The First Flower Fest Fun - Flower Power!

Flower Fest kicked off its first incarnation on a beautiful Saturday on Rose Avenue in Venice. Flower Fest is a brand new festival put on by the Venice Chamber of Commerce and the Venice Art Crawl folks (and some weed companies for good measure, though real Venice supports the o.g. longtime local medicine providers), with a fun way of showing off some of the best that Venice has to offer.

It was billed as "A Taste Of Venice", so there were a lot of food booths. Local restaurants set up little outposts of their brick and mortar locations, and there was pretty much anything you wanted, from Italian to Asian, from Casa Linda to Great White.

You didn't really get the flower vibe until you passed through all of the restaurant tents, but then there was booth after booth of lovely blooms of all kinds.

You could get flower crowns custom made, you could get them braided right into your hair ... and you could stop traffic with your giant handmade headdress, just like the groovy old hippie days in Venice.

As it was a collab with the Art Crawl, there was also plenty of art on hand.

Artists were live painting murals up and down the blocks, featuring flowers mostly, but also messages of absolute truth.

One of my favorite local artists, Beckett, was also on hand doing some live painting on a canvas set up for kids to go to town on, and his rainbow was my favorite piece I saw all day (and I don't think I was alone in that, as several bystanders stopped to photograph this little boy happily painting away, while taking it very seriously). Teach the children well!

Beckett also started his own art collection, finding a piece he couldn't live without from artist Todd Goodman. The two creatives took time out to pose together, in a summit meeting of two important Venice painters. Awesome.

A stage was set up at the closer to Lincoln end of Rose, festooned with paper flowers and blasting terrible music - at least when we were there. Anxiety-inducing beats were being spun by some D.J. that didn't really know his family audience in the early afternoon, but I heard it got more awesome as the day progressed. It culminated in a performance by Phantogram there in the street on Rose, that I was bummed to have to miss, but heard was great.

I say the more Festivals the merrier, and you really can't go wrong in Venice with food, flowers, art, and music. All the things we love. Plus, a reminder that one of the most important aspects of life is to GROW. It was a little under-attended, possibly because not very many people I talked to had known about it ... it was more a delightful surprise they stumbled on to out on a Saturday bike ride or stroll.

Congratulations to everyone on another cool thing to do in Venice ... may it grow!!!

The Hart and The Hunter - From Fable to Table

Trumpet blares! The Hart and The Hunter is here! The brand new restaurant from the dynamic duo of Brian Dunsmoor and Kris Tominaga (the guys from Venice's brief and beloved Wolf In Sheep's Clothing) opens for business this week in the Palihotel on Melrose. Yeah, it's Hollywood, but this is one destination we will happily cross Lincoln for. Anytime.

It was my distinct pleasure to be invited to the opening for friends and family (mostly Venice) last night, and it was a big, fun evening of celebration and total gluttony. Which cannot be helped at this place, so prepare yourselves. It is soSoSO good. I'm just starting to get over a hellacious end of summer cold, and my taste buds weren't firing on all cylinders, but I got a pretty good idea of food Heaven, nonetheless.  I also watched every person in there's eyes rolling back with pleasure after each bite, and even break into spontaneous applause after certain perfect bites (like the chopped steak and bone marrow on toast, for instance).

I went to Wolf In Sheep's Clothing as many times as possible during its existence, and have since become good homies with Dunsmoor, Tominaga and their cool girlfriends, Lacey and Kristel (Lacey Cowden does all the beautiful drawings for the restaurant, including their logo illustrating characters from the Aesop fable from which the new place takes its name), which is how I found my lucky self at their table last night. Delighted every second.

The room is off the lobby of the lodge style Palihotel, and it's all very cozy. The walls are a blue tile over black and white floors that lends it all a bit of a subway, urban feeling that is tempered by the warm art and exceptional drawings from Miss Lacey. The open kitchen looks like a Martha Stewart cooking show set, with Dunsmoor and Tominaga putting their flourishes on everything out front, while a harder core kitchen is accessed through a window. As busy and crazy as a restaurant kitchen (especially a sparkling new one) is, the guys are having a good time, and it shows in every aspect.

We began with little treats like fresh pickled things, and pots of pimento cheese deliciousness (about which one in my party said, "I want to rub that all over my body." I understood.) I was happy to see that one of our favorites from Wolf/Sheep was back on the menu here, the "fish in a jar" dish of smoked trout and egg on avocado toast. Improbably, impeccably delicious. So too are those ridiculous biscuits back, small bites of perfection and happiness ("It tastes like Christmas - without relatives.") Just like the raclette. OK, just like every single thing.

I didn't photograph any of the food, as each thing was gone pretty much the instant it landed on our table, but you can just trust me on all of it. SO good. The only issue was wanting more of it all, as when you split things with a big table, you generally don't get as much as you could handle. I may go alone next time. Oh, and it has to be soon, as the fryer conked out and we didn't get to have the things that needed to be fried - like green tomatoes and chicken cracklins! It is clear from this cooking that time has been spent in the South, and like Lacey said, "We're going for a ride!" It's best to enjoy it as such and save your caloric worries for another day, if you have to.

"Will you marrow me?" was asked after we had the dish of chopped raw steak with that bone marrow on toast. We were all just laughing at this point, every time we tasted something new. Even simple cornbread with maple butter was just beyond everyday good and in some whole new culinary land. The "Low Country Boil" was a delicious plate of shrimp and potatoes and corn that I want more of right now.  The hanger steak ... perfection. The venison (Hart!) carpaccio taught me that I like venison. And I'd say every word I'm saying if I'd never heard of the guys too. People that have never heard of these guys WILL be saying things just like this. You want to get there soon. And you CAN! They open tomorrow (October 2) for breakfast and lunch, and for dinner on Thursday, October 4th. It's pretty small (seats 48 inside, 12 outside) and they don't take reservations, so you just want to get there and be ready for a wait, that will be well worth it.

"They're really giving us a bite to SAVOR, to think about" .... "It's like the Kama Sutra ... you taste it and do a slow burn" (this accompanied by the appropriate moans) ... "Yuuuuum!" This is just some of the satisfaction I overheard during the course of our meal.

I can't say enough good about it, and strongly suggest you make plans to experience The Hart and The Hunter for yourself. Unlike the hart in the fable, I am able to recognize a good thing. And tell everyone about it.

The Hart and The Hunter
Palihotel
7950 Melrose Avenue
L.A., 90046
323.424.3055

*You can also catch Dunsmoor and Tominaga this Wednesday (October 3) cooking their rustic, locally sourced, super fresh awesomeness with the winners of the Farmers of the Year at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market from 10:30 am to 1 pm.

** To clarify - There IS going to be a Wolf In Sheep's Clothing in Venice - Same owner as before ... it just isn't going to have these terrific Chefs Dunsmoor and Tominaga - as they are now The Hart and The Hunter.  Kind of confusing, but now you know the real deal.

MMMmm-arla's!

I walked past the place every day for years having no idea what delicious cooking was going on inside. Our wonderful new(ish) neighborhood restaurant, Marla's, began as a catering operation on the corner of Victoria and Abbot Kinney (2300 Abbot Kinney, South side of Venice Blvd, across from The French Market), and only earlier this year opened up for public consumption, when Marla decided that she'd rather have a stool to rest on once in a while, vs. hauling food for thousands to events around town. Lucky us!


Marla Berreira grew up in Wisconsin, but headed out to California as soon as she figured out that one doesn't HAVE to be cold all winter (I get it, Marla). Then she traveled Europe solo, shipping her VW Van back and forth 3 times, adventuring all the while. She learned catering from cooking for dozens of friends on her little van hot plate, and naturally progressed, like people who follow their hearts do, to sorting out how to make a living doing what she loved to do. Feed people good old home cooking. I asked her how she came up with her menu - that varies from AMAZING tacos (I dig the carnitas most) to daily specials like Coconut Shrimp or Baby Back Ribs - and she said, "It's all just the things I make at home, that I love making." Well, you can't really get more comforting food than that.



Comfort. That is about the best word for Marla's. You order and pay in the front part, (where there's a couple of tables, but you really want to sit in the back patio) and then go find a couch or table in the dominantly green patio that you swear is someone's house. There's a little subtle jazz or reggae playing as you settle in, with that bottle of wine (or beers. or flask. we've done all three) you brought from home - that doesn't require corkage. It feels like you're at home, sitting on the comfy couches or chairs, laid back ... with your dog chilling with some water beside you, if you have one. Marla's sons, Danny and Mathew work there too - for free, for now - as it's a total family labor of love. When Marla talks about her husband, Fernando, you can see by her glow that she's as in love with him as the day he swept her off her feet on a dance floor in Greece (though he's Portuguese). They've lived in the Venice Canals for years and years, so they're locals here, and know what the locals like. Family. Food. Comfort. AND Delivery! (3-9 p.m.) I'm in. And have been since the first day I walked in (Right, Jez?).

Her chips and guacamole are delicious, and when I asked about them, she told me how with corn chips, kids could choke on them, but flour would dissolve, so she started making them that way - and spicing them up with her special red spice mix. Well ... Yum.


It's really hard work to run a restaurant, and I told Marla I completely admire it as someone who likes to cook. She said, "Well, you're putting food into peoples' bodies, what could be more intimate? And what a big responsibility!" True that. And rare to hear in this day and age of faster, less nutritious, eat on the run lifestyles people justify themselves into. No need, folks. Just head over to Marla's. Healthy, savory, and it IS fast - but you get to know people, and relax, in an environment that feels like home. Complete with reggae on the stereo.

Marla's is open Monday, 11:30 - 7. Tuesday through Friday, 11:30 - 9, Call about Saturdays (sometimes closed for private events), and Sundays you're out of luck.

#310.827.1843 - for pick-up, delivery or a chat with Marla for more info.