The good thing about living close to the beach but not AT the beach is that I don't have to suffer the throngs of people who descend on the week-ends, I don't have to deal with cars blocking my driveway ("for just a minute"), and I can enjoy virtually marine layer free blue sunny days. Can you tell that I am glad I no longer live at the beach? All this being said, it's still fun to GO to the beach. Just like it's fun to rent a convertible even though you may not enjoy owning one (yes, I've been there and done that too).
So when friends came in from out of town who also used to live at the beach, we went to the beach! Venice's Abbot Kinney was a funky artsy area before all the high end hipsters, but the "revitalization" has added some great places to eat in addition to what used to be the only good place to eat, Joe's.
Feed Body & Soul has a beautiful facade, a covered patio, and that rarity that makes it worthy of a visit even on Summer week-ends, an adjacent valet parking lot.
We sat on the patio and since we all wanted to taste everything, we decided to literally taste three dishes by each eating a third of a plate and passing it on to the next person.
The crabcakes with a habernero sauce on a bed of organic greens with avocado was not as spicy as it sounds, but rather a lightly spiced salad that highlighted fresh crab. If you are a crabcake lover, you will be pleased with this choice.
The sesame crusted seared ahi with micro greens, wheatberries and a wasabi sauce was done perfectly rare. If you don't like tuna tartare or tuna sashimi, do not order this, but if you do, this is a whole grain version of a dish you might find in a sushi restaurant. The wasabi sauce was quite spicy, so be forewarned.
My favorite dish was the one I ordered, the wild salmon on a bed of quinoa with spinach and a pea shoot sauce. The fish was perfectly cooked, the greens and grains moist and tasty, and I would have definitely eaten all of this dish without sharing!
The portions were not huge and our total for the three of us including tax and tip was about $90 without drinks, but for the atmosphere and the food, this is definitely worth the price for the quality of ingredients.
We went across the street for dessert at N'Ice Cream. They make their gelatos and sorbets fresh every day from ingredients that are organic in other countries but have not been certified as organic in the US. If you love creamy gelato, this is the place to go in Venice. In Hermosa, I prefer Paciugo, but for a place closer to me and with excellent flavors, this is a great find. Prices are about the same starting at $4 for a single serving. I chose the pistachio, a very creamy version made with imported Italian pistachios.
One friend got the maple and it tasted as fresh and creamy as my pistachio.
The third person of our trio chose the chocolate which was soooo chocolaty that I my one bite taste was enough to satiate me!
Maybe next time we'll rent a convertible when we go to the beach :)
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