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Tags: Pizza / Santa Monica Travel / Pizza Shops / → All Tags

NY & C Gives The 'Good Pizza on the West Coast' Thing a Try

It's hard to find a quality slice of pizza in Los Angeles and in fact, most shops here just try to emulate a New York or Chicago-style pizza. The attempts are appreciated by East Coasters like ourselves but of course, it's just never the same. The biggest stand-out so far has been Joe's Pizza, just off the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, which is an outpost of the famous Joe's Pizza on Bleeker Street.

However, a new pizza joint has opened, also in Santa Monica, on Wilshire Boulevard and it's decided to split its offerings between New York and Chicago style pizza. NY & C even splits its physical space between Chicago and New York. One wall is devoted to NYC photos and memorabilia and the other is for Chicago.

There's deep dish Chicago-style pizza and specialty pizzas like the Navy Pier (green peppers, tomatoes, garlic and mushrooms) and the Windy City with four types of meat (sausage, pepperoni, salami, sliced beef), mushrooms and extra cheese. There's another pizza with meatballs, mushrooms, tomatoes and green peppers that's called The Sears Tower. Um. Do you mean the Willis Tower.

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Tags: Santa Monica Pier / Santa Monica Travel / Food / Restaurants / → All Tags

Santa Monica's Lobster Turns 10, The Pier Celebrates Its Centennial

The (lobster) claws come out at the tenth anniversary of a Santa Monica Pier institution

Santa Monica Pier is the heart of the oceanside city's kinetic life force. Amid a flurry of tourists milling toward the neon-lit ferris wheel, shirtless muscle men on bikes, and street performers competing for spare change, The Lobster offers some refuge, not to mention amazing seafood and 180 degree views of the Pacific Ocean.

The pier institution celebrated the tenth anniversary of its reopening on Monday evening with a private VIP reception, drawing a mixed crowd of older locals and young, energetic foodies who clamored straight for the surf 'n' turf spread. Tables overflowed with an assortment of the menu's best: fresh oysters, mini crab cakes, filet mignon, lobster (natch) and seared tuna.

Complimentary wine and cocktails were also circulating as guests toasted ten years of business at the historic locale. If you're in the area and in search of a more upscale—but still relaxed—alternative to other grab-and-go eateries lining the shore, The Lobster is a good bet.

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Tags: Television Travel / Reality TV / Santa Monica Travel / Shopping-in-SoCal / → All Tags

Santa Monica's Fred Segal To Get Its Own Reality Show

Nearly a year ago we spoke of our love for Fred Segal Santa Monica, a posh, celeb-frequented, overpriced boutique with cutesy department names like Flair, Fun and Emphatic.

Back then, we mentioned that we preferred this boutique over its West Hollywood counterpart largely because it was close to the beach, free of D-list celebrities holding their appointments with the paparazzi and with more manageable parking. We'd like to take all of that back now that we've learned the store has just announced its own reality show on Bravo.

The show will focus on the oft-stressed and competitive sales team as they cater to well-to-do customers who demand the latest in clothes, shoes, accessories and beauty products.

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Tags: Santa Monica Pier / Attraction / Animals / → All Tags

Ferris Wheels, Burgers, and Mischievous Octopi at the Santa Monica Pier

For years the Santa Monica Pier was the place where locals got drugs and tourists got robbed (technically locals also got robbed too but that screws up the balance of the sentence).

It's always been a recognizable part of LA history: opened in 1909, emerged as an iconic landmark featured in TV and film, became a celebrated beatnik destination, and so on. It's just it hasn't always been a safe recognizable part of LA history. In the past few years, though, gentrification has slowly worked its wonderful magic. Today it's brimming with activity and people-watching potential, populated by this weird mix of beach rats, hipsters, and tourists.

The pier has a permanent bevy of restaurants, shops, and amusements plus a bunch of rotating shows and events - dance lessons, high school recitals, and circus performances. For instance next month they're putting on Sideshow at the Pier, "an eclectic and fast-paced show featuring jugglers, fire-eaters, tap dancers, singers, clowns, puppeteers, mimes and comedy teams."

An outing can easily consume a lackadaisical afternoon. It's a pier with a gigantic Ferris wheel on a Southern California beach framed by a crystal blue sky. Tough to screw that up.

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Tags: Aquariums / Wild Animal Travel / Octopuses / → All Tags

Cephalopods Gone Wild: Crafty Octopus Causes Flood in Santa Monica

Prepare to welcome your new octopus overlords. Workers at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium are mopping up after a curious female California two-spotted octopus loosened a valve in its tank on Thursday, releasing at least 200 gallons (757 liters) of seawater onto the brand new floor. National Geographic reports that such behavior is typical among octopuses, due to their unique combination of strength, dexterity, curiosity, and intelligence. In other words, be very afraid.

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Tags: Table Crashing / Restaurants / Santa Monica Hotels / Food Travel / → All Tags

FIG at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel

FIG bars, it's what's for dessert.

One of Santa Monica’s most famous landmarks is the 128-year-old Moreton Bay fig tree that sits in the driveway to the Fairmont Miramar Hotel, so it’s no wonder that the hotel’s new restaurant is named FIG.

Around 90 percent of Chef Ray Garcia's menu is locally and organically sourced, and the dishes will change according to season. If you have any doubts about that, just check out the calendar of crops at the bottom of the menu to see what will be “coming soon” to a plate near you.

There are even “food scouts” who apparently are scouring the local farmer’s markets and nearby ranches for the raw ingredients for Chef Garcia’s menus, which he says are “nothing experimental or overworked. Just pure, flavorful ingredients expertly prepared and delivered to your table.” He must have picked up that philosophy while working at Thomas Keller's famous French Laundry in Napa.

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Tags: Table Crashing / Santa Monica Pier / Restaurants / → All Tags

Table Crashing: The Lobster at the Santa Monica Pier

Without a doubt, heading to the Santa Monica Pier is one of the top tourist attractions in Santa Monica. Made famous in countless films, the pier was originally built in 1909 which is defined as the pre-historic age for Los Angeles.

It's considered the final stop along Route 66, as anyone who saw the movie Forest Gump knows, and it houses a historic carousel ride, a ferris wheel *, a small aquarium, carnival games, tourist trap souvenir shops, a pub and a few restaurants.

Now, dining on the pier is not something we would ever do unless it was like on a triple dog dare or something, but if we had to dine in the vicinity of the pier the only place to do so is The Lobster.

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Tags: Shopping / Shopping-in-SoCal / Fred Segal / → All Tags

Shopping in SoCal: Fred Segal Santa Monica

If you're a regular reader of the weekly trashy tabloids (not that we are or anything), then the name Fred Segal should be very familiar to you. It's the trendy store where celebrities are always spotted buying new clothes, catching a bite to eat and staging some convenient photo ops.

Now, there are actually two Fred Segal stores--one on Melrose Avenue where most of the paparazzi camp out--and the more low-key one in Santa Monica on Broadway, just off the Third Street Promenade.

This is the Fred Segal that we prefer. Why? Well it's close to the beach, it's bigger (which means more merchandise) and the parking is way more manageable.

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Tags: Table Crashing / Santa Monica / Restaurants / → All Tags

Table Crashing: La Botte in Santa Monica

Only three restaurants in Los Angeles were awarded two Michelin Stars in the 2008 guide for the city and several were awarded one-star, including another Table Crashing fave, CUT.

So we decided to test out the one nearest to our abode--La Botte in Santa Monica which earned a one-star. The restaurant's location is a few blocks from the touristy Third Street Promenade, thankfully, as anything on the Promenade should be avoided.

Yet it's in the ground level of a modern-looking apartment/office building. This is both good and bad--good because you get a sort of tucked-away feeling but bad because who eats in the ground floor of an apartment/office building?

Nevertheless, La Botte has a cozy atmosphere once you step inside. Indeed the Michelin guide agreed:

It is difficult to imagine a warmer interior than in the homey yet fashionable place, which pays homage to Italian wine with its hardwood floors and walls crafted from the staves of oak wine barrels (a nod to the name, Italian for "wine barrel").

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Tags: Ferris-Wheels-of-the-World / Ferris Wheels / Attractions / Singapore Flyer / Tourist Attractions / → All Tags

Ferris Wheel Travel: Mapping the Biggest and the Best

Earlier this month, we told you about the Singapore Flyer, the super Ferris wheel that's now the world's biggest. But height alone doesn't make an awesome ride, or at least that's what they're hoping at Pacific Park in Santa Monica.

Starting May 8, workers will put in a new, high-tech wheel with all sorts of wild lighting effects. (Think LED hearts for V-Day, an American flag for Independence Day, a wreath for Christmas.) The new 90-foot ride should be ready in time for the unofficial start of summer on Memorial Day.

Given how hot the Ferris wheel competition is getting worldwide, we figured we better map out your best options. If your top trips are all about getting high, here's where to go.

Related Stories:
· New Ferris Wheel at Santa Monica Pier [LAT Deal Blog]
· Pacific Park [Official Site]
· Ferris Wheels of the World Map [Jaunted]

[Photo: vgm8383]

Tags: Restaurant Reviews / Abode / → All Tags

Yet Another Fancy Organic Eco-Restaurant: Abode

When we noticed a sign for a new restaurant a few months ago tucked behind other notable Santa Monica restaurants on Ocean Avenue (Ivy on the Shore, Tengu, Il Fornaio), we thought it read "Adobe." So we just figured it was some sort of casual Mexican cafe in the back and not really anything worthy of checking out.

But we were probably having a dyslexic moment because our friends started gushing about this new place called Abode. Then just last night, we were catching up on our Vanity Fair--the Nicole Kidman issue--and whaddya know? The mag mentioned it in their Fanfair section, calling out its "swingy, sophisticated and relaxed atmosphere."

Normally, we wouldn't pay much attention to a Vanity Fair plug but our friends loved it. They recommend doing a chef's table tasting with wine pairing ($135 per person) which includes a little bit of everything on the menu. Although the chef, Dominque Crenn, doesn't do the explaining, a waiter will.

Speaking of the menu, it's described as "artisanal, sustainable and seasonal" which basically means its organic done in a high-end way. Which isn't for everyone. Blogger The Delicious Life writes:

I wasn't paying much attention to whether ingredients were truly locally grown, seasonal to summer, or sustainably prepared. I was, however, paying attention to how everything tasted and whether they were worth Abode's fairly high prices, which is often inevitable with "eco-friendly" and an oceanfront address. They weren't worth it for me.

Related Stories:
· Abode restaurant [Official Site]
· Restaurants coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Caroline on Crack, who has her own Abode review]

Tags: Food / Hotels / Brunch / Food Porn / → All Tags

Who Says Californians Eat Healthy?

This yummy picture of eggs benedict was taken at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica.

This place has become our new favorite brunch spot. Aside from delicious food and outdoor dining by the pool (it's a teeny pool, practically just for show), the place is never crowded. Which means there is no haggling for a table nor do you have to wait an hour to get seated. You can pretty much show up at prime brunch hour--10-11am--and eat right away.

So even if you are staying in the Travelodge by the Santa Monica Pier you can brunch in style at the Viceroy.

Insider Tip: If you are driving to the hotel, try to nab a metered spot in front to save yourself the $8 valet fee. Even better, if you are staying in the area in Santa Monica, rent a bike--it's the local way--and peddle over to the Viceroy instead.

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