Sophisticates gather at a long communal table, while couples sneak away to private seats in the back. The menu features salads, soups and house-specialty tartines (open-face sandwiches) with fillings like imported French ham, duck pâté, Gruyere cheese and Scottish smoked salmon. There are also colorful fruit tarts that pair well with a two-fisted mug of coffee.

--Citysearch

I had lunch here with my hairdresser one day. I thought the sandwiches looked like those little tea sandwiches. They were also presented on a flat plate, that didn't hold any of the stuff that kept falling off the sides.

I remember distinctly how much the waiter was emphasizing how fresh squeezed their lemonade was; too bad it wasn't that good. My sandwich was pretty good, but really skrimping on the meat (and everything else that should comprise an actual sandwich). My motto: a sandwich should always be at least 2 inches thick, compacted enough to fit into a mouth, but messy enough to look oh-so-delicious. This one didn't pass the test....

And my salad had no dressing on it. Bummer.

I'm starting to see branches of this chain sprouting everywhere, or maybe it's just because I'm noticing the name around now. Either way I'd probably go back, and try the soup my hairdresser really liked...

Children's Books

I decided to compile a list of the books I remember reading as a kid with the hope that someday I'll remember these well enough to read them to my kid (long time from now btw). Most of these are classics, but stars are next to my favorites (or at least the ones I remember liking back then). Teehee.

Corduroy*
The Giver
Ruby the Copycat
Goodnight Moon
Blueberries for Sal*
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Stone Soup
Where the Wild Things Are
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
The Indian in the Cupboard*
Charlotte's Web
James and The Giant Peach
Stuart Little*
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory*
The Witches*
Number the Stars
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe*
Meet Samantha
Goosebumps series
Bernstein Bears
Miss Piggle Wiggle
Pippi Longstocking*
Robinson Crusoe*
Mary Poppins
Witch of Blackbird Pond
The Mitten*
The Very Busy Spider
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs*
Tikki Tikki Tembo*
The True Story of the Three Little Kids
Jumanji
The Secret Garden*
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
The BFG
The Rainbow Fish
The Wizard of Oz*
Strega Nona
The Napping House
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Light in the Attic
In the Night Kitchen

....to be continued.

...all I can remember right now, but I know there's more.