Kye's

One night a few years ago, a group of friends and I ordered a pizza to share.  When I asked one friend if she wanted a second slice, she said something I am not used to hearing.  She said, “no thanks, I’m watching my weight.” 

I thought, “How honest!  How quaint!”  To the best of my knowledge, that phrase had been entirely supplanted with a slew of euphemistic slogans, the maxims of modern eating.  It seems at least half of the people I know identify as some variation of vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy free, pescatarian, paleo, VB6 (vegan before 6PM), “on a cleanse,” (which can mean a wide array of things), or some such other yet-to-be-popularized catchall.  And I do mean “identify,” because these dietary restrictions have really become statements of worldview, almost political terms.  What they all boil down to, I think, if I’m being compassionate and objective, is this: I want to feel healthy and trim.  I don’t know quite yet what the most natural way to eat is, but I think I can ascribe to this movement for now, because it seems ethical and healthful.

I’m lucky enough to live now in a city that is pretty much at the forefront of the health food movement, so I’m never far away from a place where I know I can grab something I’ll feel good about eating.  I’m excited to delve into one of them, a newcomer that I find I’m already craving regularly called Kye’s Super Tasty Super Foods.

I know, I know: superfood.  Does the mere mention of the term induce a shudder?  Let’s all agree that it’s a marketing term that has not been defined or regulated by any particular institution of health, and that I’m happy to eat a food and call it “super” if it’s nutrient-dense and delicious, but I don’t expect it to cure my medical ailments or make me immortal.

Ok, I’m done with the disclaimers!  Let’s get to it.  Let’s talk about Kye’s on Montana.  When Kye’s opened a few months ago, I was eager to try it out.  It looked so inviting, with the bright sunburst wall, the modern, clean fast-food-joint-looking interior, and the enigmatic photo that graced its door for the months leading up to its debut: what were those weird tube things?  They looked like long sushi rolls.  Were they juices?  Were they salads in a highball glass?  What was I looking at?

View fullsize

Photo courtesy of Kye's

What I was looking at were KyeRitos, the signature creation of Kye’s founder Jeanne Cheng.  They’re basically nori or lettuce wraps with all sorts of tasty fillings, most Asian-inspired, most including rice or quinoa, plus veggies, eggs, salmon, even BBQ pork or pastrami.  They can all be made paleo by adding avocado instead of rice, and many can be made vegan.  My favorite, the Nahn Jim ($10), is a nori wrap with red, black, and white rice, pressed vegetables, macadamia nuts, fish sauce and hemp seeds.  It’s a little sweet and a little spicy, crunchy from the pressed vegetables, nutty, with the crispy, salty nori in every bite.  It’s a perfect portable lunch.

View fullsize

I will admit, my first few times visiting Kye’s, I was a little confused.  The food was so tasty—my first KyeRito was the Macro ($14), which is basically a Nahn Jim with salmon, and I was very pleasantly surprised.  It was filling, perfectly seasoned and flavorful, and seriously made me feel good when I ate it.  But I didn’t really “get” the concept.  Why was a place with the word “Superfoods” in the name serving pastrami and something called “pork fuzz?”  That didn’t really smack of “superfood” to me.

But then I sat down with Jeanne, the owner.  I asked her about her concept, and what she said made perfect sense: she wanted to offer food that was healthful, but appealed to every kind of eater.  She has a husband who eats paleo, and a young son (Kye) who wants to eat what tastes good.  Meanwhile, she’s of Chinese descent and credits her fast metabolism to the large amount of rice that is integral to her diet—paleo just doesn’t work for her.  She doesn’t want to tell people how to eat, she wants to use her background in both traditional and Eastern medicine to offer up wholesome cuisine accessible for all palates and diets. 

“If Twinkies were healthy, we would all choose to eat Twinkies,” she said.  Her food “satisfies both the Yin (nourishment) and the Yang (enjoyment) of why we eat.”

And I get that.  That really resonates with me.  I like that she doesn’t presume to tell me how to eat.  I like that I can count on whatever I get there being at best incredibly nutrient-dense and clean, at worst a healthier take on something that seems naughty, and invariably truly yummy.  A vegan mint chip “shake” ($8) is sweetened with agave and gets its green color from spinach and its mint flavor from actual fresh mint.  It is a really good mint chip shake by any standard.  The chocolate shake ($8) is so chocolatey.  So chocolatey!  It feels decadent, but it’s vegan and also contains spinach and Chinese Yam.  The avo and fuzz breakfast KyeRito is playful and delicious, with green eggs and that mysterious pork fuzz.  (Also known by the appetizing term “meat floss,” pork fuzz is made by stewing cuts of pork in a soy sauce mixture until the muscle fibers can be pulled apart, creating a sort of coarse cotton texture.)  Apparently this fuzz is something all Chinese kids grow up eating.

Kye’s is in good company on Montana in Santa Monica, which is rapidly becoming an enclave of juice bars and health food restaurants, most of which I think are pretty terrific.  I’ve been popping into Beaming almost daily since it opened just a few weeks ago, taking full advantage of the samples they always have on offer, and for better or worse, have become completely hooked on their $12 acai bowl.  It kind of hurts to pay that much for an acai bowl, but it’s packed with protein, and it’s big enough for a meal.  I had it for lunch two days ago after a run, and felt sufficiently sated and self-satisfied to merit the $12.  Hey, being able to pat yourself on the back for your virtuous food choice is kind of priceless.

A by no means comprehensive list of some of my favorite places across LA to get my health food fix includes: Café Gratitude (my love of which borders on obsession), its sister restaurant in WeHo, Gracias Madre, Kreation Kafe, Real Food Daily, SunLife Organics (the Dragon Bowl is a beautiful thing), Pressed Juicery (honestly pretty reasonably priced for a cold-pressed juice purveyor), and M.A.K.E. (fine-dining, very expensive but truly lovely raw food).

So go get your healthy on, LA!  I know you were going to anyway.

The Misfit Bar Fly Lunch

Most days, I’m just trying my darndest to find a salad worth consuming for lunch for $10 or less.  It’s not easy.  Most of my go-to places for lunch portion salads are really pushing that budget, but I persist because I want to have a healthy, filling meal that I find craveable.  So I vacillate among GTA, Artisan Cheese Gallery, Thyme Café, Sycamore Kitchen, True Food Kitchen, and Café Gratitude pretty much every weekday, depending on where I am in this crazy city.  I know I can count on them.

You can imagine my genuine delight upon discovering that I could have a delicious, inventive kale salad (who doesn’t want a kale salad?  I eat one literally nearly every day,) for just $5 right here in Santa Monica.  Sitting down in a cool neighborhood eatery, no pressure to order something else.  Just shredded lacinto kale, grapes, sunflower seeds, manchego cheese, quinoa, and a light preserved lemon dressing.  A health foodie’s dream.  Does that not sound like what every Angeleno seeks at 1PM on a weekday?  I actually cannot stress enough the scarcity of a decent $5 salad in LA.  This is the only one that comes to mind.  And hold on to your seat, because you get a free treat afterwards.  A salted chocolate chip cookie with your name on it.  May I repeat.  Free.

I’m talking about The Misfit’s Bar Fly Lunch special.  Each weekday they offer a different menu item for just $5.  The only rules are that you must be occupying a bar stool, you can’t save seats, and the special ends at 4PM.  Those are pretty agreeable terms.  And the specials are not some gross hodgepodge that the chef whipped together with the week’s unused ingredients.  They’re menu items that run 2-3 times that price on the everyday lunch menu. 

On Mondays you can have this monster of a crunchy, spicy chicken sandwich. 

View fullsize

Tuesdays, it's their signature burger.  Wednesdays are kale salad days, which works perfectly for me, because I just pop in after I finish up at the glorious Santa Monica Wednesday Farmer’s Market one street over on Arizona.  Summer is just the most wonderful time for produce, and I’m savoring the beautiful flavors and colors of that market.  The stone fruits, the melons, the heirloom tomatoes, the figs—a feast for both eyes and belly. 

Thursdays are a vegetarian’s protein-packed delight, a grain bowl with organic quinoa, black beans, feta, poached egg and harissa.  Finally, Friday’s offering is a seared ahi burger.  Seared sushi grade tuna and avocado for $5!  I’m sorry, I’m just a little excited here.

The Misfit is simply a cool spot, too.  A friend informed me that when he asked the owner what percentage of their clientele was made up of locals, he said 90%.  That’s kind of amazing in this neighborhood.  It’s a prime piece of real estate, and the rent is probably sky high—I’m sure that’s what contributed to the downfall of its previous tenant, the beloved Anisette.  I think all of us denizens of SaMo were shocked and disappointed when that wonderful hall of classic French cuisine and fresh oysters shuttered in 2010.  But The Misfit has really taken the space to a new height, constantly filling with a hip younger crowd, thanks to their great bar food, easygoing feel, and attractive brasserie-style interior.  The bar features a wall of liquors and glassware that kind of looks like an old apothecary, with a giant cabinet of tiny wooden shelves and distressed mirrors.

And then of course there are those magical chocolate chip cookies that get passed around in a communal bowl to whomever has just finished his meal at the bar.  It’s a small gesture, but it hits just the right note.  If a $5 kale salad weren’t enough, here’s a free cookie for your troubles.  See you again soon.

View fullsize

Thai Vegan

This new Santa Monica spot is just way better than a weird little massage parlor/teak furniture store turned takeout Thai restaurant should be. The bf and I used to joke about the ridiculousness of the place all of a sudden announcing itself as a restaurant, and yet one day, hungry for a healthy, quick and cheap lunch, I was compelled by an unknown force to go into Thai Vegan. I have been frequenting the place since then, and everything I have had here, without exception, is delicious. My first sampling of Thai Vegan’s fare was the pad thai with tofu and vegetables. I was starving, and ate until my stomach hurt, but still barely finished half of the steaming heap of squishy rice noodles with that sweet orange sauce, peanuts, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, and of course tofu. Thai flavors happen to lend themselves particularly well to vegan cuisine--authentic Thai curry is made with coconut milk anyway, so nothing is sacrificed in the translation. The curry at Thai Vegan happens to be excellent, sweet and complex and not too thick, packed with veggies and soft tofu. I ask for the curry extra spicy and order a side of brown rice, a huge scoop of multi-hued, wild rice that is always perfectly cooked. With the $5 curry, the entire lunch comes out to $7 flat, and it’s honestly enough to feed two people. Two spring roll-esque fresh vegetable wraps the size of burritos with thick, sweet, spicy peanut sauce are $5. Eating the wraps is like biting into a salad of freshly picked herbs. Full of cucumber, lettuce, tofu, basil and mint, they come wrapped in a chewy rice paper roll, and dipped in the peanut sauce they make the perfect crisp, fresh lunch. The prices here are astoundingly low. All curries are $5. Noodle dishes are $7. Thai iced tea, $2. They also have fried rice dishes and tofu wraps, satays and soups, green papaya salad and wonderful mango sticky rice. Everything is $7 or less.

I’m not suggesting that Thai Vegan is the new Jitlada. It’s not that the flavors are particularly unique in terms of the Thai places around town, even among Thai on the West side. You obviously aren’t going to find any odd delicacies like fish kidney curry (though the smell alone of that dish is enough to provoke my gag reflex). But the freshness of the food, the surprising complexity of the curries, and the spot-on execution of all of the dishes are refreshingly delightful. There are a few wooden tables and benches where you can sit and eat if you prefer not to take your food out. Perhaps you would like a convenient Thai massage to aid digestion after your meal--only $39/hr. It’s like a refreshing spa day at one of those cheap Korean spas downtown, only without the mandatory nudity.

Cha Cha Chicken

I have to admit that my first experience with this casual beach shack serving "eclectic Caribbean" was not especially favorable, so when Michael Symon chose their coconut fried chicken as one of the “Best Things [he] Ever Ate,” I had my misgivings. Cha Cha Chicken is within walking distance from my apartment, so it was with great disappointment that I noted their staple jerk chicken to be decidedly lacking in flavor, moisture, and general presentation. I found the service lagging, the décor odd. I've since discovered that to some extent, I just needed to adjust my expectations—the kitschy outdoor-only dining area, outfitted with patio tables and slightly sticky, mismatched chairs, and adorned with colorful lanterns hanging from a floral vinyl awning has its charms, especially at night, when a second round of dinner patrons forms a snaking line down the sidewalk, everyone taking full advantage of the BYO policy. Every hand clutches a beer, while ex-frat boys push tables together to accommodate large, festive groups, drinking and dining on spicy, sweet, sloppy Island food. There is a quirky cuteness to the scene.

I also just needed to adjust my order. A couple of the offerings are misses, and the jerk chicken is not the way to go here. Chef Symon was absolutely right about the coconut fried chicken, however—it is a delight. The thick, sweet, salty, crunchy crust breaks off in chunks as you bite into the chicken pieces, and those fallen morsels of chicken skin make your sides of dirty rice and red cabbage slaw so much better. The dipping sauces are so-so; the pineapple sauce is a little too goopy and sweet for me, and the jerk sauce is spicy enough, but the flavor doesn’t excite me. The fried chicken is all you really need. The sides, two of which are included in most orders, are clearly afterthoughts, dumped haphazardly on the plate. The beans in the dirty rice are often unevenly cooked and the fried plantains are starchy, unattractive brown chunks of room-temperature cardboard. The chicken gumbo is bland, the sweet potatoes overcooked.

But don't be discouraged. There are gems to be found here. Do go for the salmon, it’s really nicely cooked and spiced with a sort of dry rub version of the jerk sauce. Do go for the jerk chicken enchiladas, I find them surprisingly flavorful. I actually do enjoy that red cabbage slaw, though it isn’t so much a slaw as a mound of chopped red cabbage lightly dressed with jerk sauce. It’s nothing special on its own, but with some bits of coconut fried chicken skin or a bite of spicy grilled salmon, it’s a nice crunchy component.

Honestly, as I survey the scene from beneath a heat lamp on the enclosed Cha Cha Chicken patio, nothing but the presence of purple beans and rice is remotely reminiscent of anywhere I've been in Cuba. But the air is relaxed, the food satisfying, and I am enjoying a funky, authentically Santa Monica evening.

Ozumo Donburi Rice Bowl

Ozumo is a high-end Japanese transplant from San Francisco, with a beautiful dimly-lit, gilded dining room and a pricey menu of fresh fish and robata skewers, among other expensive traditional Japanese fare. But you don’t have to miss out on this lovely spot in the new Santa Monica Place just because you’re a frugal diner—they have some very good values for lunch and happy hour, including a $10 rice bowl. The rice bowl is huge, you could really split it with someone if you’re not starving, and there are four options: curry tofu with vegetables and brown rice, which is my bowl of choice, as well as prime angus beef with sweet soy sauce, Japanese fried chicken, and teriyaki glazed freshwater eel. If a big rice bowl isn’t appealing to you, there are a surprising number of other affordable lunch options, including sushi bento boxes for $14 and flavorful ramen and udon soups for $11. These prices might not be blowing your mind, but for the quality of the food and the really delightful atmosphere, the value is right. What I like about the tofu bowl is the flavor of the traditional Japanese curry, strong and thick and tangy. With plenty of perfectly cooked brown rice and carrots and potatoes, it’s a hearty lunch at a pretty reasonable price, and you can order it in the bar or sitting in the dining room. On a nice day though, you may want to opt for the little outdoor lounge area. If you hang around after you’re done with your rice bowl, you might just transition into the next mealtime, and order from the Happy Hour menu starting at 3pm. From 3-7 every day, including weekends, $3 draft Sapporos are enticing; $5 skewers of pork belly or grilled salmon or tender glazed chicken are also available. You could order a garlic edamame for $4 or a miso soup for $3. There are even some sushi rolls available for about what you would pay for prepackaged grocery store sushi. Relaxing in the bar or outside on the patio, drinking beers and eating tender sushi, you could pass an entire afternoon grazing with friends, and never dread seeing the bill.