First Friday's [3 of 3]

Last stop: Cool Haus

Here's the scoop, the combination of a hunky ball of ice-cream sandwiched in between freshly baked cookies is nothing but pure pleasure... Especially when you get to custom make your own dessert! Everyone leaves happy :) Perfect "night cap" for our final stop at First Friday's.

Patti: Chocolate Chip + Dirty Mint Chip

Becca: Snickerdoodle + Baked Apple Pie

Eddie: Chocolate Chip + Vanilla Bean

L to R: Becca, Patti, Eddie

First Friday's [2 of 3]

Our 2nd stop: Flying Pig

Braised Pork Belly Bun & Tamarind Duck Taco

First Friday's [1 of 3]

The best way to experience Abbot Kinney is on the first Friday of every month, aptly known as First Friday's. Art galleries, retail boutiques and other neighborhood merchants keep their doors open 'till 10pm welcoming in all the foot traffic that strolls by. Not to mention the slew of fun restaurants and lively bars that are also on Venice's most famous boulevard, they stay open 'till what's technically "First Saturdays" - lol.

The newest thang that has made First Friday's more exciting, in my opinion, is the overwhelming amount of food trucks that take over the night. Becca, Eddie and I literally went to First Friday's with only one motive in mind: street food! Looks like we weren't the only ones... The night could have been mistaken as a street food festival, trucks were taking over all metered spots and people were munching away at everything. Tacos, ice-cream sandwiches, hot dogs, mac 'n cheese, dim sum, pizza, rice bowls, you name it.

Our first stop was Kogi - yes I know, we are so predictable ;) Whatever, when I'm into something, I'm into it. For life. Haha. Yay Kogi!

Kogi, Abbot Kinney

KOGI

Jin Patisserie

Mac Attack @ Jin Patisserie

1202 Abbot Kinney

Venice, CA90291

Caramel Fleur de Sel & Dark Chocolate

3 Square Cafe

Our carb overload after biking through Santa Monica and Venice: pretzel bread, pretzel bread and more pretzel bread! Under the Rockenwagner umbrella, 3 Square Cafe serves as the sister space to the popular bakery along Abbot Kinney. Pretzel burgers and pretzel sandwiches were taking up the order roll (except for the odd one out who gave up red meat for lent!). We all got to channel our Venice bohemian as we parked our bikes against the yellow fire hydrant and enjoyed our German-tinged 'wiches.

Chaya, Venice

CHAYA

Chaya, Venice

110 Navy Street

Venice, CA 90291

Bread Board - pesto olive oil

Shrimp & Mango Vietnamese Spring Rolls - spicy peanut sauce

Spicy Tuna Tartare - crispy wonton, avocado, wasabi mayo

Organic Free Range Chicken Dijon - pommes frites

Soy Glazed Cod - garlic brown rice pilaf, steamed bok choy, buttered asparagus

Grilled Black Angus Rib Eye - three peppercorn butter sauce, roasted potato, steamed broccoli, roasted garlic

MY GJELI-AMOUR

In Status Magazine's latest issue [cover boy the late DJ AM], my take on Gjelina was summed up in the left-hand corner of the glossy glossy. With Singapore and Tokyo also making appearances on the Stausphere page, it's nice to see Venice sitting below the the big-city heavy hitters. Enjoy, my gjeli-amours! Xo

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Venice Beach, CA

After Seed, we went for a stroll down Venice Beach... I took a couple photos of the food joints along the strip. Food joints that Mr. Macrobiotic would unquestionably shake his head to! I wanna come back and try some beach grub :D

Seed Kitchen

Not that I'm on a macrobiotic kick or anything, but I happened to try another cafe serving the "M" food: Seed Kitchen. Located just upon the main Venice Beach entrance, Seed Kitchen is based around the notion that the food we eat provides the beginnings of a vibrant, flourishing life - just like a seed does for a plant. With that being said, Seed Kitchen focuses on ecological sustainability: no microwaves, no non-stick pans, biodegradable packaging, etc. The simplicity of the place keeps the vibe very fresh and uplifting. I really enjoyed it!

My friend and I shared both the sandwich and the salad... The salad was great; the fried tempeh cubes do a lot for the flavor and texture of the chop-chop. The soysage panini is obviously a "sausage" substitute sandwich. I'm not going to say, "It tastes exactly like sausage guys!" because we all know it really doesn't... BUT it was a filling and satisfying panini keeping in mind that is of the "M" kind ;) Also, soy cheese isn't my favorite... but it's all good. To end on a good note, the pesto added just the right kick to the mix!

Seed Chop-Chop

[romaine, red cabbage, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes, tempeh, ume-ranch dressing]

Italian Soysage Panini

[Italian soysage, roasted red peppers, arugula, vegan soy cheese, pesto]