Newly Reviewed

I have a new favorite...and when I have a new favorite you know you're going to hear about it! Welcome to Santa Monica Meat on Ocean, welcome to Santa Monica. If you're in the mood to dine with breathtaking views of the pier and the Pacific Ocean make yourself a reservation and enjoy the view, but come for the food! It's devine! We met Manager, Ricky Ortega, and he gave us the DL on Meat. By the way Ricky, thank you, for the awesome service! And you too Jerome!

Meat is the brain child of the master minds behind Water Grill, Pier Burger, King's Seafood Company, and Lou & Mickey's in San Diego. The beautiful, airy patio affords semi-outside dining and a view of every tourist in LA, which makes for great tableside entertainment! The 11,000 square foot restaurant is gorgeous with its red leather booths and wooden tables. The lighting is soft and warm and the feeling is rustic chic.  

So, do you have to love meat to enjoy Meat! I'd say yes! This is some of the best you'll find...anywhere! Huge bone-in cuts and dry-aged chops (aged in-house)abound for your dining pleasure. We love the Filet Mignon and the Rib Eye steak. But who am I to select your favorite cut?  There's always the New York Strip or the American Wagyu! The sides are pretty amazing as well. The iceberg wedge is big enough for two and the bacon is insanely good! Mashed potatoes are creamy and buttery and the grilled Chinese long beans are garlicky and crunchy. For dessert you must try the homemade ice creams! They are fabulous. If you can still move after dinner, you'll thank me for this recommendation; I promise! Meat on Ocean 1501 Ocean Avenue @ Broadway Santa Monica (310) 7733366

I'm all about giving second chances and I wish more people could be that way. I want to tell you about an experience that I recently had at North Italia in Santa Monica.

So we went for Father's Day brunch and the food was just so-so. Being a Yelp Elite I gave the restaurant a three-star review. Well the manager, Jean, wondered why I was so disappointed and actually contacted me. I told her my reasons and she invited me back to have dinner and to see if they could, in fact, make it better. Now ask yourself this: how many restaurants really care if they can make it better? Yeah, that's what I thought. You can count them on one hand; maybe. Well Jean did care, and we did go back this past Sunday night.

We had a reservation at 6pm and the restaurant was full. We were shown to our table by the hostess and immediately introduced to Alessandra the manager that night. I want to take this opportunity to thank Alessandra for going above and beyond to make our dining experience both memorable and enjoyable. I only hope I spelled your name right! We were then introduced to Tristan who would be our server for the night. Tristan, you give new meaning to the word service! Thank you!

We enjoyed wine and margaritas and some very yummy appetizers. The grilled artichoke with sea salt, truffle, grana padano cheese and lemon aioli dipping sauce was out of this world! We also loved the white truffle garlic bread with homemade ricotta, mozzarella grana padano, and herbs, and the zucca chips.

For dinner we feasted on the Rosemary chicken with seasonal vegetables and lemon pan sauce and the pig pizza with spicy pepperoni, sausage, and soppressata.

Dessert, of course, was the tiramisu covered in candy chocolate balls. Creamy meets crunchy here in a perfect sweet delight.

So, as I was saying, give second chances! And give North Italia a try. You'll be glad you did!

North Italia 1422 2nd Street Santa Monica (310)382-2460

It's a rave! Every now and then I find a neighborhood gem that I just have to rave about. This time it's Simmzy's a local bustling open air pub located right on the corner of Washington Boulevard and Pacific Avenue, merely footsteps to Venice Beach. It's definitely a locals hangout, but lots of tourists go there too. And, you want to know why? Well, first off, the food is fantastic, and second, the staff couldn't be any nicer.

I have to admit, we go to Simmzy's at least once a week (it may or may not be more). Since 2014 quality craft beers and wines have been served along with delicious burgers and lots more. I'm going to get to that, I promise!

Every time I see that red smiley face on the menu, it just makes me happy! Look at the balckboard to choose from tons of great craft beers and wines. Oh and they make a fabulous Peach Sangria that's not sweet at all! I live for that!

Now get down to business. It's hard to decide what to have because everything is so good! Are you a brussel sprouts fan? If not, you will be after just one bit of this magical dish! I get them every time. I dream about them! I crave them! I worship them! In other words, try the brussel sprouts. Flash fried and accompanied by a lemon, butter caper sauce and grilled bread; this dish is to die for! 

The Tuna Poke with Crispy Rice is a magnificient combo of ahi tuna, cilantro, and a soy ginger marinade. I add avocado too! We love the Blue Cheese Haystack-shoestring fries topped with blue cheese dressing, garlic, and just a bit of spicy sauce. Another favorite is the Grilled Chicken Sandwich with pepper jack cheese, guacamole, garlic aioli, lettuce, tomatoes, and a brioche bun. My favorite sandwich is the Simmzy's Burger with with bacon.

In otherwords, I can't say enough about this place, I love it, and so will you! Check it out! Simmzy's 37 W. Washington Blvd. Venice (424)835-6580

If you love your kids as much as I love my kids, ( and of course the dozens of kids I teach every year) you want to make every day special for them. Well, I'm having a blast making each summer day special with my daughter, Ashley. We do lots of fun things together, almost every day. My oldest daughter, Carly, however, works and lives in the valley so I don't get to see her as often as I'd like. Not to brag, (but of course I am), Carly just got a huge promotion at work-if any of you shop at Nordstrom in Thousand Oaks-look for her on the second floor! Not only is she a personal stylist who will shop with you, but she's manager of four departments. The girl has style. I mean come on, this is someone who has been reading People magazine since she was 7.

Anyway, to get back to my story, we went to lunch to celebrate her promotion. I chose Geoffrey's because of the magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean from the outdoor patio. The tropical plants and waterfalls add to the ambience and make for a relaxing lunch or dinner.

We started with a beautiful Ahi Tuna Tartar with avocado, scallions, ginger, wonton crisps, and Tobiko caviar. Tobiko is very interesting Japanese caviar. To be exact it is "flying fish" roe. What's so fascinating about Tobiko is that it can be infused with natural ingredients to change its color. Our was green and infused with wasabi! We followed that with The Caesar Salad with a beautifully grilled chicken breast and four jumbo grilled shrimp with grated parmesan, garlic croutons, and classic caesar dressing. We also had the Maine Lobster Cobb. A one pound lobster, Neuske's bacon, tomatoes, avocado, egg and blue cheese are all tossed in a honey-dijon vinaigrette.

We enjoyed a delicious filling lunch, then hopped down to the Malibu Country Mart for an ice cream at Grom! Geoffrey's 27400 Pacific Coast Hightway, Malibu. (310) 457-1519.

If any of my readers love Grimaldi's in the DUMBO area of Brooklyn listen up! We went to Grimaldi's Friday night in El Segundo and it tastes exactly the same! First off, Grimaldi's is one of my favorite pizza places in New York. Second DUMBO is the acronym for Down under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. Finally, here is a little story about Grimaldi's. Patsy Grimaldi, the original owner of Grimaldi's sold Grimaldi's (except for the New Jersey stores) in 2011 to Frank Ciolli, who opened locations throughout the United States. Grimaldi's in El Segundo has gone to great lengths to recreate the mineral content and exact composition of the water to ensure that the dough tastes the same in California as it does in New York. And it does! We started with the Mediterranean Salad with romaine, cucumbers, tomatoes, feta cheese, red onion, kalamanta olives, and vinaigrette dressing. We ordered the 16" pie with Pepperoni, sausage, and anchovies. The traditional pizza comes with the secret recipe tomato sauce, hand sliced mozzarella and basil, topped with signature cheese and spice blend! We fought the Friday night traffic from the Marina to El Segundo but it was well worth it! Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzaria 2121 Rosecrans Blvd. El Segundo (310) 648- 7503.