I took a stroll through downtown Santa Monica this weekend.  Here’s a few of the things I noticed…

Sign and outside dining railing have gone up at the new Thai Dishes between 2nd and Ocean on Broadway.

Concrete poured for a new dining patio at the (slowly) upcoming True Food Kitchen, the new healthy concept restaurant developed with health guru  Andrew Weil, on the ground floor of Santa Monica Place.

Black mesh recently went up hiding the entrance to the anticipated The Market at Santa Monica Place, keeping out nosey bloggers.

Nosey Bloggers have their ways.  Progress continues inside The Market on top of Santa Monica Place.

Handsome new sign that went up last week at The Misfit going into the old Anisette space at 225 Santa Monica Blvd.  Read more at https://toddrickallen.com/2011/01/27/the-misfit-restaurant-santa-monica/

What a great deal!  Pizzeria Mozza is running a $20 special:  any Mozza pizza, dessert, and a glass of Bastianich Friulano or La Mozza Morellino di Scansano on Monday through Thursday from 12pm to 5pm, and then again from 11pm until 12am.  Sounds like a perfect afternoon to me…

http://www.pizzeriamozza.com/

Looking for a way to impress your macrobiotic lover this Valentine’s Day?  Then look no further than M Café de Chaya in Beverly Hills.  (My Valentine’s menu is always centered around a decidedly un-macro star anise-infused gruyère soufflé.)  Next Thursday Feb 10th,  executive chef Shigefumi Tachibe will be leading a cooking demonstration of a romantic dinner to impress that special someone.  Included on the menu are green tea truffles and something rather suggestively referred to as “lover’s hotpot”.  The demo runs from 6:30pm-8:30pm and the cost is $35.   Grab your spot by emailing amy@mcafedechaya.com.

On Wednesday night, I was admiring the newly posted liquor license application outside the forthcoming The Misfit restaurant, the newest from the people who brought you La Grande Orange, LGO Hospitality, going into the old Anisette space at 225 Santa Monica Blvd in SM, when I ran into the chef Bruce Kalman, (formerly of Chelsea’s Kitchen in Arizona, another LGO eatery) who kindly let me snap a photo.    Look for an opening in “a coupla months.”  Notice the $200 cabinet for sale in front…  http://www.themisfitrestaurant.com/

Bruce Kalman, Chef

During the month of January, Susan Feniger’s Street has made everything on their lunch menu a very reasonable $11.  So there’s only one week left to take advantage of this deal.  Chances are you’ll get an opportunity to chat with workhorse Susan herself, who’s a champion palm-presser and seems to be there, well, always.  (Once I asked her for the recipe for the amazing kaya toast, and she promptly emailed it to me!) 

www.eatatstreet.com
742 N. Highland Los Angeles, CA 90038
Phone: 323.203.0500

Looking to create more family time in 2011?  Then head down to the Santa Monica Williams-Sonoma this Saturday January 22nd, where Laurie David and Kirstin Uhrenholdt will be signing copies of their book The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids, One Meal at a Time.  The signing will start at 12:00 noon and you must have purchased your book from W-S. 

While we’re on the subject of out with the old, in with the new, it looks like Leonidas, the Belgian chocolatier at the corner of Santa Monica and 4th in Santa Monica has called it a day and it didn’t take long for the store to be stripped to the bones.  There is a sign on the door stating that Jamba Juice is renovating the space.  As confirmed by an employee at the Jamba Juice almost across the street on Santa Monica Blvd, they will be moving into the new location sometime around the end of February. 

It looks like Malibu’s old-school Italian staple, Tra di Noi is expanding into Beverly Hills.  It didn’t take long for another old-school Italian, Prego at 362 N. Camden to clear out and make way for Tra di Noi’s spinoff La Focacceria, as per the sign on the door.  No word on the menu yet, but I’m going to take a big leap here and guess old-school Italian.  I’ll keep you posted… In the mean time, here’s Tra di Noi’s menu: http://www.tradinoimalibu.com/MENU.htm.

I snapped a photo of the progress on the Market At Santa Monica Place, the Ferry Building style fresh marketplace atop the new mall in Santa Monica.  Still boarded up and wrapped in plastic, it’s difficult to get a glimpse inside.  It looks like they still have a way to go, but you can get a sense of the individual stalls from the photo.  I’ll keep you posted…  Read more at https://toddrickallen.com/2010/10/04/the-market-santa-monica-place/

Overdid it a little during the holidays? M Café de Chaya has got the solution to too much figgy pudding and eggnog.   Jessica Porter, author of  The Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics leads a “post-holiday detox” cooking demo at the Beverly Hills location. The menu includes carrot-daikon tonic, rice and avocado and corn salad, and purple passion stew and greens. The demo will be followed by a macrobiotics Q&A and booksigning.  Cost is $45 per person. 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 13. E-mail amy@mcafedechaya.com to reserve a space.

9433 Brighton Way, Beverly Hills; (310) 858-8459; www.mcafedechaya.com.

With four locations in California and others throughout the US, it looks like CrêpeMaker, a chain of restaurants that specializes in a variety of savory and dessert crepes is coming to the food court in Santa Monica Place.  Check out their website here http://www.crepemaker.com/. 

I just noticed the sign up tonight in the old Claypit Indian Restaurant space at  145 Barrington in Brentwood Village announcing that the fresh and cheerful restaurant Lemonade will be moving in.  With four locations in LA and one in USC, it looks like the upscale lemonade stand in spreading out.  Check out the menu here http://lemonadela.com/menu-ii to see what you’re likely to get besides sugary citrus beverages.

I haven’t been able to check this out because the store is closed until January 6th, but I noticed this sign in the window of L’Epicerie de Paris in Beverly Hills that clearly states that the store is moving out of its present location.  I’ll post more info after I talk with Arnaud, the store manager.  Read more about L’Epicerie at http://wp.me/pIwAN-7Q.

L’Epicerie de Paris 310 North Camden Drive in Beverly Hills,  90210

So I got a chance to pop into the new Veggie Grill at 2025 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica for a Santa Fe Crispy Chickin’ sandwich (which I love) and chatted with the manager.  Besides telling me that they expect their liquor license to arrive any day (Thank God!), he informed me that they are opening two new branches.  One in Rolling Hills Plaza on the corner of PCH and Crenshaw in Torrance, and the other will open in late May in Farmer’s Market at Fairfax and Third.   Go Veggie Grill!  http://www.veggiegrill.com/

On Tuesday Dec 21, from 6:00pm to 7:00pm, M Cafe de Chaya at 9344 Brighton Way in Beverly Hills will be hosting a vegan  baking demonstration by Erin McKenna of Babycakes NYC.  Included in the program will be a recipe for brownies, Q & A, and booksigning.  Cost is $25.  Sign up at amy@mcafedechaya.com.  You can read more at http://www.mcafedechaya.com/or http://www.babycakesnyc.com/.

Breaking news!  Just heard from the manager Sauro, that Bar Toscana is now open, next door to sister restaurant and Brentwood mainstay, Toscana at 11633 San Vicente Blvd.  The cozy space features a menu of Italian tapas and an emphasis on mixology utilizing fresh herbs, fruits, and other fresh ingredients.  I’ll post more shortly… Until then, read more at https://toddrickallen.com/2010/10/25/bar-toscana-brentwood/.