Ici Icecream
(1) 510 – 665 6054
2948 College Avenue
Berkeley, California 94705

www.ici-icecream.com

Open Hours:
2:00 pm –   9:30 pm   Monday
12:00 pm –   9:30 pm   Tuesday – Thursday
12:00 pm – 10:00 pm   Friday – Sunday

Highly recommended by trusted friends, we made our way with anticipation to ICI in Berkely.  Immediately our attention was grabbed by a chalkboard notice of “Peppermint Ice Milk”.   Well, it turns out Ice Milk is perfect – lighter then Ice Cream, more luscious then sorbet.  What a simple, taste-altering concept.   So many times, the simple things are the most striking.  The most pure.

Ice creams, sorbets, candies and cookies are made in small batches, ensureing freshness, using Local and seasonal ingredients.  Cones are hand rolled with piped chocolate to cover the bottom hole.  Organic nut spices and chocolates, as well as  Soul Food eggs , Straus Organic and Clover Organic dairy,  compliment the astounding variety treats; and of course NO artificial preservatives.

Flavors in Ice creams and Sorbets while we visited :Brandied Cherry , Green Tea, Coconut, Honey Nutmeg, Vanilla, Creme Fraiche Muscat,  Candied Meyer lemon, Pistachio Rose, Rocky Road, Earl Gray Tea, Cinnamon, Concord  Grape, Maple pine Nut Praline, Lime, Chocolate, Nectarine, Burnt Caramel, Parsley Mint, Honey Lavender…….

Other lovlies are available as well, such as the “Bombes” ice cream cakes, ice cream sandwiches, Bonbons Meringues, Candies Cookies, Macaroons, Nougat, Marshmallows Brittles,  Brownies…. and to compliment, they serve Blue Bottle Espresso

Lead Pastry Chef Mary Canales, formally of Chez Panisse), opened Ici ice cream parlor in September 2006 along with creative Mattea Soreng and Pj Pawalec.  They are tight with their ethic (what else would you expect from Berkeley?) all of the packaging and disposable wares are 100% biodegradable and compostable.

Tamal de Queso Estilo Corunda

Nopalito
(1) 415 – 437-0303
306 Broderick Street
(between Oak and Fell)
San Francisco, CA 94117

www.nopalitosf.com

Open Hours:
Daily 11:30 am – 10:00 pm

Nopalito, the smaller offshoot of Nopa, presents local and organic Mexican cuisine with authenticity.  There are plenty of vegetarian options and the meals are exquisitely tasty without being heavy and greasy.  The ultimate test is passed by the house hot sauce provided with each dish;  peppers are peeled then charred, giving a delicious and gentle smoky flavor.

The service was friendly and fairly attentive.  We loved the fact that they took our cell number so we could wander the neighborhood while we waited for our table.  This is so simple I’m amazed I come across it so rarely.  I poked my head into Nopa (about 2 blocks away) and it looked like the large upscale eatery that it is- next trip to San Francisco!

The dish that surprised us the most was the Sandia con Chile y Limón.  Which is slices of  sweet crimson watermelon, chile de arbol, chile guajillo and lime.  This is one of those combinations that I never would have thought of, but makes oh so much culinary sense.

The Tamal de Queso Estilo Corunda (Housemade masa, queso cotija, grazzini squash, poblanos, tomatoes, manzanos chiles and crema) was another soft delight.  The masa really contains a quality that speaks for dedication.

The dish that we ordered twice was the Quesadilla Azul de Hongos (Blue corn tortilla, mushrooms, corn, poblanos, jack cheese, queso fresco and salsa de molcajete).  The mushrooms were deep and flavorful – and this combined with the smoked hot sauce was stunning.

Mexican cooking is on the west coast is an entire step above that on the east.  We really enjoyed the variety and effort that was put into bringing this wonderfully diverse deliciousness to our plates.  Nopalito a true taste of contemporary culinary artistry!

Corn Salad

(above photo © Nopalito)

Quesadilla Azul de Hongos

Sandia con Chile y Limón

Hazelnut Powder Cookies

(above photo © Nopalito)

Kelp Cheezy Pasta

Planet Raw
Organic Raw Food Restaurant
(1) 310 – 587 1552
609 Broadway  (@ 6th St. corner)
Santa Monica, California 90401

www.planetraw.com

Open  Hours:
10:00 am – 10:30 pm   Sunday – Thursday
10:00 am – 11:00 pm    Friday – Saturday

We believe the Raw food world can be divided into two distinct camps- both of which have excellent representation in Santa Monica, California.  The first group is focused on the lifestyle of raw and is expressed well by many restaraunts; the second, spearheaded by Planet Raw, is a Culinary perspective.

At Planet Raw, the shakes were phenomenal.  Hands down the best we’ve ever had.   And add in an extra superlative for good measure!  We started with Kreamy Electrolyte Lemonade (lemons, honey, ginger, Strawberries, & electrolytes).  Then continued with the Vanilla Protein Shake (nut mylk, sapote, ice, honey and Juliano’s protein powder which consists of pumpkin & hemp seeds, super enzymes, maca, spirulina, blue & crystal mana, mesquite, tocos, sprouted buckwheat, bee pollen, bio culture and silica).  And then for dessert, the blueberry instant cleanse with blueberries, gogi berries, maca, bee polen  and we added bioculture (lactobacillus micro organisms of L. salivarus, & l. plantarum).  All the shakes we tried where topped with a granola and were just really special!

The Tahini Salad was full of tomatoes , seaweed, buckwheat sprouts, avocado, leafy greens and was topped with an excellent tahini dressing.

The Cheezy Pasta is made with kelp noodles; a nice change from the omni-present zuchinni strings- and much more comforting.  Combining excellently with the nut cheese sauce the dish was a true delight.  We followed the recommendation from our lovely waitress and ordered the side of marinated mushrooms to mix in.  Bliss, just bliss!

Everyone working at Planet Raw shown with the light of health. No gray wasted vegans here, only sun-filled smiles and hearts.  Having been tooling around the health food world for a while, it is easy to see places where the staff is under-nourished.  Here the food gave them all a joy and happiness that you want to tap into.  Our waitress shown with an interior sun that made us delve into the menu!

Juliano Brotman has created a truly delicious oasis of  texture and flavors.  He has also authored  Raw: The Uncook Book and The Complete Book of Raw Food; currently he is in the process of publishing a third.

In retrospective, the food was so good at Planet Raw that it helped us make the decision to return to LA- a trip that was  worth it just for another of the Kreamy Electrolyte Lemonades

Cinnamon Rolls with Vanilla cream

Kreamy Electrolyte Lemonade & Mango Tango Shake

Special Mushroom Ravioli in Daikon

Tahini Salad

Kelp Cheezy Pasta

Maki S&M

Vanilla Protein Shake

Vanilla Protein Shake

Border Grill
Mexican Restaurant
(1) 310 – 451.1655
1445 4th Street
Santa Monica, California 90401

www.bordergrill.com

Brunch Hours:
11:30 am –  3:00 pm   Saturday and Sunday

Lunch Hours:
11:30 am –  5:00 pm   Monday – Friday
10:00 am – 4:00 pm   Saturday and Sunday

Dinner Hours:
5:00 pm–  10:00 pm   Monday – Thursday
5:00 pm–  11:00 pm   Friday
4:00 pm–  11:00 pm   Saturday
4:00 pm–  10:00 pm   Sunday

Mary Sue Milliken &  Susan Feniger, the ladies of  the well known television show and book series”Two Hot Tamales”, and architect Josh Schweitzer, bring us a more refined take on Mexican food in a funky colorful environment.  Their adventures on the downtown Mexico City street corners of the mid eighties paid off with their learning the recipes and techniques of market vendors and home cooks- giving their food a full array of flavors textures and colors.  The Border Grill is now headed by  executive chef Raymond Alvarez and continues in this tradition of authentic Mexican.

Be sure to stop by for the great Happy Hour and the polite, cordial service.  The Santa Monica location is more informal than “Ciudad” , the sister restaurant in downtown LA.  On top of the restaurants in Santa Monica, Downtown Los Angeles and Las Vegas, there is a food truck that wanders around LA and can be found by following @bordergrill on twitter.

The strength of Border Grill really lies in the menu.  As we often do, we rambled through a delectable assortment of appetizers.

As one would expect, the tamales were extremely comforting- and they go great with a Margarita or Tequila.  We really could not decide which we liked best, so we had to keep trying them!
Corn Tamales-  made with sweet corn,  topped with sour cream and  salsa fresca
Chile Cheese Tamale- manchego cheese,  roasted poblano chile,  tomatillo avocado salsa
Chile Cheese Tamale- manchego cheese, roasted poblano chile, tomatillo avocado salsa

We also enjoyed the Poblano Quesadilla with roasted poblano chiles and chipotle salsa.

Another of the great things about Border grill is active sustainable practices.  What we really appreciate is the fact that they just do them, not beat you over the head with the fact that they do them.  Among their ethos is the use of organic long-grain rice, beans, and coffee and ensuring the best possible utilization of local and seasonal ingredients.  They also have biodegradable to go containers and a natural water purification system.  They serve reusable glass bottles instead of bottled water (a major waste as as bottled water is transported from the other end of the world- which in turn avoids waste and transport greenhouse gas emissions!)

Border Grill is part of the Monterrey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program. This ensures that only sustainable seafood is served at the restaurants.  Be sure to pick up the mini booklet with information on what seafood is recommended to avoid and what is safe to consume.  A very tricky subject these days with all the Mercury to be found throughout the marine food chain!  And as a last bit of eco-excellence, as a follower of The Humane Society’s “Protect Seals” Campaign Border Grill does not serve Canadian Seafood.

Santa Monica is a bit of culinary hide-away in sprawling LA.  We found several excellent eateries that will keep us coming back.  Enjoy!