It had been a while since we visited The Culver Hotel. Previously, we had been to their upstairs bar for drinks, enjoyed their happy hour with friends and late last year, we celebrated my company holiday lunch in one of their private banquet. The food was always quite good and the architecture and decor definitely hearkened a nostalgic era from the past.
Then the pandemic struck and they ceased all operations. Culver Hotel was closed for a significant amount of time, and I was concerned it might not ever reopen like so many other businesses.
Fortunately, they had the means to pivot and revamp their dining area as well as their menu. They created a beautiful outdoor oasis with potted flowers and plants as well as a mix of eclectic outdoor seating options ranging from garden benches, wrought iron tables and chairs, bar top tables and even a few outdoor living room seating arrangements. It was quite charming and provided a casual chic vibe.
Our server Austin was busy initially, but once he was freed up to help us, the food and drinks came out fairly quickly.
The honey nut squash risotto arrived first. It was quite savory with a light nutty herbal flavor. My husband requested the addition of chicken which they were able to accommodate, and it added a bit more substance to the dish.
Austin had recommended the oxtail and truffle fries for this meat and potato girl, and I am so grateful he did. The meat was tender and moist and packed full of flavor, and the fries had a textured coating and were perfectly light and crispy.
For dessert, we ordered the bread pudding which came with vanilla ice cream on top. The cast iron bread pudding arrived piping hot. It had a slight citrusy custards flavor but was not overwhelmingly sweet and combined with the ice cream, it was truly the icing on our delectable dinner experience.
There are very few restaurants where we can say that the food and the service combined with the ambiance hit every note and we are fortunately able to say that of the newly opened Le Jardin. For $100, we were able to experience a top notch meal in a beautiful, serene and historic location. Le Jardin is truly a neighborhood gem.
Le Jardin
9400 Culver Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90230
Bar & Dining
1) Best fast food: Tito’s Tacos has been my go-to since 2000. It’s been open much longer than that but I hadn’t been introduced to it despite living in the neighborhood for 10 years prior. They offer tacos, burritos, enchiladas, tamales, tostadas and chili beans and chili con carne but my go-to are 3 tacos, no cheese, with a small guac. It’s the perfect cure for a hangover but it’s also a substantial enough serving and as of today, it’s $10.80 “all in.” It comes with a whole box of chips and salsa. The beef, more often than not, is tender and juicy and clearly previously marinaded before cooking. My only complaint is I wish there was more meat in the tacos. The taco shells are pre-loaded with the beef upon ordering and the remainder of the shells are filled in with lettuce for my orders. The guacamole isn’t too thick nor is it too runny. As Goldilocks would say, it’s just right. Getting there and beating the line is the challenge as the lines sometimes wrap and wind around. I think I’ve figured it out but I’m keeping those off-times secret and to myself so I can indulge in this treat at my leisure.
Tito’s Tacos
11222 Washington Place
Culver City, CA 90230
2) Best takeout: Shawarma Land is a new find for me, courtesy of the filter option on the Yelp app. I type in “cheap eats” and see what comes up and I head off to sample their offerings. This one, I have to say, is a very pleasant surprise. I have a very detailed review of it in the Local Eats section of my blog, but the quality and flavor of the food is consistent and it’s not overly oily like other similar cuisines. As I mentioned in my review, for a shawarma platter, its $12.06 with tax and it feeds 2 people so it’s $6.03/person. Such a delicious deal!
Shawarma Land
10821 Venice Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
3) Best restaurant for delivery on a Friday night: Thai Original BBQ was introduced to me by my dad when I was a kid. A waiter from the now-defunct Universal City location had hit his car and offered to pay him for the damages and treat him to lunch. He brought me with him and I’ve been in love with their food ever since. There was another Thai restaurant in Culver City that has since closed but when this location opened, I pretty much made it my mission to eat there or have their food delivered as often and as regularly as possible. Our usual delivery order is the S-1 which is a half BBQ chicken and fried rice, S-12 which is the teriyaki salmon steak, fried rice and broccoli, chicken sate appetizer which are grilled chicken skewers that comes with a peanut sauce, yellow curry with chicken which is in a coconut curry with chunks of potatoes and recently we changed up our noodle order to phase see-ew which are flat rice noodles, egg, broccoli high we order with chicken. The latter is not overly sauced but the flavors are embedded in the noodles which rounds out the dinner selection. We also get an extra side of the fried rice because it’s so addictive. Our total is typically around $68-$69 and with tip, it’s $82. For $41/person, you get dinner, next day’s lunch and possibly an afternoon snack. The volume and quality of the food is unparalleled. We have ordered from many restaurants in the area since moving to Culver City in 2005 and none of them can compare.
Thai Original BBQ
10036 Venice Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
http://www.thaibbqculvercity.com
4) Best Happy Hour: Ruth’s Chris is hands down the best of the best. Everything on their Swizzle Hour Menu is $9. Happy hour is Monday to Friday from 4-6:30 p.m. On the rare Friday night that both my husband and I are freed up by 5:30, we run over and put our name on the wait list hoping for a table or 2 seats at the bar to open up so we can enjoy a nice inexpensive dinner with nice surroundings. Our usual go-tos are either the pomegranate or Cosmo martinis, the seared ahi tuna, spicy shrimp, roasted artisan chicken sandwich with salad for my husband and the steak sandwich, no bread, with crispy fries for me. That’s $54 and with tax and tip, it’s around $72 so that’s roughly $36/person for a nice steakhouse dinner experience with drinks.
Ruth’s Chris
13455 Maxella Avenue, #230
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
5) Best sushi and sashimi restaurant: No restaurants on the Westside can compare to the quality and value of the sushi and sashimi at Sakura. They don’t have a website. It’s all word of mouth which is how we found out about this almost hole in the wall restaurant on Centinela, in between Culver and Washington. Our orders vary but with sake and beer, our per person average rate with tax and tip is about $36-$40. My order typically includes tuna sashimi with grilled salmon. My husband usually orders a 12 piece sushi assortment, a California roll, a spicy tuna roll, and a nabeyaki udon with shrimp tempura. Nowhere in LA can you order all that food and get away with paying anything less than $60-$80/person. Hands down, Sakura is one of our favorites.
Sakura
4545 S. Centinela Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90066
Grace Gambin
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