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

Meat Marys R to L: Bacon & Foie (courtesy of Fig Santa Monica)

Before Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, I wasn’t a big fan of Bloody Marys. I just am not a fan of tomato-ey things in general. But after tasting what was perhaps the best Bloody Mary ever (the Mary fans I was with at Harry’s where the cocktail was invented can back me up), I’ve seen the light. So when I got wind of Fig Santa Monica‘s new Bloody Mary brunch cocktail menu, created by Chef Ray Garcia, I admit that I did a little happy dance.

He created some crazy versions of everyone’s favorite hangover cure. Not only does it offer the popular Bacon Mary made with heirloom tomato, bacon-infused True Organic Gin and a bacon-salt rim but meat lovers might get a kick out of the Foie Mary with foie gras and Belvedere Vodka.

Other unique Marys:

• Brasilian Mary: Leblon Cachaca, Tomato-Carrot Juice, Passionfruit
• Green Mary: Cucumber, Dill, Serrano Chili, Grappa
• Tomato-Watermelon Mary: Organic Tomatoes, Juiced Watermelon, Casa Noble Silver Tequila
• Yellow Mary: Luksusowa Vodka Yellow Tomato, Mint

Or if you’d rather create a Mary with your favorite spirit, you can. Do it with bourbon for a Brown Mary, rum for a Bloody Pirate or gin for a Bloody Margaret. Weirdos (said affectionately of course) can do absinthe (Bloody Fairy) or booze free (Bloody Shame).

Lucky for you, the Promenade and beach, great places to spend sobering up, are just within stumbling distance of the restaurant! The Bloody Mary menu is only available during Sunday brunch.

Fig Santa Monica
101 Wilshire Boulevard
Santa Monica, California 90401 (map)
(310) 319-3111
Facebook: Fig Santa Monica
Twitter: @FigSantaMonica

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

Shrimp veg potsticker with red chile dashi sauce, $10

Bacon bloody Mary with bacon-infused vodka. Smokey and savory. I don't even like tomatoes all that much but loved this one.

Bacon fried rice with scallions and shitake mushroom, $7

Market veg omlette with mushrooms, pea shoots, roasted peppers, avocado, tomato, cotija cheese, $8. Notably smaller than regular omlettes.

Sea bass ceviche with Aji Amarillo, red onion, cucumber, apple, tomato, shiso, $12

Salmon omlette with goat cheese, spinach, caramelized onion, tomato, $9

Bahn mi sliders with Achiote pork, pickled vegetables, citrus aioli, $9. Wasn't crazy about this one. Bread was fresh and flakey but the pork was gristly. My least favorite dish out of everything.

Sake sangria, $9. Very light compared to traditional sangria because of the sake.

Thai chicken empanadas with chile poblano, Oaxaca cheese, mango salsa, $10. Loved this dish! My favorite. Flakey pastry and tasty curry sauce.

Asparagus with slow poached egg, lemon, xo sauce, togarashi, $7

Lychee Bellini with sparkling wine, lychee, $10. Very, very light and not too sweet.

Pan dulce is Mexican sweet bread, cinnamon whipped cream, Licor 43, star anise, orange agave syrup, $7.

Creme Caramel LA's Kristina de la Cruz loves posing for pictures.

This weekend is Artisanal LA Spring Show 2011 and thanks to an invite to the sneak preview last night I was able to run around from vendor to vendor without having to muscle my way through crowds or fight for samples. It was glorious.

The event is spread out in a space at Santa Monica Place on the 3rd level near the Dining Deck. With only media and PR folk browsing the booths there was ample room to get a good look at the wares. But even with limited attendance during this media preview there were still lines for both the bars, one hosted by Veev and the other by Green Bar Collective.

The former presented an “apothecary bar” where guests were invited to “pick from a variety of organic herbs to create a cocktail remedy of your desire.” Yeah, kinda cheesy but cute. Their acai-based cocktails were a Spa Cooler and Veev Lemonade. And the organic spirits company offered two punches: one with vanilla vodka, orange juice and lime and the other with lavender, lemon and gin. Surprisingly loved the gin cocktail more than the creamsicle sounded one which ended up just tasting like orange juice with a faint hint of vanilla.

With about a couple hours to check out everything, I basically hit all the sweet spots that caught my eye and discovered some instant favorites:

I Heart Pies‘ Peep Pie made with a homemade graham crust and marshmallow mousse with chocolate chips. Even though I hate Peeps, disgusting massproduced styrofoam marshmallow birds, this pie is to die for. Creamy and indulgent. The 9-inch pie costs $25 but you can get a mini one for $5 at Artisanal.

Creme Caramel's caramelized bacon and caramel bread pudding

Creme Caramel LA‘s caramelized bacon and caramel bread pudding was touted to me by Nastassia of Manila Machine as “lechon flan bread pudding,” a Filipino dessert. Sold! Founder Kristina de la Cruz is a pinay but the fact that her desserts are phenomenal make it extra easy to support her. The “lechon flan,” was springy, moist and very sweet with that hint of savoriness. Love. It’s normally $28.50 but they have single servings for $5 at the show. And you can either enjoy it on the spot where they’ll heat it up for you or you can take a carton to go to enjoy and heat up at home later.

Crust by Stephanie Jayne’s cracker brittle. Dude, are you kidding me? So fab. It’s basically a chocolate-drizzled caramel brittle on a Saltine-like cracker. So simple and yet ingenuous. The sweet of the brittle balanced out by the saltiness and lightness of the cracker.

Cast-Iron Gourmet‘s bacon fat, OK this isn’t a sweet item but when I asked founder Rashida Purifoy why she was selling jars of bacon fat ($8) at her booth she told me that people had actually been requesting it. See, she cooks a lot of bacon for her business, and goood bacon at that, so her customers were always asking her for the residual fat which she triple filters. Apparently they use it for cooking, baking, etc. It was the etc. part that intrigued me. Rashida uses the fat to make bacon fat washed bourbon, something I’ve always wanted to make but didn’t for the simple reason I don’t cook. In any case she said she’d give me the recipe for a bacon bourbon cocktail she created which I’ll blog about later.

Liquor + cake = heaven.

You’d think with the Immaculate Confections’ liquor cakes it would be the fact that their descriptions tout ingredients like Kahlua, rum and Guinness is what caught my eye but actually it was because the cakes looked like little Art Deco castles. Beautiful. Anyway, on a wayy closer inspection I sampled the vanilla rum cake with vanilla glaze and loved it. It’s not as boozy as your average rum cake but you definitely get the hit of rum in the initial scent and on the finish. The cake is so moist and sticky. It would be wonderful to enjoy with some really good coffee. Other flavors to consider include the Vanilla Grand Marnier cake and the Bittersweet Chocolate Bourbon cake.

Another not-sweet item is Mud Baron‘s seedlings. Mud, the winner of the Green Shorty award, is selling $1 seedlings for thyme, tomatoes, lavender, sage, etc. for Santee High’s Bistro Mundo to those brave enough to try and grow them. Fortunately Mud is so knowledgeable and encouraging that he was able to persuade me to take home tomato, sage and lettuce (?) seedlings, which apparently will do well in my home environment of Culver City.

So lots of fun, delicious stuff at this year’s spring show. I can’t wait to go back today and stock up on some more goodies!

More photos after the jump.

Santa Monica Place, Level 3 Dining Deck
395 Santa Monica Place
Santa Monica, California 90401 (map)

Dotto cocktail will cure what ails you, especially with all that ginger.

What is the big deal with Chef Roberto “Bobo” Ivan’s Hostaria del Piccolo, the Santa Monica sister to his Piccolo restaurant in Venice? Well, not only does the modern pizza joint offer gluten-free pie — made with naturally leavened dough comprised of kamut, soy and polenta flour — but they have a gorgeously stocked bar (specifically all the fixings for an awesome Manhattan, including the formerly scarce Rittenhouse 100) and a promising cocktail menu.

Wood everywhere.

Turns out cocktail godfather Vincenzo Marianella (Providence, The Doheny), who works just down the street at cocktail fan favorite Copa d’Oro, conducted a two-day cocktail seminar and offered some input for Hostaria’s bar program. But he doesn’t want his involvement to be the focus as he said that, like he did for downtown’s Drago Centro, he’s just setting things up while Hostaria’s bartenders will be tasked with taking it from there.

At the moment there’s a decent selection of classic cocktails ($11 each) like the Negroni, Dark & Stormy and Sazerac, which oddly enough the menu lists as having cognac, bourbon and Peychaud’s bitter. Cognac and no absinthe? And their “I Sette Nani” aka seven dwarfs signature cocktails ($12 each), which Marianella didn’t name, are:

• Brontolo (Grumpy): Rum, jalapeno, lime, mix berries
• Cucciolo (Dopey): Cucumber, Plymouth Gin, Plymouth Sloe Gin, lemon
• Dotto (Doc): Bourbon, lemon, Yellow Chartreuse, ginger syrup, Angostura bitter
• Eolo (Sneezy): Bourbon, Elisir Gambrinus, Campari, lavender bitter
• Gongolo (Happy): Ketel One Citron, St. Germain, lime, ginger beer, mint sprig, strawberries
• Mammalo (Bashful): Ketel One Citron, crème de Yvette, prosecco, white grapes, basil leaves
• Pisolo (Sleepy): Dewar’s, Aperol, Amaro Averna, Jerry Thomas bitter

On their opening night last Wednesday, I dropped by to check out the new restaurant, lured by its cocktail menu but opted to enjoy a bit of dinner as well.

Asparagi pizza tastes as good as it looks. Drool!

The pizzas here range in price from the $12 Margherita to the $18 tuna pizza. Each are sized for either a satisfying meal per una persona or as one of many dishes to split with a date. My dinner companion and I shared the asparagi pizza ($16) — a no-sauce pie with mozzarella, asparagus, egg, Parmesan shavings and truffle salt — as well as the Verde salad made with arugula, spinach, avocado, oven-dried tomatoes, pine-nuts and Parmesan crisp. The pizza’s crust was so light and crisp; almost crackerlike. And for the first time ever, I actually finished the ends of the crust. The salad was lightly dressed, fresh and the perfect complement to the pizza.

For my dinner cocktail, I went with the Dotto. Unfortunately it wasn’t as potent as I would have liked and it was a bit heavy on the ginger syrup. But I’ll just chalk that up to the bar getting its bearings. That night bartender Roberto, who also works at Copa d’Oro, was manning the bar. He’ll be pulling double duty at both locations.

The restaurant, designed by architect Gregg Ginter, offers a variety of seating areas for its diners with a main dining room looking out at the street, a back room and a rear outdoor patio as well as the bar area. Grab a seat on the wood bench along the glass windows or cozy up to the TV fireplace.

Posted on LAist.