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If you’re cooped up in an editing room or office, eating lunch outdoors is a mini summer vacation. Gardens, patios and umbrella-shaded sidewalk tables allow you to dine alfresco, as the Italians do. Clear your head, soak up some rays, people watch, and lose yourself in an oasis for an hour. Sometimes, food just tastes better in the open air. CAFE VERONA (201 South La Brea at 2nd St., Los Angeles, 323/934-6188; take-out available.) Verona’s sun-dappled, greenery-sheltered patio has fountains that trickle just enough to mask the traffic. The menu is small but beckoning, with entrees that range from pastas and frittatas (open-faced, omelet-like egg dishes) to paninis and salads. Grilled vegetables are featured in the Frittata Verona, including bell pepper, zucchini and eggplant, accented with melted mozzarella cheese and mild turkey sausage. On the side is an addictive scoop of mashed sweet potatoes accented with green onion and sour cream. Fiery Penne Arrabbiata (“angry pasta”) comes with chicken and is topped with shaved parmesan, so you get carbs and protein in one dish. If you like paninis, Italian-style sandwiches grilled in a press, the Schiacciatina Vegetariana is one of the best — grilled zucchini, eggplant, and roasted bell peppers are layered between crisp bread spread with pesto. Prices fall in the $6.95 to $8.95 neighborhood. SNUG HARBOR (2323 Wilshire Boulevard between 23rd and 24th, Santa Monica, 90403, 310/828-2991; take-out available.) Step into Snug and you step back in time; the lime-green walls, wooden booths and spinning counter stools probably haven’t changed much since 1941. But it’s the small garden in back that makes this place a keeper. Umbrellas sprout from the tables to keep the Santa Monica sun out of your eyes, and the pleasant but low-volume background music ranges from the Beatles to Norah Jones. Snug prides itself on the mysteriously-named Zweibel burger: an enormous beef, turkey or veggie patty covered with grilled onions, crisp lettuce, fresh sliced tomatoes, sweet pickles and mayonnaise on a sesame seeded bun. It takes a linebacker or pregnant woman to finish one, and it comes with Suzy Q potatoes (thin, corkscrew-shaped, spice-dusted fries) or thick-cut, salted sweet yam fries the color of a burnt-sienna Crayola. I like to go half-and-half on the potatoes because I can’t make up my mind. The Cosmic Chicken Breast is another Snug original, pounded thin and grilled, served on buttered grilled sourdough with a kicky cilantro salsa and garlic mayonnaise. Wash it down with golf’s greatest contribution to beverages, the Arnold Palmer (half iced tea and half homemade lemonade). As with all good diners, the check here is easy on your wallet.
THE RIVERSIDE CAFE (1221 West Riverside Drive, corner of Riverside and Mariposa, Burbank, 91506, 818/563-3567, take-out available.) This British/French/American café offers sidewalk and patio seating, as well as a cozy indoor restaurant. It’s close to Disney and Warner Bros., and a stone’s throw from the Equestrian Center — you’re liable to see horseback riders trot by. The chef’s from England but has a fondness for French Mediterranean cooking: specials may include shepherd’s pie, lamb chops with mint sauce, venison burgers, veggie couscous and French onion soup with imported Gruyère. You can always get the Wilted Spinach Salad, a plate full of greens tossed with shaved red onion, sliced mushrooms and a sweet, warm dressing of chewy apple wood-smoked bacon flambéed in brandy. Another staple is the Fried Oyster Sandwich: a couple of flat, breaded fried oysters are piled on each half of a La Brea bakery roll, then topped with more smoky bacon plus tomato, lettuce, garlic aoli and horse radish-spiked cocktail sauce. If you’re in the mood for an English tea sandwich served in a super-sized American portion, have the Egg Salad with Dill on Country White. The fresh dill gives it a from-the-garden freshness. Just to remind yourself it’s summer, get a side of Paula’s Homemade Potato Chips, which are salted, thin, light, and pleasantly crisp. You may be in Burbank, but crunching these, you could almost be at the beach. |
