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Superba pastries

Venice just got another great place to eat. And it’s not on Abbot Kinney Boulevard.

The recently opened Superba Food & Bread on Lincoln Boulevard is what proprietor Paul Hibler, of Pitfire Pizza and East Borough fame, called the good sibling of Superba Snack Bar. Indeed, Superba Food & Bread’s menu is lighter, but the baked goods more than make up for any differences in calories. And what tasty calories they are!

The brioche sticky bun and pretzel croissant are two of my favorites. Both have great texture and balanced flavors — not too sweet or salty. But the porchetta di testa croissant is a revelation. Porchetta di testa, made from marinated and braised pig’s head, is sliced paper-thin and layered into a pretzel croissant. Savory and sweet at its finest. Thank you, Pastry Chef Lincoln Carson, for bringing this into my life.

Brioche sticky buns

Pretzel croissants

Porchetta di testa croissant

And Executive Chef Jason Travi, formerly of Fraiche and concurrently of Littlefork, should be thanked for his concoctions, too.

The pain au levain toasts are a great way to start a meal. For something sweet, go for the kaya version with coconut jam, pickled fresno and cilantro, and for something savory, go with the burrata, muhammara (walnuts and roasted peppers), pickled radish and parsley combination.

Kaya toast

Burrata toast

When it comes to sides, the roasted and raw sunchokes with green goddess sauce, as well as the crispy cauliflower, are standouts.

Sunchokes

While I didn’t favor the vadouvan leg of lamb (I rarely like lamb, so this is a personal preference), I did enjoy the seared arctic char served with snap peas, rhubarb and mint. Execution is definitely not an issue here.

Arctic char

While two of the dessert options, a strawberry basil pavlova and vanilla caramel custard with orange, were too floral for my taste, the Superba “candy bar” with marcona almonds, chocolate and sea salt was on point for me. It’s rich, sweet, salty, smooth and crunchy — basically, everything you could ask for. You can also savor some Stumptown coffee while you enjoy your dessert or pastry.

Candy bar

I can’t wait to go back!

Note: This meal was hosted.

Further reading:

First Taste: Superba Food + Bread in Venice Opens Tomorrow by estarLA

Superba Food & Bread Testa Croissant (Food of the Week) by Food GPS

Shrimp n’ grits

The pop-up-turned-brick-and-mortar Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, helmed by Chef Kevin Kathman (Gramercy Tavern, French Laundry), is offering a special New Year’s Eve four-course prix fixe meal for $75. The Venice restaurant, which just opened in October, offers all kinds of Southern foods, and this holiday menu is no exception.

For the table:
Complimentary black eyed peas (a Southern good luck charm!)
Jalapeño cheddar cornbread with pear butter

First course, choice of:
Cauliflower soup, almond, gruyere and brown butter
Smoked trout salad, Meyer lemon, potato, fennel, horseradish and caviar
Kumamoto oysters, lime, cucumber and cilantro

Second course, choice of:
Braised pork belly, chicories, pickled watermelon and spicy mustard
Shrimp ‘n grits, garlic, bacon, shallot and cheddar grits (pictured above)
Caramelized salsify, and roasted, puréed and raw sun chokes

Third course, choice of:
Pan seared venison chop, huckleberries, turnip, onion and potato
Halibut, Maine lobster hash, pickled herbs and root vegetables
Dry aged New York strip steak, mushrooms, fingerling potatoes, shallot and bourbon béarnaise sauce

Dessert, choice of:
Sweet potato pie, cinnamon cream and candied pecans
Warm chocolate cake, vanilla bean ice cream and salty bourbon caramel
Passion fruit panna cotta, blueberry, grapefruit and basil
Plus ginger cookies for the table

Monday, Dec. 31, 2012
Reservations available from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
(310) 392-2425

Daniel Nelson, head mixologist at the Writer’s Room in Hollywood, designed the restaurant’s cocktail program, so you know the special New Year’s Eve drink, the Louisiana Purchase Champagne Cocktail ($12) with Peychaud’s bitters, brown sugar and praline liqueur, will hit the spot. The Car Car, with gin, jicama, ginger, apple, kaffir lime leaf and anise seed, is interestingly tasty, too.

Car Car

If you can’t make it to WiSC for New Year’s Eve, then weekend brunch is another good option. The shrimp n’ grits are available then, and don’t miss the pancakes topped with candied pecans, bourbon roasted bananas and maple cream.

Pancakes with candied pecans, bourbon roasted bananas and maple cream

Note: A brunch meal was complimentary.

Further reading:

Good Morning Eats: Brunch at Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing by LAist

June Gloom. From Grubstreet Los Angeles.

You’ve spent many a day and night drinking beers at Venice beach — this much is a given. But have you ever thought that Venice should have its own brew? Well, longtime bar manager Tim Benedick and actor Kerr Smith, both Venice residents, recently launched Venice Beach Beer Company to fill this (seeming) void.

But how do you bottle the essence of Venice? Benedick and Smith have come up with two brews: Venice, an American amber ale with a blend of caramel and biscuit malts packed with five different hops, and June Gloom, a white Belgian beer combining the tastes of coriander and orange peel with a “cleaner” yeast than is usually used in this style.

“Venice is more than a laid-back beach town. It’s also a cutting-edge, artsy, in-your-face kind of town, too,” said Smith, perhaps best known for his stint as Jack McPhee on “Dawson’s Creek.” “That’s what we mean when we say Venice in a bottle: a blend of mellow malty flavor with aggressive hops. The two combine for sweet (beach-like) flavor with a hoppy (in-your-face, edgy) flavor.”

Venice Beach Beer Company plans to produce approximately 1,000 barrels in its first year. Find the brews at Venice Beach’s Hinano Cafe, Larry’s, Chaya Venice, Venice Beach Wines and Whole Foods on Lincoln Boulevard, among other places. A third brew, AWOL (Always West of Lincoln) IPA, will be available next year, and plans for a retail location are in the works.

Further reading:

Where to Find Venice Beach Beer Company’s First Two Brews by Grubstreet Los Angeles

Candela oxfords at Gossamer

During the whole month of February, ShopEatSleep readers get 20 percent off at Gossamer, a new-ish clothing and accessory boutique on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice. The store reminds me of Anthropologie but cozier — and definitely more local. Mother-and-daughter team Gwen and Ash Heier opened the shop back in September and offer everything from Michael Stars to Black Orchid denim to Daftbird. And in keeping with the local and homey aesthetic, the store features a living wall of plants and furniture from neighboring AK vendors. To get your 20 percent off coupon to use in-store, email thegirls@gossamershop.com with “ShopEatSleep – 20% off” in the subject line.

Gossamer
1410 Abbot Kinney Ste. 101
Los Angeles, CA 90291

Inside Akasha. From Eater LA.

It’s the day before Thanksgiving. You don’t have plans, but you want to have plans. What to do? Check out the holiday dinners from these L.A. restaurants, and take your pick.

Akasha: This Culver City eatery is offering a $55 per person, three-course meal ($30 for kids 12 and younger), including a pie buffet for dessert. All dessert courses should be buffets! But I digress.

Starter options include winter squash soup, a salad with persimmon, pomegranate and goat cheese and an assortment of biscuits. Entrees include slow-roasted turkey, pomegranate-jalapeno jelly glazed ham, and wild peppercorn and sage-roasted tofu. The pie buffet includes class pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie with candied pecans, spiced pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap crust, and pear and cranberry tart with cinnamon crumble. There’s much more; take a look at the Web site for the menu.

Joe’s Restaurant: This veritable Venice Beach institution is serving up a $52 per person, four-course meal ($20 for the kiddos). You’ll start with sunchoke soup, then move on to your choice of a greens and squash salad, Swiss chard ravioli, sweetbreads, mussels, or diver scallops. Main dish options include turkey with all the fixings, lamb with a pumpkin risotto, monk fish and shrimp, or vegetables with quinoa. The dessert course includes your choice of pumpkin pie, persimmon and pomegranate bread pudding, apple pie, or chocolate marquise.

Campanile: Mark Peel’s Mid-City mainstay has a $65 per person, five-course meal ($39 for kids) on the menu. You really can’t go wrong at Campanile. To start, there’s a mushroom barley soup. Then it’s on to your choice of a bibb lettuce salad, chicken liver crostini, or warm roasted vegetable salad. Then comes turkey for your main and another course of savory bread pudding, sweet corn succotash, mashed potatoes, cranberry chutney, and Blue Lake beans. Last is a dessert of either pumpkin ice cream, spiced apple bundle, or mixed nut tart.

If none of those hit the spot, also check The Rundown‘s list of Thanksgiving dinners, including Anisette, Henry’s Hat, Jar, The Langham and Whist.

• Intelligentsia Venice: The grand opening of the long-awaited second L.A. location for the Chicago-based chain happens tonight. Look out for free coffee, Wurstkuche sausages, and beer and wine from Silverlake Wine. Live DJs, too. Venice, May 22. From FoodGPS.

• Valley Greek Festival: The 36th annual three-day festival of all things Greek. Admission is free, but food’s not, so you’ll have to shell out for that souvlaki and mousaka (you’ve seen “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” right?). Northridge, May 23-25.

• UCLA Jazz Reggae Fest: It’s back! And this year, the “jam” day seems pretty good with Erykah Badu, De La Soul and People Under the Stairs. I’m not so familiar with the artists playing on reggae day, but you should go and tell me about it. Westwood, May 24-25.

Empty Stores on West Third Street. Photo from WWD.

Women’s Wear Daily has a story on the increasing number of boutique and specialty retail store closings around Los Angeles, with Robertson Boulevard, Melrose Place, Montana Avenue and West Third Street taking the hardest hits. I covered this for the LA Business Journal back in March when more than 30 storefronts were either empty or in the process of closing up shop. Other parts of the city have been affected as well, including Venice’s Abbot Kinney Boulevard, and a drive down Pico Boulevard between Robertson and La Cienega boulevards yesterday revealed some new empty retail spaces that I hadn’t noticed before.

But not all parts of the city are losing places to shop: Malibu Lumber Yard, the new swanky retail center next to the Malibu Country Mart, just opened last weekend. Good idea or bad idea? Time will tell, but in the meantime, head over to the Lumber Yard for free Crumbs cupcakes on Saturday (April 25). They’re giving out 1,000 freebies starting at 9:00 a.m., per EaterLA.

• More coverage at RackedLA