Forty-Ate

about a month before my 48th birthday, i opted to go on a work/play trip to Santa Monica versus traverse the continents to breeze through Paris. i love the sense of freedom i have at the beach, especially when food and fashion are to be had as well as sand and sun. Ocean Avenue, Main Street and Abbot Kinney offer the perfect break even if it is only for an hour stolen here and there!

between us, for some reason, the minute i set foot in Santa Monica, all i can think about is food!  upon landing, i headed out for early dinner with a colleague. just taste!

the Fig tree at the Fairmont Miramar is something wondrous to behold.. i find that i am awed by FIG bistro inside, too. chef Ray Garcia focuses on seasonal fare, some organic, most locally sourced.  fresh beet salad with pistachios never disappoints ...avocado parmesan tart is sublime. a dangerous drink called a Blueberry Thyme is perfect for sipping poolside with a friend, and on this night, the orange sun glimpsed through the trees on the outdoor terrace is like a big bonus slice of citrus!

but then there is Cora's Coffee Shoppe, which really must go on my Top 5 favorite places to eat.  i would say that i have the same voracious appetite there that i do at Estia's Little Kitchen in the Hamptons.  fresh food prepared by passionate people just plain tastes better. the hard working but always gracious team hails mostly from Mexico. the food is organic where possible but really, who cares when you are eating an amazing burratta caprese omelette? where i work, they know that if they cannot find me, i am probably a few doors down at Cora's....please pass the Tobasco!

on the mornings that i don't grab a hot scone and a coffee at Cora's and head to my designated seat on the Promenade, i might walk over to Shutters to check out their gift shop, then down Main Street to Urth Caffe. Urth is not my all time fave place because no matter how many times i go, i can't quite master the system of how to navigate the line, take the number for your food, and find a way to squeeze in on the terrace for a seat. but the eavesdropping is not to be surpassed, always about scripts, films, directors, writers..... even a New Yorker knows when she is a fish out of water, though i could always be mistaken for SJP and i have bumped into a few L.A. based designers that i do business with...and didn't Robert Redford himself once mistakenly guess that out of a bunch of Hermes Managers, I was the native from Beverly Hills...?

outside Coast at Shutters is the perfect spot to sit with morning coffee from Cora's...

i am digressing.  for sure, on any visit, i typically slip in a quick jaunt over to Abott Kinney. the best strategy here is to latch on to a friend with a car because it is a good healthy hike. tourists and locals alike know that the hottest spot on AK right now is Gjelina. it has been for a few years now and all bemoan the wait for the chance to dine in the outdoor garden at a full fledged table.  i really don't mind slipping in at the common table just inside the sleek industrial facade. this was my second time there and i went for it, with fresh beets (again), oysters on the half shell, and the most divine little dessert accompanied by a heart capped cappuccino.  my big mistake was walking it all off, all the way back to the hotel, only to have trouble moving my joints for the next two days! there are just certain times that don't in the end call for ballet flats.



on Sunday afternoon, a close friend drove down from Santa Barbara.  we were tempted by the burger joint at Fred Segal but opted to check out The Market at Santa Monica Place that another friend had told me about the night before while at the Penthouse at the Bentley Hotel.  we sat on white cushions in a white room, drank minty green mojitos and dined with views of the ocean.  both she and her husband were dieting but wanted me to try everything so i ate three amuse bouche (amuses bouches?), most of a frittatta covered with truffle oil and cheese, my own fish entree, and one lavendar ice cream for dessert. i lost them at the amuse bouche....

back to The Market. not a bad place to go in search of sustenance...we shared fried chicken and sipped iced tea on yet another terrace, this one adjacent to a wine bar we unfortunately would have to save for another time...

we wandered through the food court and i signed up to be on the mailing list for cooking classes in a kitchen right there on the premises, as if! but speaking of kitsch, my friend shot this photo of a very fashionable pretzel or two...

and i think these shots speak for themselves but i cannot resist commentary. how cute are these grass covered stools? how precious is this little boy's concentration on the cooking video?  and how fab is his big sister's outfit, complete with boots and faux fur vest, excuse me, only in L.A......

there is not time enough to visit Ivy at the Shore but i know that it is there and that is all that matters.

 but i do squeeze in a trip to BP Oysterette on Monday (that would be Blue Plate)

the story here is that if you don't show up just before noon or just before five, you don't get to eat! grilled oysters are divine and so what if the lemon pops out of your hand and the butter splashes all over your new Ted Baker cardi? you still have time to change before your flight back home....

later, Santa Monica.! Shrimp cocktail on the sundeck at The Lobster! next time!