I've always had a wariness about LA. I think it's fair to say I bought into the stereotype that it was a superficial city, filled with douchy, pretentious guys and blondes with big boobs and small IQs. Plus, it seemed far too warm and sunny. There seemed to be nothing appealing there for me. Then I moved to San Francisco and there's a NorCal vs. SoCal rivalry going. It's crazy that in one state there can be two complete different vibes. I started taking day trips down to LA and while I only saw roads from the airport to MINI dealerships, I started to wonder if SoCal was really such a bad place. Everyone seemed so happy and friendly. The ocean was a beautiful shade of blue. The drive along the PCH through Malibu is gorgeous. It was then and there I decide to give SoCal a chance.
A college friend of mine has been living down in LA for about 4 years now and graciously offered to show me the SoCal she knows and loves, so I headed down last weekend. Unfortunately I was recently recovering from a horrible fever, but then it turned out she was recovering from illness to, so we deemed the weekend "LA Light." She lives in Santa Monica. Basically, if you drive through LA to West Hollywood, you pass through Beverly Hills and Santa Monica is right before you hit the ocean. If you've ever seen a sky shot of a pier with a Ferris Wheel and wondered what Navy Pier is doing in California, that's Santa Monica. The city has its own downtown area, filled with boutiques, bars, restaurants and hotels right by the water.
Friday night we decided to just head to a nearby, well-known hotel with a fabulous rooftop bar and restaurant, the Shangri La. The bar on the top floor is partial enclosed and partial rooftop deck. The deck has a great view of the neighborhood, the ocean and the pier. The bar has an almost 80s vibe to it, but in a very trendy retro way. The seating is mostly loveseats and comfy chairs, with a fireplace in the center (because SoCal gets cold enough to cozy up to a fire?). They serve a bunch of signature cocktails, as well as feature a strong wine list. I thought they might only serve typical bar fare but the menu featured a lot of great options that was cause for deliberation. I ended up with the lobster sliders and tater tots, both of which had a lot of flavor.
Saturday we look the PCH north up to through Malibu, which is an absolutely gorgeous drive. Those houses with beach fronts are amazing, and the ones on the hills overlooking the oceans aren't any less shabby. We pulled over to walk to the top of Point Dume, a bluff that forms the northern tip of Santa Monica Bay. The wildlife on the bluff is a mixture of desert and coastal. The view from the top of the bluff is gorgeous. We saw a sea lion sunning on the rocks. Apparently most day you can see dolphins, but I had no such luck.
After that we drove a little farther north and pulled over at a place I hear rave reviews about, Neptune's Net. It's right on the PCH across from a popular surfing spot, which equals the best people watching ever. The crowd is a mix of laid back surfers, hipster Californians and hard core biker gangs (seriously, we sat across from a scary looking man with a black leather El Presidente jacket). The place was hopping, even at two in the afternoon. You can stand in one of two lines, for either fried seafood or steamed seafood. Let's just say one line was clearly longer. I got a basket of calamari and breaded shrimp with fries. It was a massive amount of food and deliciously greasy. I could sit there drinking cider and people watching for hours, but then I'd feel bad. The place is so popular around the clock that people are vying for any available spot at the communal tables.
That evening we walked down Main St. in Santa Monica. The street is almost quaint and hard to believe it's only miles away from Hollywood. We strolled the street popping into a ton of cute restaurants and wine bars, but it's a popular spot on a Saturday night. We ended up going to a cozy tapas restaurant, Manchego. It was BYOB, which I haven't seen outside of Chicago, so we grabbed a bottle of wine at the market next door. The first tapas we tried was prosciutto, stuffed with goat cheese and topped with dried cranberries for the perfect balance of tart, sweet and salty. Next we had hot bites of beef and brie empanadas. When brie is melted, it's such a buttery cheese that goes perfect with the empanada dough. To get the daily dose of veggies in, we ordered asparagus wrapped in Serrano ham and Machego cheese, drizzled with balsamic (a classic tapas plate). Lastly we had what was my favorite, crostinis topped with Iberico cheese, bacon and arugula (so flavorful).
A big thanks to Amy, Moto-Purr and Devo-Purr for a laid-back and fun weekend in SoCal!
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