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STOP #5: La Sandia
Richard Sandoval was on hand at La Sandia, his second Santa Monica Place concept, with a name that translates from Spanish as “the watermelon.” The space featured an hacienda-like feel and some dazzling tilework. Sandoval is originally from Mexico City and attended high school in Corona del Mar, so this was a homecoming of sorts.
In the bar, Sandoval treated everybody to a Mezcal Con Pepino to start, a cocktail containing Scorpion mezcal, cucumber and chile salt rim.
La Sandia Corporate Executive Chef Gama Coronado explained the details about the food. He said they work to adapt the La Sandia concept for each city. He said Santa Monica requires “more finesse” and greater market focus. At La Sandia outlets in Denver and Virginia, they change the menu twice a year, but in Santa Monica, changes will be seasonal.
The offerings at the Santa Monica Place preview included shrimp ceviche with orange habanero broth with pico de gallo; guacamole, which will be blended with pico de gallo tableside; aFlauta, guacamole and ceviche; a chicken flauta with adobo marinade, black bean sauce, tomatillo salsa, crema and cotija; an empanada filled with chorizo and beef, dressed with Oaxacan cheese; and a carnitas sope dressed with citrus slaw, bean puree and blood orange-habanero glaze. Coronado said they like to pair citrus with habanero for “acidity, sweetness and spice.”
STOP #6: Pizza Antica
Bay Area chef Gordon Drysdale is a man who was ahead of his time with both food and cocktails. Bartenders like Reza Esmaili and Jeff Hollinger got their starts at Gordon’s House of Fine Eats – a restaurant that I enjoyed during college – and made sure to credit Drysdale during our interviews.
Drysdale was brutally honest about his past, saying Gordon’s House of Fine Eats “was my life’s dream, and it went completely south.” Pizza Antica helped him to rebound. He’s since gone on to co-found Spruce and his latest San Francisco venture with Tim Stannard and Perry Butler, Cafe Des Amis. Drysdale joked that he’s now “helping young people to achieve their dreams, and hopefully make money for me.”
Drysdale described Pizza Antica as a “farm to table” restaurant. At other branches, he incorporates a wood-burning oven, but he said, “Your pizza is very much at the mercy of the temperature at the moment,” and flares can burn a crust. At the Santa Monica branch, they’re using a Wood Stone oven, which burns at less than 500 degrees. He admits to liking the flavor from a wood-burning oven a little bit better, “but the trade-off for consistency isn’t worth it.” Especially when you’re making 600 pizzas per day, which Pizza Antica is producing at other locations.
Drysdale said the goal is a “crispier, chewier” crust, made with dough that undergoes a three-day proof, “which is the same as French bread, which develops sour flavor.” Pizza Antica dispensed several oblong pizzas, including a classic Margherita and another version with goat cheese, pesto, pancetta. They also offered crostini topped with burrata and pesto; and sweet pepper bruschetta with goat cheese.
Santa Monica Place is off to a promising start, and The Dining Deck is far from complete. The Market at Santa Monica Place is still to come, featuring branches of concepts like Kings Road Cafe, The Curious Palate, Elliot Rubin and Mark Cannon’s market/cafe; and Coco-luxe Confections, from chocolatier Stephanie Marcon. Macerich also plans to offer vendors for “foundational foods” like meat, fish, cheese, bread, fruit and vegetables.
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