Eat. Travel. Eat!

We heard about Santa Monica Seafood as a reputable place to not just buy fish, but also to eat, and thus visited Santa Monica Seafood during a trip to Orange County. During our first visit, the cafe had just opened (11 AM), and being one of the first customers, they were very attentive, immediately requesting drink orders and introducing us to their daily specials. Bread and butter were available on request after ordering, and it was quite delicious-- fresh, crusty sourdough bread with a tender interior coupled with soft, unsalted butter! We had plenty of this. We wanted a smaller lunch, and so we went for soup and oysters. First, we ordered the large New England Clam Chowder (8 USD), a highly recommended item according to our waitress.

When I visit Santa Monica, I am certainly not the one in charge of where to eat and what to do. Some pointers: I haven't found any interesting restaurant in the food blogs I have read that have posts on Santa Monica, and simply I don't do the research unlike what I do for other places, as my dining companion knows Santa Monica well. So every visit, it's an interesting thing about what we will eat and see, as it is almost all a surprise. Parking was definitely not easy. In fact, getting to Santa Monica on Sunday was hard. Due to the newly opened Santa Monica Place, people were crowding into Santa Monica. Both lots for the Santa Monica Place were full, with 5 dollar parking available. Valets were busy, and where were we to park? Plus, my dining companion didn't find his planned restaurant until going around Santa Monica's block once round. But then, he stopped somewhere along a street, and we were in. 5.50 USD parking, at Ivy at the Shore, the restaurant for the day. ...

After a pleasant lunch at the Lobster , we headed off from the Lobster to walk around the area. Why waste a double digit parking ticket and just use that parking spot for about two hours? We noticed the mountains in a distance while at the Lobster, and that view only got better heading outside. Like birds flying across the sky. Plus for flying close to the ground too. And back to normal again. And if you are wondering why this photo looks so different, it is because I edited it. :) Walking away from the Lobster, the length of the Santa Monica pier started to appear. And the mountains started to look clearer and closer. And closer. Meanwhile, we also played catchup with a cargo ship riding on the waves. Who would be faster? Getting farther from the Pier, we could still hear the sounds of the roller coasters and people screaming. And in just a few minutes, the cargo ship had moved quite a bit from where we first left off. We decided to visit the beach next, and thus we walked down a very...

My visits to Los Angeles are minimal. After all, even after a year and a half of the blog, I still haven't visited a restaurant nearby LA. Until now. Summer however brings the opportunity to relax a bit more and enjoy the surroundings. So, we decided to visit Santa Monica again, after about a year or two of not going back. This time, we already had a restaurant planned out thanks to my dining companion, who ate at the Lobster recently with a friend and thus wanted to take us there again so we could try it out. We departed to Santa Monica early on in the morning for an early lunch at the Lobster. However, the Lobster was not ready yet for us. After sending off the car to be parked by the valet operated for the Lobster, we enjoyed the view for a while before going inside. Oh, and if you are thinking where it is, that is easily solved. It is located right next to the famous Santa Monica Pier entry! Who would have thought. Inside, we waited at the lobby area of the restaurant for our t...