Dining in Venice Beach

Two fine restaurants in the Venice Beach Area of L.A.

I met Tracy and her husband, Franck, in Paris and was very pleased when Tracy told me she wanted to learn about food and cooking. After that, we went to many lovely restaurants in Paris and she was my companion for all my birthdays. We had the opportunity to try many of the wonderful 3-star restaurants that Paris has to offer.

About five years ago, Tracy and her family (now with two wonderful children) moved to L.A. I visited them then and then again this year. They live in Venice Beach. We went to Mao's Kitchen which is a reasonably-priced Asian place, where we ordered enough dishes for an army so that I could have something to take with me on the plane back to Paris. We had one of my favorites: Mabo Tofu with vegetables and a spicy brown sauce; Mao's Hometown: a dish with smoked tofu, onions, wood ear mushrooms and shrimp; Sichuan Eggplant with Mushrooms; and Kung Pao Beef. Everything was served with brown rice and it was a wonderful feast.

That evening, after a day wandering on the beach and then shopping in a small Japanese area with inexpensive and fun shops, Tracy and I went to the best restaurant in Venice: Gjelina.

This is a place to order a variety of courses and dishes that everyone shares. However, the roasted salmon with corn appealed to me, so we decided to order that as our maincourse. The appetizers we chose were the delicious wood-roasted cauliflower with chili, garlic, parsley and vinegar; hen of the woods mushroom toast with creme fraiche and truffle oil (sensational), marinated artichokes with creamy burrata, pistachio pesto and crispy shallot.

After all that (and the salmon) we were really sated, but had to order two desserts to taste. We chose the Flourless Chocolate Cake with Crème Fraîche and Hazelnut and the Butterscotch Pot de Crème with Salted Caramel and Crème Fraîche. Both were spectacular.

I rolled home the next morning. But had no problem eating my leftovers from Mao's Kitchen on the plane!