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| Toms Coffee Collaboration |
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| Getty Villa |
Day two we spent the afternoon at the
Getty Villa and then off to
Venice Beach to walk
Abbot Kinney searching for
Dixon Rand Customers. If you have never gone to the Getty Villa it is worth while to see the amazing collection of Greek and Roman Architecture and Antiquities. It is set in the most amazing location in Malibu.
After the museum we drove to Venice to walk Abbot Kinney Blvd which I can only sum up as a haven where wealthy hippies and young hipster creatively collaborate and live. The street epitomizes the future of retail and communal dining. While you are there you need to go to the
Toms Coffee Store to see what I mean.
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| Tasting Kitchen Great Ambiance |
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| Cheeses all with a bite |
For dinner tonight we went to the
Tasting Kitchen, we got there early so we could wait out the LA traffic. The restaurant is very open with a lot of glass several levels and with a NoCal Coastal ambiance. Our server Kara did an awesome job of guiding us around the menu and helped us pick 4 great dishes to share. We started out with a Cheese dish made up
Pleasant Ridge Reserve,
Stichelton and
Monte Enebro all of the cheeses were hardy with bite and went well with the
Huckleberry preserves and Walnuts.
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| Mussels |
Next came a huge bowl of steaming Mussels steeped in Saffron Cream, Fennel and lots of freshly baked dipping bread. This was a meal in itself it was so sumptuous with a fantastic Mediterranean flair. I cannot tell you how good the sauce was with the bread, I think we ate a whole half loaf just soaking up the broth. The fennel added another dynamic by providing a little licorice taste and a good crunch to balance out the Mussels. It literally infiltrates your taste buds. The Asparagus came out just at the right time it was a great way to cleanse our palette with the cold crisp asparagus with grapefruit, truffled honey and almonds.
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| Creste Di Gallo |
It did the perfect job to prepare us for the Creste di Gallo (Pasta looks like Macaroni with a Mohawk) with
Calibrian Sausage. This was a hearty dish perfect for the crisp cool day the pasta had substance and the Sausage Sauce had a great bite, richness and heat to it. The Tasting Kitchen was a great find and I would highly recommend it when you are in Venice. The restaurant is comfortable the staff is very knowledgeable and the food is very good.
This was a great way to end our getaway weekend to Los Angeles.