Midtown Lunch

On the surface Curious Palate (on Venice Blvd in Mar Vista) isn’t a typical Midtown Lunch’ing spot. Everything is a dollar or two more than it should be, and if my NY self caught my L.A. self eating quinoa a good kick to the balls would be in order. But some of their sandwiches are pretty awesome, and kind of worth the splurge if you’re in the area- like their miso short rib wrap, and the Thai chicken satay sandwich. And if you like nuts and dried fruit in your chicken salad, their chicken salad is pretty awesome as well.

So when I saw that they were opening a second Curious Palate inside the new “Market” at Santa Monica Place, and it was going to have an expanded menu from the Venice location, I was intrigued. I’m a fan of the SaMo place food court, but even I crave a “quality” (read: more expensive) lunch every once in awhile.

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When the brand new Santa Monica Place opened up back in August everybody seemed pretty focused on all the new restaurants.  Not me, though.  I’m strictly a food court man.  Sure, I’d sneak a dinner in at Pizza Antica, and I guess I’m mildly intrigued by the dim sum at Xino.  But for lunch, if I’m anywhere near a mall I find it hard to avoid the food court.  In fact, food courts are kind of the perfect group lunch- a fact I discovered as a child when my brother, father and I used to spend Tuesday nights at the Dadeland Mall Court in Miami.  No arguing over where we were going to eat dinner when the food court was the destination.  I could have my lo mein (made to order in a wok behind the counter!) from the random Chinese restaurant whose name I can’t remember, my brother could get his matzoh ball soup from Bain’s Deli, and my dad could get whatever he wanted (I can’t really remember what was in his rotation.)

I’m all growns up now, but the same theory still applies. Food court with co-workers is the perfect compromise.  Sally from accounting can enjoy her boring salad or sandwich, while you decide between crappy Chinese food, crappy Japanese stir fry, or Hot Dog on a Stick.  (Fresh squeezed lemonade and a corn dog FTW!) So last week, when I decided to meet a chicken loving friend in Santa Monica for lunch, there was one perfect option that stood out from the rest:  the Santa Monica Place Food Court.  And even though I usually go straight for the cheap Chinese food (old habits die hard), we managed to discover a few hidden secrets that aren’t obvious from an intial walk-around.

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