Girls Weekend in Santa Monica

It was approx. 85+ degrees all weekend in LA and I was completely in my element. Completely. By a pool/beach the entire time that I wasn’t eating or drinking or riding at SoulCycle. I LOVE SUMMER. (Or… late spring. Same same.)

We came. We ate. We drank. We rode.

Want to know where? Got you covered.

Sweat

No secret I effing love SoulCycle. Naturally when you find out there’s a studio ACROSS THE STREET FROM YOUR HOTEL and it’s like bed-to-studio in 4.5 minutes, you book as many classes as possible.

Not to miss? Todd Dunham (one of my favorite SF instructors now in LA), Lindsay Buckley (be my best friend please?) and Ben Bruker at Santa Monica.

If someone would loan me their dog I would go for a run on the beach and report back.

Breakfast/Post-Workout

• Goji – Acai bowls made with coconut milk and topped with fruit, coconut, agave and gluten-free granola. Exactly what you need after an evening of cocktails and an early morning SoulCycle class (Santa Monica)
• EarthBar – Smoothies, acai bowls. Noticing a pattern? (Brentwood + Most Equinox locations)

Brunch

• Gjelina – I have two words: BREAKFAST PIZZA.
• Butcher’s Daughter – All vegetarian and all delicious. I’ve been in NYC previously and we knew we had to go for Saturday brunch in LA. It’s located on Abbott Kinney and if you’re lucky enough to go during Coachella when everyone is in the desert, you can actually walk around and browse as you wait for a table. Get the Spicy Kale Caesar or the Avocado Toast Eggs Benedict. And a Kale Cucumber Mimosa. (Venice)

Lunch

• Sweetgreen – ask me my favorite salad place on this planet and Sweetgreen will be the answer. I go multiple times when I’m in NYC or Boston and it was a non-negotiable in LA. Coincidentally the Berkeley location JUST OPENED. (Santa Monica)
• Malibu Farm– We headed out to Malibu for lunch upon arriving in LA (give me that ocean breeze as soon as I step off the plane) and had salads and iced coffees on the pier. The cauliflower crust pizza also looked amazing. (Malibu)

Dinner

• Tasting Kitchen- I basically defer to my friend Megan on all things food/drinks/sweat wherever I go that she has lived. She knows all. So when she told me we had to go to Tasting Kitchen – we made a reservation at Tasting Kitchen. The cocktails were so, so good and the food was unbelievable. The Halibutliterally melts in your mouth, the Flat Iron Steak is cooked perfectly, and the Gnocchi (I LOVE GNOCCHI) is amazing. Also to note? Their bread and salted butter essentially made my night. (Venice)
• Sugarfish– This was a must-eat. You go, put your name in, drink wine at Esters for 90 minutes, and then come back and stuff your face with sushi. Order the Nozawa Trust Me and just eat your face off. The Halibut and Albacore are amazing, and the Tuna Belly Handroll (my favorite) is so good…. we ordered like 4 more. Also to note – the wine is cheap. (Locations in Brentwood + Santa Monica)

Dessert

• Salt and Straw- There was, no joke, a legit LINE AROUND THE BLOCK for ice-cream at 10:53pm. So naturally we waited in it, and got the best ice cream scoops I’ve ever had. The Chocolate Malted Cookie Dough is a must eat. (Venice)
• Compartes Chocolatier – THE BEST CHOCOLATE EVER. And I love my dark chocolate.

Drinks

• Esters Wine Bar– Where you go once you put your name in at Sugarfish. They also have amazing lavender almonds to munch on while you drink your wine and a really, really helpful bar staff who will let you taste about whatever you want before you make your final glass decision. (Santa Monica)
• Bungalow at The Fairmont – Both boyfriend and my brother had been to Bungalow and when Megan mentioned we had to get drinks there… we got drinks there. Definitely more my style on the early side with the happy-hour crowd we had more than a few cocktails here and had a great time. It gets scene-y (and CROWDED AF) as the night goes on, so just FYI. (Santa Monica)

There’s only like 1,463 more places to eat and drink on my list so clearly a return trip is in the works. ASAP.