You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Manhattan Beach’ category.
The Tea Exchange is not only a shop, but a tea room which serves 11 kinds of tea lattes, paninnis, smoothies, and delicious baked goodies. I had the pomegranate green tea and Cindy had a tea latte (our taste in food is as different as our taste in men, but that is part of why we get along so well). We both enjoyed our selections and split a large peanut butter chocolate chip cookie that we agreed was perfect (especially since they warmed it for us before serving it so that it tasted as if it was coming fresh out of the oven.
The selection of teas and tea pots was astounding, ranging from flowering teas to remedies for allergies! If you love tea and are a tea expert, this shop is worth visiting just to peruse the selection of all things tea.
Since we were a bit early for dinner, we also stopped by Scala at 318 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 tel# 310.406.3000 The owner of this shop originally had several stores, but downsized to one location with a varied selection of everything from sky high stilettos to sheepskin boots. I bought a pair of these beautiful 888 flats normally $129, but on sale for $89. Cindy liked them so much, she also bought a pair (in pewter). They are extraordinarily comfortable and flexible enough to carry in your purse as your emergency pair after your stilettos torture your feet.
Ah tea and shopping by the beach, life is good!
I had lunch at Sashi in Manahattan Beach right after they opened, but it was time to try them again for dinner with sushi aficionado Cindy. It was a cold night at the beach (50F) with the fog rolling in, but we sat in the (heated) cozy patio and had a great dinner.
Cindy wanted only sushi, but when I saw they had a Miso Grilled Wild Alaskan Sea Bass ($6) on their robata selection, I had to order it. When I bit into the delicate fish I felt as if my mouth had taken a blissful bite of heaven. Cindy agreed that it was the best skewer of fish she had ever eaten.
Cindy ordered the spicy tuna roll ($12), made with avocado and she declared it the best she had ever eaten.
We ordered aji (skipjack), albacore, and tai (red snapper) ($6 per order) and every type of fish was delicate, fresh and delectable.
Cindy ordered the bikini roll with shrimp tempura, asparagus and crabmeat ($16). it was beautiful and tasty, but too rich for either of us to finish.
It’s always good to find a restaurant which does a nice lunch also does a nice dinner; it’s even nicer to share it with a friend.
I love it when I am pleasantly surprised by a restaurant, and today I felt as if I got an unexpected gift at Sashi Sushi + Sake in Manhattan Beach. The restaurant is in the Metlox center, just steps from the beach and other fine restaurants, so there is plenty of competition around them which provide beautiful surroundings and wonderful food.
The space has a large covered outdoor terrace that looks out over the central square with a small dancing water area, so it’s the perfect place to sit when the weather is warm. Even though it was a chilly day (for Southern California this means it hovered around 50 degrees), I chose to sit outside on the cushioned seats and people watch. Thankfully I had a wide selection of seats, so I chose the one closest to the heat lamp and was comfortable throughout my meal. A complimentary dish of edamame was brought out with the menus and I appreciated having something healthy to munch on while I perused the selections of sushi, sake and other Asian style dishes.
I ordered the dry “Summer” sake selection ($10) and enjoyed it’s clean light taste, I also tried to order the Kanpachi sushi as an appetizer, but they were out of nearly all the white fish sushi, including the halibut and the fluke, so I ordered the Grilled Asian Flank Steak Salad ($16).
The salad is made with BBQ Indian Spice Marinated Flank Steak, Avocado, Mango, Mixed Cabbage, Bocconcini Cheese, Red Bell Peppers, Peanuts, Vine Tomato, Mint and Basil served with Sweet Chili Lime Vinaigrette. It was as tasty as it looked, with the steak done on the rare side (my preference even though I did not specify when I ordered), and all the vegetables were crisp and freshly chopped. The combination of mango, fresh basil with peeled vine tomatoes and bocconcini mozzarella in the salad was a successful taste twist on an Asian inspired salad.
My server, Cynthia was the epitome of an efficient professional, suggesting various substitutions for sushi items not available, and being instantly available even when not immediately visible to provide anything I might have needed.
Pleasant surprises are always the best ones, and Sashi is one of the best surprises I have had in awhile.
Sometimes when good things in life are combined, great things are created; a creperie which serves wines and champagnes by the beach is one of those great things. There is of course the Cafe Crepe in Santa Monica, right on Third Street Promenade (see earlier post), but if you are in Manhattan Beach, there is La Creperie Cafe.
Service was a bit slow, but when we heard that several people did not show up for work the day after Thanksgiving, we felt extremely well served by the one waitress handling the entire restaurant by herself! The manager said that those who did not show up would be replaced, so hopefully the new hires will show up for the upcoming holidays.
The food was very good; from the tasty French Onion soup to the fabulous merguez sausage sandwich with harissa, served with a side salad and wonderfully garlicky french fries, everything was well presented and prepared. The bonus here are the Lavazza coffees and the wine list, both of which provide a variety of choices in quality at very reasonable prices. Lunch for two came in under $35 with drinks and tip; that in and of itself is a rarity in Manhattan Beach in the heart of the boutique/pier area.
The decor is very ecletic and fun, with red walls and fanciful seat covers, this place is definitely comfortable and fun. This is the perfect spot for breakfast, lunch, a nice afternoon snack, or a late night date of drinks and dessert at the beach. Hmmm, I think I’ll have a glass of Champagne with a nice cinnamon sugar crepe on my next visit-a good combo for anytime of day or night!
>Sometimes when good things in life are combined, great things are created; a creperie which serves wines and champagnes by the beach is one of those great things. There is of course the Cafe Crepe in Santa Monica, right on Third Street Promenade (see earlier post), but if you are in Manhattan Beach, there is La Creperie Cafe.
Service was a bit slow, but when we heard that several people did not show up for work the day after Thanksgiving, we felt extremely well served by the one waitress handling the entire restaurant by herself! The manager said that those who did not show up would be replaced, so hopefully the new hires will show up for the upcoming holidays.
The food was very good; from the tasty French Onion soup to the fabulous merguez sausage sandwich with harissa, served with a side salad and wonderfully garlicky french fries, everything was well presented and prepared. The bonus here are the Lavazza coffees and the wine list, both of which provide a variety of choices in quality at very reasonable prices. Lunch for two came in under $35 with drinks and tip; that in and of itself is a rarity in Manhattan Beach in the heart of the boutique/pier area.
The decor is very ecletic and fun, with red walls and fanciful seat covers, this place is definitely comfortable and fun. This is the perfect spot for breakfast, lunch, a nice afternoon snack, or a late night date of drinks and dessert at the beach. Hmmm, I think I’ll have a glass of Champagne with a nice cinnamon sugar crepe on my next visit-a good combo for anytime of day or night!
Sometimes it’s nice to go to a nearby neighborhood and spend an afternoon shopping and eating as if you lived in that town. It’s also nice to actually spend the night “out of town” in town just to enjoy a break from the everyday chores of life which inevitably end up intruding on a relaxing day at home. I like going to Manhattan Beach for my mini-vacation days. It’s got the massive Manhattan Village Mall and is close to the 405 freeway, but at the heart of the town by the pier, there are still individual shops and restaurants that do not have clones everywhere else.
Lulu’s is a small exquisite lingerie store located in the heart of Manhattan Beach, at 300 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 Tel 310-798-4577. Lulu’s has high-end designer lingerie and shoes like Cosabella, CYA, Missoni, and Costume National. They also have pretty jewelry and hair accessories to add the finishing touches. I love the boudoir feel of the shop and the friendly but not pushy staff. They also have some very cute and practical things like footpetals pads for those high heels to make them look killer without feeling killer. It feels like shopping in a very wealthy friend’s lingerie closet. They have sales that they will give you advance notice on if you sign up on their mailing list. I just bought a gorgeous Cosabella dress for 50% off! Quality on sale never goes out of style.
Lulu’s is just a few blocks to the ocean and surrounded by great little restaurants and cafes like my favorite breakfast place Le Pain Quotidien just a block up the same street in a nice courtyard. They offer organic artisan breads, great pastries and fabulous jams. It’s a great place to sip your latte out of a bowl so you can dunk in your buttery croissant at the communal table, just like in Europe. For lunch, they offer salads and sandwiches on their wonderful bread, all freshly and simply made. They started in Brussels, moved to NY, and are now finally here on the west coast. Next door to the cafe is Shade hotel, a nice place to stay if you don’t live in the area. All the beds at Shade are Tempur-pedic and they have a hip bar on the roof that is more scenery than useful. The style is very modern and minimalist. The rates are not cheap, but it is in the heart of all the restaurants and shops, so it still is the next best thing to living in Manhattan Beach, and that is almost priceless.
Sometimes it’s nice to go to a nearby neighborhood and spend an afternoon shopping and eating as if you lived in that town. It’s also nice to actually spend the night “out of town” in town just to enjoy a break from the everyday chores of life which inevitably end up intruding on a relaxing day at home. I like going to Manhattan Beach for my mini-vacation days. It’s got the massive Manhattan Village Mall and is close to the 405 freeway, but at the heart of the town by the pier, there are still individual shops and restaurants that do not have clones everywhere else.
Lulu’s is a small exquisite lingerie store located in the heart of Manhattan Beach, at 300 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 Tel 310-798-4577. Lulu’s has high-end designer lingerie and shoes like Cosabella, CYA, Missoni, and Costume National. They also have pretty jewelry and hair accessories to add the finishing touches. I love the boudoir feel of the shop and the friendly but not pushy staff. They also have some very cute and practical things like footpetals pads for those high heels to make them look killer without feeling killer. It feels like shopping in a very wealthy friend’s lingerie closet. They have sales that they will give you advance notice on if you sign up on their mailing list. I just bought a gorgeous Cosabella dress for 50% off! Quality on sale never goes out of style.
Lulu’s is just a few blocks to the ocean and surrounded by great little restaurants and cafes like my favorite breakfast place Le Pain Quotidien just a block up the same street in a nice courtyard. They offer organic artisan breads, great pastries and fabulous jams. It’s a great place to sip your latte out of a bowl so you can dunk in your buttery croissant at the communal table, just like in Europe. For lunch, they offer salads and sandwiches on their wonderful bread, all freshly and simply made. They started in Brussels, moved to NY, and are now finally here on the west coast. Next door to the cafe is Shade hotel, a nice place to stay if you don’t live in the area. All the beds at Shade are Tempur-pedic and they have a hip bar on the roof that is more scenery than useful. The style is very modern and minimalist. The rates are not cheap, but it is in the heart of all the restaurants and shops, so it still is the next best thing to living in Manhattan Beach, and that is almost priceless.
>Sometimes it’s nice to go to a nearby neighborhood and spend an afternoon shopping and eating as if you lived in that town. It’s also nice to actually spend the night “out of town” in town just to enjoy a break from the everyday chores of life which inevitably end up intruding on a relaxing day at home. I like going to Manhattan Beach for my mini-vacation days. It’s got the massive Manhattan Village Mall and is close to the 405 freeway, but at the heart of the town by the pier, there are still individual shops and restaurants that do not have clones everywhere else.
Lulu’s is a small exquisite lingerie store located in the heart of Manhattan Beach, at 300 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 Tel 310-798-4577. Lulu’s has high-end designer lingerie and shoes like Cosabella, CYA, Missoni, and Costume National. They also have pretty jewelry and hair accessories to add the finishing touches. I love the boudoir feel of the shop and the friendly but not pushy staff. They also have some very cute and practical things like footpetals pads for those high heels to make them look killer without feeling killer. It feels like shopping in a very wealthy friend’s lingerie closet. They have sales that they will give you advance notice on if you sign up on their mailing list. I just bought a gorgeous Cosabella dress for 50% off! Quality on sale never goes out of style.
Lulu’s is just a few blocks to the ocean and surrounded by great little restaurants and cafes like my favorite breakfast place Le Pain Quotidien just a block up the same street in a nice courtyard. They offer organic artisan breads, great pastries and fabulous jams. It’s a great place to sip your latte out of a bowl so you can dunk in your buttery croissant at the communal table, just like in Europe. For lunch, they offer salads and sandwiches on their wonderful bread, all freshly and simply made. They started in Brussels, moved to NY, and are now finally here on the west coast. Next door to the cafe is Shade hotel, a nice place to stay if you don’t live in the area. All the beds at Shade are Tempur-pedic and they have a hip bar on the roof that is more scenery than useful. The style is very modern and minimalist. The rates are not cheap, but it is in the heart of all the restaurants and shops, so it still is the next best thing to living in Manhattan Beach, and that is almost priceless.
