I mentioned it at the end of my last post, but for those who find my writing boring are here for the food porn, I’m proud to say we are now officially Santa Monica residents! We won’t move in until August (due to our travel-intensive July), but it is nice to know that we are no longer homeless.
After signing our lease, we decided to explore the neighborhood…one thing led to another…next thing we knew we were on our second drinks at the World Cafe happy hour. Not too shabby.
Did I mention we now live within blocks of this? Suck it New York.
We were pretty certain the night would involve drinking, so we took the bus to the Promenade…then walked down Ocean Ave…
…along the beach…
…past the Santa Monica Boardwalk, and once we hit Ocean Park, we went one block East to Main street.
World Cafe has a fabulous happy hour, plus it has inside, outside, and partially open dining areas. Love it.
5 pm? Happy hour!
I started with chardonnay (I’m such a classy gal), while Kyle went with a Stella. Check out that hefty pour they gave me? That’s a serving that my (wino) G-ma can get behind!
While getting our buzz on, we ordered some veggie spring rolls.
A little later some friends joined us for dinner, and suddenly we were a party of nine. Let me just say this: drinking for several hours before even ordering dinner can be dangerous. To put it mildly, the hostess had her hands full with our drunk group.
Their menu is pretty awesome with plenty of options for all and I had a hard time deciding between a few different meals.
I ended up going with the vegetarian plate, which had vegetable ratatouille, garlic spinach, black beans, and wild rice with grilled tomatoes on the side.
I’m not sure I had ever tried ratatouille before (pretty sure I only knew what it was from the Disney movie), but now I know I’m quite a fan! It was very tomato-y and the veggies were nice cooked perfectly (still a bit crunchy). I ended up mixing the entire plate into a big ‘ol mess and digging in. It was so much food (granted I was pre-occupied with my dranks, but still, I barely ate half the plate). Poor performance on my part.
After dinner we took the party on the road, and landed at a few steps away, at Rick’s Tavern.
I can’t really tell you what or how much I drank over the next few hours. That’s how I do. What I can tell you is I woke up and found this pic on my camera.
Always a good night when it ends with cheap a$$ Mexican food. So it is written, so it shall be done. Truth.
OMG – You’re gonna make me cry! I used to live one block south of Ocean Park at 18th. I was just reminiscing about my nabe over the weekend. I’m pretty sure World Cafe was there then – 15 years ago! I’m soooo excited you’re in the hood!
(I used to work on Montana Ave. – is it still as chi-chi? Always good for celebrity sitings)
Definitely chi chi, but not as much as other places in LA…the clothing boutiques – yes, but the food/bar scene is a pretty fun vibe. And the Whole Foods/Starbucks combo doesn’t hurt either 😉
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Too funny I always go out to Main Street for drinks too, while I’ve been to World Cafe I’ve never eaten there before. So happy to hear that you will be moving to SM! I am moving there in August too from Malibu, and am planning on spending the month of July apartment hunting. You have to try the food at Real food Daily on Santa Monica Blvd.
I’ve heard SUCH great things about that place! I’m thinking it’s a must next time I’m in town…and I think we should arrange a meet up once we are both in SM too 🙂
i love reading about all the local spots so i can say, oh! ive been there! also you’ve convinced me to try the co op grocery…i basically can walk there and havent been yet, lame-0!!!
Yes for sure, lunch @ Real Food Daily… yumm!