Veg pusher: The Misfit chef Bruce Kalman

When I got back from my two-week European cheesefest, I made a vow of (mostly) vegetarianism (with some fish flexibility) in the hopes of losing some of the weight I had gained. Fortunately in LA it’s not too hard to keep that vow but I’m still very appreciative when there’s a restaurant that offers tasty and abundant veg options. LGO’s The Misfit in Santa Monica, which opened in April of this year, is one such place with its constantly rotating selection of farmers’ market fresh small plates created by Chef Bruce Kalman, formerly of LGO’s Chelsea Kitchen in Arizona. The menu basically changes every other day.

Can't even see the table.

Chef Bruce shops for his ingredients at the farmers’ market in SaMo on both Wednesdays and Saturdays. And at the envy of most other chefs who browse the booths and have to load up their groceries into their cars, he need only show up with his cart and shuffle it back to his restaurant.

The Dinner

Recently I was invited to check out the vegetarian menu during a hosted dinner. The restaurant had gotten wind of my veg pledge and wanted to show off its vegetarian/vegan offerings. Now it should be noted that even though this particular dinner was taken care of, I’ve been a fan of the Misfit. In fact, it’s become my boyfriend’s and my favorite dinner spot off Third Street Promenade. But I had never explored their veg dishes (with a touch of pescatarian).

So after enjoying the happy hour (every day 12-7pm) of $5 well, beer, wine the chef proceeded to cover our table with nine dishes – all meat-free, save for one fish dish. If this were regular restaurant food, most of this stuff would have been doggybagged. But since it was all small plates of predominantly vegetable dishes — including kale salad, Misfit Dip Plate, street cart corn, cherry tomato herb salad, broccolini, mac and cheese, crudo hamachi with blood orange — we were able to polish everything off save for Rosa’s baked goat cheese and mac and cheese dishes. And afterward we didn’t feel gross, and still had room for the salted chocolate chip cookies that came with our “check”! By the way, LOVE getting the check here, for that very reason.

Tomato herb salad.

The Dishes

The veg dishes range in price from the $3 spicy caramel nut corn to the $11 brussels sprout salad. A majority of them are small plates that are meant to be shared, something my bf HATES (“There’s never enough food for what you buy and afterward you’re still hungry”). But here we found that we’re usually sated when we split three veg dishes. My favorites? The mac and cheese, the kale salad and the chickpea wrap.

Vegans and celiacs will be happy to know that the kitchen can accommodate requests to create any dish to suit your dietary restrictions.

What’s To Drink?

The Misfit also has a full bar and a specialty cocktail list of classic cocktails. The Clocktower Manhattan is basically a Manhattan but instead of Vermouth, they use the brandy that the cherries are soaked in and apparently no bitters. It’s all right but when I come here I usually go for one of the craft beers on their list, which is excellent by the way with brews like St. Bernardus Abt 12, Allagash Curieux and Alesmith Nautical Brown Ale. And don’t know if this is any good but there’s even gluten-free beer.

The Verdict

In any case, I really appreciate the Misfit at the Promenade. Nice to get some fresh, fairly affordable and fun food.

By the way, The Misfit just began a brunch service which features dishes like San Daniele Prosciutto & Eggs, Famous French Pancakes, Chilaquiles and Huevos Rancheros as well as bottomless mimosas for $12 til 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

***CONTEST CLOSED***

GIVEAWAY: So to promote the brunch they’ve given me TWO “Drunken Brunch for Two” dealios (worth $75 each) to give away! And all you have to do for a chance to win and get your morning drank on is the following (you must do both steps to qualify):

1. Leave a comment below saying what is your favorite brunch cocktail and include your Twitter handle. (There is no right answer; I just like to hear how you greet the morning.)
2. Tweet: “I wanna get drunk @themisfitsamo’s brunch, @carolineoncrack! http://wp.me/pNkdL-26i”

I’ll randomly pick a winner via Random.org on Tuesday at 10am and notify the winner via email. If I don’t hear from you by 2pm that Tuesday, I’ll draw another winner so check your email, people!

The Misfit
225 Santa Monica Boulevard
Santa Monica, California 90401 (map)
(310) 656-9800
Facebook: The Misfit
Twitter: @themisfitsamo

Chipotle yellow fin tuna roll with wasabi tobiko, avocado, sesame chipotle rouille, $13. Surprisingly large amount for a small plate. Really get more than your money's worth.

Brunch is one of my favorite meals of the weekend. No rushing off to anywhere, you can drink as many brunch cocktails as you want and it’s all very leisurely and lovely. But I have four requirements for what constitutes a good brunch: 1) a wide variety of dishes from savory to sweet to choose from, 2) a selection of brunch cocktails, 3) quality coffee and 4) affordability.

So when I heard about Zengo‘s all-you-can-eat (and drink) brunch for $35 I was elated, and a bit skeptical. After all the Latin-Asian fusion restaurant located in the newishly renovated Santa Monica Place Dining Deck, seemed, well, touristy and mainstream. It has a patio terrace overlooking Third Street Promenade and Ed Hardy and Kitson across the way. I mistakenly assumed that chef Richard Sandoval’s restaurant was, like most eateries in popular tourist spots, meant to appeal to those far from home who want something comfortingly familiar and not too crazy. Yeah, even though it’s “Latin-Asian” cuisine.

But just checking in at the hostess stand gave it an air of exclusivity. Like, maybe cargo shorts and black socks won’t do here. There was no wide-open door located right by the escalator, rather we had to walk down a long, skinny open-air hallway to a large hostess stand. The hostess checked carefully to make sure we had reservations.

Once brought into the dining area, it actually felt like we were in a place other than Santa Monica. Somewhere almost tropical like a resort in Mexico. Unfortunately, on the day we went it was too chilly and windy to sit out on the terrace so we ducked inside instead.

Our waiter immediately attended to us, quick to offer suggestions, saying that on average people order about four or five dishes each. Since these were small plates, sharing is encouraged. So we started off easy with just five dishes and then ended up ordering another five when we felt we could eat more.

Hit the jump for the gallery of every single thing my bf and I had, including the cocktails which I didn’t finish but can assure you aren’t that strong anyway.

Suffice it to say, I loved this brunch. Every dish was so delicious with only one missing the mark for me, the bahn mi sliders which I couldn’t finish. Meh, pork gristle. But then again I’m not a bahn mi connoisseur, maybe gristly is how it’s done. The chipotle yellow fin tuna roll was a highlight with a long roll that seemed awfully affordable for the amount that we got.

Another fave was the Thai chicken empanadas. If anything I would have gladly placed another order of it. However, the omlettes are pricey for their small sizes at $8-$9; consider that a lox omlette (with onions, capers and boursin cheese) around the corner at Jinky’s Cafe costs about $13.

The cocktail selection was basic — mimosas, Marys, bellinis — and very morning-friendly since, as the waiter pointed out, not many people want to get blitzed for breakfast. Wuuut? Tell that to Eveleigh and Ray’s and The Stark Bar! But out of the drinks, I liked the bacon Bloody Mary the best since it tasted substantial. That’s just how I roll. And, yeah, the cocktail menu won’t be a real draw for those seeking variety, but at least the tourists (and moms) will be happy.

By the way, this was a hosted meal. I wasn’t even sure about this condition until the end when the waiter told us that it was. But before that I was perfectly up for paying the $35 a person since it was absolutely worth it. See, if you eat more than two dishes and drink more than two cocktails, you get your money’s worth right there considering dishes range in price from $7 to $12 and cocktails are in the $9-$10 range. This would be perfect to do with a group of friends. That way you can try more things, and divvying up the bill at the end of the meal would be a nonissue. We actually saw a large table of friends celebrating a birthday, a smart idea since there’s none of that “Heyy, I only had a salad and I have to pay $40?!” complications.

I would most certainly come back, maybe the next time my folks are in town or I get a group of buddies together. Hmm, birthday brunch?

By the way, there is a 2-hour table limit and, obviously, you can’t take your leftovers home.

Zengo Santa Monica
395 Santa Monica Place
Santa Monica, California 90401 (map)
(310) 899-1000
Twitter: @zengosm
Brunch hours: Saturday-Sunday 11:30am-4pm