Any Fish You Wish...

"In life you can absolutely count on one thing-everything can turn around in one day, in one minute sometimes." This quote says it all for Bottlefish in Brentwood Gardens. Owned by CPK, this upscale fish restaurant did a complete turnaround during our dining experience tonight. We were seated promptly at our reservation time but did not see a server for about 15 minutes after we sat down. It turns out that there was a mix-up between the hostess and the server, and was really no one's fault. I was getting annoyed, but Bobby, our amazing server, made things right. We started with the popcorn shrimp with togarashi aioli and chives. Shrimp is lightly fried and heavily delicious! For those of you who don't know, togarashi is very similar to Sriracha mayo, and yes it's spicy! We also enjoyed the Rhode Island calamari with yummmy Thai chili and Creole mustard sauce. Both sauces were so good that I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite. We followed that with an order of grilled Bub and Grandma's bread. If you haven't tried Bub and Grandma's bread, you are truly missing out. In my book, it's the best bread in the city. It's served in lots of places so try to find it if you can! We also had the tortilla soup with cojita cheese, cilantro, and tortilla strips. The grilled loch duart (think wild Atlantic) salmon was very tasty as was the lobster Cobb salad. For dessert, don't miss the warm sea salt chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream from Sweet Rose Creamery! Bottlefish 11677 San Vicente Blvd. Brentwood (310) 954-9495 Hours: M-Th-11:30 am-9:30 pm, Fri & Sat-11:30 am-10:00 pm, Sun-12:30-9pm

We love Asian-inspired California cuisine and COD has the perfect combination. The Asian and California cooking Here is top-notch! The seafood house and raw bar sits on 3rd Street between La CIENEGA and Fairfax. Start off with some oysters from the raw bar. Featured are Kumamoto, Fat Bastard, Minter Sweet, and Fanny Bay from Washington, along with Phantom Creek, Glacier Bay, and Kushiro from British Columbia. Of course, there are Cherrystones as well!  From the raw bar you can choose fresh uni from Santa Barbara, shrimp, crab toast (definitely a favorite), lobster roll, and our very favorite...spicy tuna with crispy rice. It's so good that we had to re-order more! Albacore crudo with shallot garlic ponzu sauce, chives, and a frisée salad was wonderful too! Clam chowder was filled with yummy clams and was delicious and hearty. Truffled green beans are a must. Chilled and crunchy, the baby green beans are marinated in olive oil and truffle salt. The edamame with sea salt and garlic was flavorful and a definite great appetizer. Seafood rice was tasty served with salmon, shrimp, egg, and green onions. in addition, we had the grilled salmon and scallops. Needless to say, we tried many dishes and all were fantastic. For a wonderful choice of seafood, don't miss COD!

COD Restaurant 8408 West 3rd Street LA 90048 (323)658-9188

Hours: M-W 5pm-11pm, TH pm-12am, Fri 5pm-2am, SAT 11:45M-2AM, SUN 11:45am-11pm

Lots of times we just run out of the house for a last minute dinner and Santa Monica Seafood definitely hits the spot. Check out the freshest fish market in the city if you decide to take some home and prepare it yourself. If not, order up some clam chowder because this is as good as it gets! Made with ocean clams, onions, celery, potatoes, and cream, it's almost big enough for a meal. My favorite salad is the Grilled Panzanella with giant shrimp. It's served over organic greens, capers, avocado, red onion, radishes, crostini, and tomatoes all tossed in a white vinaigrette dressing. My husband also loves the Caesar salad with romaine hearts, parmesan, and crostini. The ahi tuna tartare is also amazing and served with avocado, cucumber, micro basil, and chives. Wontons are crisp and go perfectly with the ahi. We adore Santa Monica Seafood and so will you!

Santa Monica Seafood 1000 Wilshire Blvd/10th St. Santa Monica (310) 393-5244 Hours vary for market and restaurant

Chicago-based Aloha Poke Company has finally opened in Century City and Marina del Rey. Aloha's menu is similar to other poke bowl restaurants but has such fresh fish that I have say it's now my go-to! The LA locations have unique menu items, exclusive to southern California like cilantro salad with mint and lime juice, rice balls, and shrimp with kelp noodles. Though I first ate at Aloha for a Yelp Elite event, it has become our neighborhood poke joint, beating out Mainland by miles! From a tiny food stall in a train station, Aloha has expanded across the USA! Tuna is wild from the Pacific Ocean and is caught using sustainable practices. Salmon is farm-raised on the coastlines of Norway and Chile. It makes you feel better about eating this clean, clear fish! Sauces are house-made too! So start your bowl by picking a size (8, 16, or 24 oz.) Choose a base, either mixed greens or rice, then pick your poke: ahi tuna, salmon, or tofu. You can get the poke marinated in sesame + shoyu  (the fancy name for Japanese soy sauce!) or naked-simple and clean. The marinade is outstanding, so I'd suggest trying it. Next you can choose the Aloha Bowl with pineapple, cucumber, scallions jalepeno, Maui onion, and a sesame vinaigrette. There is also a Crunch Bowl with jalepeno, cucumber, scallions, edamame, tobiko ( Japanese caviar), crunch, and spicy aioli + samurai (esentially a mayonnaise sauce). The third bowl is the Volcano with seaweed, edamame, jalepeno, Japanese ginger, tobiko, and volcano sauce (a sweet, hot sauce). If none of these suit your fancy make your own bowl. Ingredients available for this are rice seasoning, cucumber, Maui onion, jalepeno, edamame, pineapple, scallions, avocado, tobiko, seaweed, ginger and crunch. Additional sauces are Wasabi, Seasme Oil, and Yuzu Ranch. Enjoy the dashboard hula dancers too!

Aloha Poke Co. 4020 Lincoln Blvd. Marina del Rey (310) 301-4074 Hours: Mon-Sat 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. Sunday 11:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.

This little thing called LIFE has gotten in the way of my blog entries but now I'm back! I just received my Yelp Elite GOLD BADGE so I feel it's my responsibility to keep everyone updated. Tonight we had dinner at Herringbone on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. Can I just say, I'm in love?" Our server Lian, made our meal incredible and I want to give kudos where kudos are due. First off, the restaurant is gorgeous! The vibe is fresh and earthy, open and spacious. We started with a margarita which my husband claims is "the best $12 margaita in the city." I had a sip and I have to agree. The wine list is impressive and we chose the pinot grigio $13. For starters we enjoyed the Grilled Romaine salad ($15)with bacon, blue cheese dressing, Tresivo, and cherry tomatoes. This was truly one of the best grilled salads I have ever tasted!  We ordered the Crabcake ($24) made with Maryland Blue Crab and a dill pickle salad that was scrumptous! We also had the New York Steak ($39) and the yummy herb fries. For dessert we had the Herringbone Sundae ($11) with homemade chocolate ice cream, candied cocoa nibs, sea salted brownies, marshmallow cream, and caramel sauce. Decadent! All in all it was a winderful meal and we'll definitely be back! Herringbone 1755 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica (310) 971-4460 . Check hours.