Friday morning I attended the long anticipated opening of The Market at Santa Monica Place The good sized crowd enjoyed singing chefs, a giant "lasagna" which was actually red-velvet cake topped with butter cream and marshmellow "cheese." I loved the way the creators used a kitchen torch to create the browned mozzarella on the top.
The Market offered gift bags to the first 500 visitors. Inside the bags was a water bottle and a coupon for $5 worth of "market bucks," good all this weekend. You may have missed getting a bag but I'd bet that if you check out The Market sometime in the next couple of days, you can find a young person in a chef's hat ready to hand you a coupon.
Overall the place looks great; spacious, sunny and open. Easy to navigate with a stroller or your hands full of dinner. A branch of Malibu's Beachy Cream enjoys a prime spot just inside the main entrance. Their small batch ice cream and ice cream sandwiches are made with local, sustainable and organic ingredients. Today's flavors included Bitchen' Chocolate Chocolate, Strawberry Surfer and Ginger Wipe out.
The other ice cream option is N'ice Cream. They were making everybody happy by handing out lots of samples Friday morning. Also made with organic ingredients N'ice Cream is a second location for the popular Abbott Kinney creamery.
I am thrilled about the presence of L'Artisan du Chocolat at The Market. These are exquisite chocolates. The texture is sublime, the subtle sweetness perfectly balanced and the flavors - both traditional; coffee, cognac truffle, dark pave etc. - and the new; bacon, earl gray, rose petal, tomato and many more, are wonderful. The Market branch offers single and boxed chocolates ( think special teacher gifts and graduation presents as the end of the school year approaches) as well as macarons and drinking chocolate.
As I'm writing I'm noticing that The Market merchants aren't being introduced to you in any logical order. I went straight to the sweets! I guess this is the "let your cravings be your guide" tour. Not exactly logical but we're in now so let's keep going - there is one more treat I want to tell you about and I think it's going to be favorites with your kids.
Aurelie, the Cookie Guru offers fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and milk. Simple and delicious but with a fun twist - the cookie guru does milk mix-ins. Starting with organic cow, almond or soy you can add vanilla, chocolate or caramel syrup - I would have loved this as a kid! Remember Strawberry Quick? Cookies are $3 each and 12 ounces of milk, plain or with a flavor runs between $2.75 for cow and $3.25 for almond.
Okay - on to the rest of The Market.
From Santa Monica's own Piero Selvaggio of Valentino comes Primi Al Mercato a double sided space featuring the retail Laboratory of Pasta on one side and an at-in trattoria and wine bar on the other. The simple menu features 3 salads, a few fresh pastas and several dried pastas with farmers market fresh sauces. I thoroughly enjoyed a simple, lovely plate of pasta with cioppino onions and peccorino and the delicious pasta bolognese they brought in place of the lasagna my husband ordered. Also offered are skewers of meatballs, sausage, or shrimp. They have a few kinks to work out, as most places do during the opening weekend. I was in a very relaxed mood and didn't mind that I never got my salad, that the kitchen didn't have a couple of the items we ordered and that the check was wrong. These things are to be expected and, in the right frame of mind, a part of the show. If you're not in that frame of mind - give it a few days.
At the far end of The Market is a branch of Mar Vista favorite The Curious Palate . The Market location offers the same kind of whatever's fresh, farm-to-table experience. A long wall of tables, counter space to eat and watch the cooks and a big, sunny window create a clean, pleasing space.
There was a good crowd at Rockenwagner Bakery and it was nice to see the man himself, Hans Rockenwagner, behind the counter cutting bread, offering samples and generally watching to be sure that things measured up to his standards. The big news here is the watch-it-bake souffle bar. This Rockenwagner branch offers many of their best sweets like the croissants and the fruit strudels. One of these would go nicely with coffee from Groundwork coffee and tea located just across the way.
That's the way it is at The Market - pick up one thing here, another there; a little cheese, some sliced salumi, a coffee, an ice cream cone or a piece of chocolate. The center isle is lined with long, communal style tables to sit and enjoy your choices. You can grab the makings of lunch to eat inside or right out on the dining deck, put together a picnic to take to the beach 1 short block away, or gather all the goodies for your party platters. Norcino Salumeria Cheese Bar offers a really good selection of both cheese and meats, pick up your bread at Rockenwagner and you're on your way. Don't forget to pop down to Venokado a stylish wine and gift shop for a bottle of wine to take with you (keep in mind there is no alcohol allowed on the beach.) Venokado has a nice selection of gifts too; soaps, candles, wine related items, even things for baby.
Other welcome gifts can be found at Magical Blooms a flower shop worth visiting for its loveliness alone. Or give yourself a gift from Benedetta, a botanical, farm-sourced skin care company.
Finally - don't miss The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories, a state-of-the-art cooking school and special event space. Here you can take classes, meet visiting chefs, watch cooking demonstrations and connect with the food community. And here's a fun little p.s. - Friday's Daily Candy Los Angeles Deal is a discount to a few different baking classes at The Gourmandise School.
I hope you have enjoyed your tour of The Market at Santa Monica Place and that you treat yourself and your family to a visit soon. Click here for a complete list of events including the schedule for Movies on The Deck.
