October 16, 2009

• Song of the Day
  

  不要什麼諾言…
  只要天天在一起…
  平平靜靜….
  快快樂樂….
  是許多人追求的生活目標 ….

  

  Hundreds of foodies gathered in Venice this past Sunday for the first ever “A Taste of Abbot Kinney”. The event took place along Abbot Kinney Boulevard, a main strip located near Venice Beach, where there are a mixture of boutiques and restaurants. I attended the festivities with W by my side, we arrived right on time at two o’clock sharp, ready for a walking, eating, and drinking tour of Abbot Kinney’s diverse restaurants. The admission price costs US$60 per person, but W managed to get a discounted price of US$40. (Yes!) Besides, all proceeds will go to the “Inside Out Community Arts”, an organization that provides arts education to underserved communities. This event has all the makings of a walking tour-de-force de food! A nibble here, a nibble there, a nibble everywhere! Here’s a rundown of my favorite tastes of the day (With my many thanks to W for many of the deliciously looking photos):

  Primitivo Wine Bistro – Sangria and Bacon Wrapped Date was sampled. I always enjoy all the refreshing fruity flavours infused into a glass of Sangria, especially with an extra dose of fruit bits n’ pieces. You don’t see the Bacon Wrapped Date here, because I ate that well before the photo was snapped. The bacon was deliciously crispy!
  

  Our second pit stop at Elvino , Champagne and caviar were offered from this wine shop. It was good to sample the appetizers firsthand. We were one of the first group of visitors to crowd around the tasting bar, chat with the shopkeepers and consumed a fresh offering of caviar and crackers. I enjoyed the Petrossian sturgeon (black) variety caviar, served with champagne. . The salmon roe was also delicious and reminiscent of sushi toppings. Nothing short of salty, but tasted very rich and quite decadent that melts in your mouth.
  

  We then walked to the west end intersection of the street, where Lemonade is located. This place is a newbie to the Venice restaurant scene. The setup is more like a self-service with customers queuing through a counter where there are numerous choices of fresh salad, as well as their famous juice – lemonade. Here, the Cucumber Mint Lemonade and a plate of vegetable dishes (cauliflower, beets, edamame).
  
  

  After loading up on lemonade, we wandered to the far west end of the neighborhood, where a couple of the restaurants were located. This is the quiet side of the area, as most diners do not often make their way crossing a six lane wide traffic street. Since we want to satisfy our craving for more food, we decided to make the trip. Here at Market Gourmet , which is basically a neighborhood deli selling imported wine, cheeses and serving up the occasional homemade sandwiches and salads. The very friendly shop owner offers us a sampling of homemade Chicken apple salad, Salmon salad, Curry chicken salad and quinoa salad. We also sampled a few cheeses. I’m not a cheese lover, but now, I can tell the differences between a five-year aged versus a ten-year aged cheese. The older the cheese, the more flavorful.
  

  At Marla’s , we had a choice of Pork tenderloin or Barbecue chicken sandwiches. To be honest, the sandwiches are quite plain looking and not quite ‘gourmet’ to begin with. But with a bite of the freshly baked bun, I found it soft and inviting. And the meat, oh, so tender and moist, with a smokey barbecue flavor. Almost melt in my mouth. This baby is delicious. I’m glad we trekked to this side of town.
  

  By now, it is almost 3.30pm and one-and-a-half hours into our food adventure. There are still a number of places to explore. Before the big crowd arrive for the happy hour, we hurried back to the main strip, where Wabi Sabi is located. Here, the atmosphere is completely different. While we were waiting for our meal/sample, I noticed the decor is a rather upscale eatery serving sushi with a dose of California style, geared more towards the non-traditional Japanese taste, so to speak. We were offered a dish of Sea Bass sashimi with Peruvian corn, and a small cup yuzu/pisco drink. If you are wondering what a Peruvian corn looks like, think of a regular ear of corn on steroids. I did not enjoy its texture, it is like biting into a piece of potato cake, dry and mushy. In the following photo, look for the huge kernels inside the right side of the bowl.
  

  After consuming numerous types of alcoholic drinks, I am getting a couple of stares from fellow foodies because of my very red complexion. Anyhow, I have to continue on and finish the food trials. We stopped by 3 Squares Cafe to grab a small dish of cake. Since this is a German owned eatery, their offering is German Chocolate Cake. I had a small piece, the cake’s creamy topping mixed with the chocolaty filling melted smoothly and luxuriously on the tongue. Think of chocolate heaven!
  

  Next, we walked across the street to Capri , which is a small and quaint Italian restaurant. The place looks very nice and formal, every table has white linen table cloth and the walls are mostly white washed in muted color. We had the Butternut squash risotto paired with a house chardonnay. The place (with less the twenty tables) is full. I guess everybody loves the relaxing atmosphere there.
  

  A few doors down the street is Intelligentsia Cafe , here they are serving up dessert, Chocolate ganache tartlet and vanilla bean creme brulee, and also two types of coffee made from Kenyan and Guatemalan coffee beans. I like the Kenyan coffee, it is not quite as bitter with a hint of spice. The Guatemalan is absolute too bitter for me. Too bad they only gave out one portion of dessert to share between two persons. The creme brulee was perfectly torched and the Chocolate tartlet was so rich and dense and intense, such that half a small square was perfectly satisfying.
  
  

  Lilly’s is a small family-run French restaurant. I had dined there previously and was not quite impressed with their ‘French style’ service.
  This time around, everyone was sitting around and waited for almost fifteen minutes before the samples were brought out. The explanation was,”Food was still baking in the oven.” Their mini Goat cheese quiche was a pleasant surprise, with artichoke inside the pie, warm and perfectly baked. The food was paired with a cabernet from France.
  

  After that, we walked next door to Joe’s . This establishment has been cooking up California French cuisine since 1991, and has been the favorite of the neighborhood. The appetizers are: Pork Pate and Wild Mushroom Ravioli. It was a good and satisfying tasting to round up the day.
  
  

  As I have previously mentioned, the entire tasting trip costs US$60, we paid a discounted price of US$40. I think it’s pretty pricey and would probably skip this event if not for the 30% discount. While there are a few dishes I probably would not order again (such as the Peruvian corn with Sea bass sashimi at Wabi Sabi), most of the dishes offered had been very interesting, also quite daring to the newer visitors of Abbot Kinney. Overall, the experience of trekking along Abbot Kinney with fellow foodies made for one full Sunday afternoon has been very worthwhile. I’ll be looking forward to next year’s event, hopefully for the same price!

  • 6:46 pm
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