sauce on hampton

venice, ca

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my blog is turning into "karendipity drives, parks, then eats!" welcome to los angeles. to continue on that trend, i picked up derek from LAX very early one saturday morning. we decided to go find that amazing all-day free parking spot in venice that i had discovered the prior weekend. once parked, we had to find brunch within walking distance. not an easy feat because everything was still closed. we searched yelp on our phones and found sauce on hampton, which was quite a hike away. once there, we sat outside, which was nice. food was okay. i liked that it was healthy, but it wasn't particularly interesting.

hinoki & the bird

century city, ca

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century city is a little village of lawyers on the west side of los angeles. one of those lawyers once told me the history of century city, which involved fox studios. but now whenever i visit century city (which is either to go to the mall or to meet up with lawyer friends), all i see are high-rises filled with big law firm lawyers. a great place to meet up with one of these lawyers (who probably can't venture far from the office) is hinoki & the bird. strange name, great food. on this particular occasion, i had a delicious butternut squash soup topped with fried mochi (which i've already established is one of the best things to ever go in soup). and a "salad" with burrata and duck confit, which was delicious.

3 square cafe

venice, ca

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parking in venice is generally a nightmare. turns out, though, if you have brunch with cindy c and g at 9 am, there's plenty of parking. found an amazing spot next to a school where i could leave my car all day without paying anything! oh, and about the restaurant - it's german californian cuisine, whatever that means. they have a pretzel roll that cindy likes. my breakfast was okay, but the giant asparagus was truly giant and overwhelmed the rest of the plate.

bru's wiffle

santa monica, ca

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best dish: "dwight's special" - fried chicken and waffle. don't get distracted by the rest of the menu, just get two pieces of boneless fried chicken on a crispy waffle. the waffle is nice and crunchy - even when dipped in maple syrup. chicken is pretty good (not as juicy as chicken on the bone, but easier to eat with the waffle). i prefer white meat because it matches better with the thick breading. the dish comes with 3 sauces for the chicken - creamy ranch, hot sauce, and a vinegary chickeny sauce (this last one is my favorite). i've heard that the original roscoe's might be better, but this is an excellent option in santa monica.