naia

Known for using local and organic ingredients, Akasha is a newer restaurant on the Culver City scene. The menu is varied, and the wines are good. The specials are usually pretty good. Some wines and dishes are a bit overpriced and you can easily spend $50 or more per person.

On the other hand, with a little planning and not indulging in drinks, you can get an excellent meal here for under $20 since a number of items are good values. The turkey burger, for example, is exquisite and runs $14. The fresh turkey, the spices integrated into the meat, and the condiments all take their turn unfolding on your tongue as you eat it.

Also wonderful are the Punjabi Mung Beans and Rice (with roasted vegetables, flatbread, local greans, chutney and raita); the Red Quinoa (with market vegetables and chicken or tofu) is cooked just the right amount to offer a great texture and flavor. Vegetarians will enjoy the Vegetarian Plate (with macadamia nut cheese, eggplant, tomato, spinach, roasted pepper, market vegetables, cauliflower puree, and balsamic reduction).

The seasonal soup and lamb sliders are flavorful and fun. The scallops and flatiron steak are overpriced.

Okay, the others can tell you about the food in the restaurant, but I’m gonna tell you about the desserts.

The main dessert case faces you as you enter the restaurant, and each item is excellent, albiet overpriced.

BUT THE REAL DEAL IS THE GELATO. Walk a little farther back past the main dessert case and sample some of their many specialty flavors, ranging from fresh and fruity to entanglingly complex. They have fun names that describe the spirit of each flavor …and they’ll give you a taste of flavors before you buy because just the name won’t help you and the innovative flavors are hard to understand until you try ‘em. …and then, you won’t forget them.

Grab a cup and walk around downtown Culver City, or walk across the street with it and sit on the bench and people watch in front of the fountain with the lion sculpture.

Go here with a friend and share a plate. The food is a solid “8”, the service is pleasant, and it’s a great place to sit with that friend and catch up. . . . or be prepared to get a box to go after you eat part of the large portion they’ll serve you.

Easily accessible on Westwood Blvd., large enough to host a big group, and reasonable prices.

I’m not sure what it is that draws me back to the Urth Cafe. I think it’s their large selection of speciality teas, the excellent desserts and the sense that you are involved in something wonderful by sitting there.

. . . or maybe it’s that I always go to the one by the Bodhi Tree Bookstore, which is a destination in itself.

If like speciality loose leaf teas, give theirs a glance and a smell. I love opening the bag and enjoying a whif of the aromatic teas.

Organic, vegan, and flavorful dishes grace their menu.

Okay, it’s got a sit-down thing going on after you order at the counter, but the lighting, the food, the plate it’s served on all say “fast food”. If you are walking over to the Pacific Theaters to grab a movie and just want something to eat before going over there, it’s worth a bite …but it’s not a destination restaurant on its own.

Parking seems difficult at first if you are just looking at the street it’s on, but each side street around there has 2 hours free parking in the easily accessible city lots . . . and Culver City even has valet parking now if you’re too lazy to drive around the corner to the free lot.

I love this place, and I always tell people about it, but part of me always thinks, “Don’t tell anyone more because then it will get too busy!”

Already, the lines are out the door and people are smiling as they wait in line.

For $10.50, you can get the best salad in LA with freshly seared ahi, or wonderful steak, or chicken sliced on top. …or you can get the same meats with the best darned mashed potatoes in town (except for those wasabi mashed potatoes you find a some places).

Their soups are always fresh, the restaurant is quick, the parking is easy (city lot is free for 2 hours just around the corner), and if you love a good Arnold Palmer (tea and lemonade), they do it well.

Give it a shot …uh, just not when I’m going, okay? That way my line won’t be too long. :-)

A group of us were introduced to this place by a fellow foodie. It’s a bit of a hole in the wall, but it worth dropping in.

We all ordered something called the “Rice Table”, which is a Dutch Indonesian meal. Think of it as Indonesian, modified by Dutch. It’s a series of many courses which has rice toward the end. . . . and wow, the food just keeps on coming.

If you like Asian food, and you’re with a group, this is one experience that’s worth trying.

Make sure you make a reservation, though, for your group because the restaurant is small and any larger group will fill much of the place.

I have eaten here a few times, and each time I go, I have this feeling that the food is going to live up to my expectations. …and each time, the food is too complex.

Too many different flavors don’t quite work together in their dishes, although each ingredient stimulates the tongue — even if many rely on saltiness to do so.

The drinks are always overpriced, especially if they have ice in them. $3 for a glass of ice with something like hibiscus tea filling the spaces between the ice just seems a bit much, but perhaps that’s because I make hibiscus tea at home by throwing a few tea bags into a pitcher of water. …so, I at least expect a full glass of tea, not ice with a little tea.

Likewise, their open-faced sandwiches are cute and always nicely presented, but I always feel like I have to hold my hands just so to eat them and at the end, I find myself feeling a little unsatisfied.

There is one thing I like, though: Their big community table. It just feels warm and homey.

It’s not bad, but I’d probably go there with a group instead of alone since the ability share the experience together is enhanced by the big table.

I took a group here during Dine LA week. I loved the place.

Food looks like something you’d know and then there’s a twist to it. I was fascinated by the cole slaw-like salad that was actually sliced cabbage with wine/vinegar/asian spices. Looked like it should be coleslaw, but was much more than that! We each tried dishes that the others ordered. Across the board, I found myself enjoying a different twist to at least one item on each plate. A few folks at the table were hoping for something more, though, and they felt that it didn’t live up to their high expectations after they’d heard such good things.

This place relies on inventiveness, fresh ingredients, good service, and care in the making of food. It does not rely on butter, garlic and salt to pump up the menu, and is to be commended for that!

We sat outside, and the waiter was as attentive as if we’d sat inside. Don’’t ya just hate it when you get lost of the service map by just being on the patio …no such problem here! We ended up tipping quite well because the waiter was great, and you all know that a group tends not to tip as well as individuals! So, that’s saying something.

This is the place to karaoke! Seriously. The patrons are fun. The spirit is upbeat. The bartenders are pretty quick and the beer is reasonable.

Patrons really have fun watching and joining in the singing and there’s a sense of community in the bar without making newcomers feel uncomfortable.

It’s fun to be a bar where so many people are smiling and enjoying themselves.

Easy to find, parking is easy, no crazy cover charge.

Give it a shot …or a shout-out, or a song.