Jin Patisserie

I recently stopped by Jin Patisserie, a pastry boutique on Abbot Kinney. My post won’t give the place justice because I did not sit down in the quiet tea garden or have any of their delicious pastries. However, I know from prior experience that this place is nice. It’s a quiet sanctuary separate from the hippy hustle and bum bustle of the street, an isolated zen-world. The owner, Kristy Choo, is an inspiration. She is a native of Singapore that has baked with some of the best. In 2003, she opened Jin Patisserie, combining her knowledge of traditional Asian recipes with the understanding of the American (specifically the LAian) palate to come up with unique creations.

Sadly, I didn’t have time to sit down and relax. But, I did have time for some green tea. Even when you order tea to go, it is still a thoughtful production. Instead of merely handing you your cup at the register, they ask you to sit down so the tea can properly be steeped (which takes a a few minutes depending on the tea) and then bring out a tray filled with your tea and sugar for your liking. Although such a small detail, it still impressed me.

I cannot remember the name of the green tea I ordered. This is good and bad. It’s good because it shows that there are a lot of tea options. Literally, pages of tea to choose from. It’s bad because I can’t find the tea menu online and this reminds me that I need to start writing things down. However, I am pretty sure you will be happy with whatever tea you order. They use tea from the French company Theodor ( Jin Patisserie is one of approximately 8 locations in the US that sell/use this type of tea).

This place isn’t just tea though. They make cakes, cookies, chocolates, and have a food menu that includes sandwiches and salads. When I was ordering my tea I couldn’t help but notice they had Yek Yek Cookies. I was all like: “What’s a Yek Yek cookie?” Probably a question the counter receives a lot. Apparently they are traditional cookies from Singapore that Jin has a family recipe for. I know, not very helpful. But from it’s description it sounds like a unique soft, shortbread cookie. They also have an eclectic and extensive list of chocolates that I would love to try some day.

Although I can’t remember specifics to what I drank, I do remember that I thoroughly enjoyed my cup of tea. It is the type of place you can go with just a close friend, a romantic date, by yourself, or with a large group (they have Tea Service!).

Jin Patisserie
1202 Abbot Kinney Blvd
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 399-8801

Intelligentsia: Itzamna, Guatemala

I recently was able to get a bag of Intelligentsia’s Itzamna, Guatemala. In Yucatec Maya mythology, Itzamna is the name of an upper god and creator deity that supposedly lives in the sky. The meaning of the deity’s name is unclear, but could refer to a large lizard or Caiman (itzam) or to a liquid such as dew (itz). Aspects of the god were sometimes designated by the epithet “Itzamna Kauil,” which could mean ‘the powerful’.

Flavor: Chocolate, red apple, date
Acidity: Buoyant, well-rounded
Finish: Walnut, nutmeg, butterscotch

Even though the harvest season is from January to April, the coffee tastes like you should be drinking it during the Fall season. Immediately at first sip, I taste the red apples which turns into a sweet slightly spicy taste, which quietly disappears. Not a shy exit, but a confident exit. As if the flavor just came to say hello, compliment you on how good you’ve been looking, and then be on their way out. Because of the transition from loud, pleasant taste to quick and polite exit, I was left wanting to drink more.

Counting down the days until Intelligentsia opens in Venice….

Intelligentsia
3922 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 663-6173

Abbot Pizza Company I

Recently my boyfriend and I went to the Abbot Pizza Company at it’s flagship location on Abbot Kinney. (The other location is on Pico in Santa Monica). Abbot Pizza Co. is quintessential Californian gourmet pizza. Known best for their bagel crust (a mixture of poppy seeds, onion, garlic and sesame) and supposedly as the best pizza on the West side of Los Angeles. However, the bagel crust is not the only option; if you were to order a pie they offer six crust options: Onion, Garlic, Sesame, Poppy, Hot-Crust and The Blend (Bagel). Also, they have a pretty wide selection of toppings (4 types of mushrooms!: shiitake, oyster, portobello, and buttons). The place is very small and filled up quickly with a wide variety of clientel. If we had not have come so early, we would have probably had to sit outside or get our food to go. Or be a looming (drooling) seat hunter.

I took the gourmet route and ordered a slice of the  Cheese Bomb - parmesan, romano, fontina, gouda, ricotta & mozzarella cheese on an alfredo sauce.

And a slice of Popeye’s Chicken - spinach, mushroom, onion, tequila lime marinated chicken with mozzarella cheese on a garlic pesto sauce.

They were both great. I thought the cheese bomb was going to be my favorite because I love cheese, but other than the ricotta and mozzarella the cheeses were hard for my palate to pick up. I think I would have enjoyed the cheese bomb more if it had been a red sauce instead of the alfredo. I really enjoyed the garlic pesto on the popeye slice. I have yet to have a bad pesto experience.

In regards to both slice’s crust, I found it to taste more like a big soft pretzel than a bagel. I suppose when you add salt to a bagel, it increases it’s chances to taste like a pretzel exponentially. I would go again; it was good pizza. I want to continue trying their gourmet slices like the Meatless/Sauceless with pizza crust and seasonal vegetables. It’s a great place to go if you’re in Venice and hungry for pizza.

Abbot Pizza Company I
1407 Abbot Kinney Blvd.
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 396-7334
Hours: 11am - 11 pm

Abbot Pizza Company II
1811 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 314-2777

Library Alehouse

Last week my roommate and I went to Library Alehouse in Venice. We have both been there before, so our continual return only shows that we enjoy it. They have an excellent beer selection and good food to go with it. They also have a Happy Hour that we always seem to forget when we say “Hey, let’s go get a drink” at 2pm 4pm. Before my roommate arrived, I killed time by trying the Shipyard Blueberry Wheat Ale. It was refreshing, sweet (more on the cider spectrum than I thought it would be), but tart! I can’t find any links for this type of Shipyard, but believe me it’s real (I called to confirm).

When we were seated in the back patio, I ordered a basic flight of beer. I asked for the wide variety of “light to dark.” I wish I had been more specific because everything that was brought to the table I had tasted before (a total life lesson). Although they were good beers, it wasn’t very exciting. My flight was composed of (from right to left on the photo): Allagash (Belgian Style White from Portland, Maine), Lost Coast Apricot Wheat (Eureka, CA), Franziskaner Hefeweizen (Munich, Germany), Stone Pale Ale (San Marcos, CA), Lost Coast Downtown Brown Ale (Eureka, CA).

For dinner I chose the Alehouse Fish and Chips (made with cod and beer batter) because I have been craving them forever. They fish was amazing and soft and the friedness made it chewy and wonderful. The curly fries were quite a treat because I rarely ever see them or order them.

Although the parking is metered on Main Street and it seems like it is always busy… you get moments like this. You can see the moon!

Library Alehouse
2911 Main St
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 314-4855

N’Ice Cream Nielsen’s Homemade Gelato & Sorbet

N’Ice Cream officially opened up this weekend on Abbot Kinney. Immediately next door to a Pinkberry, a renovated garage has now become a cute little gelato shop. This place stands out to me because not only are their limited ice cream / gelato places (that aren’t corporate) in the area, but the owner I met was friendly and talkative (not too talkative though, just right talkative). I love when proprietors are social, it makes the experience more enjoyable; it’s good to know that someone cares about their product and their customers. Apparently, the owners are from Denmark (cool!) and are keeping N’Ice Cream a mom&pop place (not selling their souls franchising).

They make their gelato/sorbet fresh everyday (you can even watch them as they make it through a window). The day we went had about 10 standard gelato flavors, which is good for people like my boyfriend, but I love crazy ridiculous flavors. This is not to say I did not enjoy what I ordered. I am sure they will expand on that in the future. I chose a combination of Coffee, Chocolate Hazelnut, and Vanilla. Each one was wonderful in their own way. The chocolate hazelnut had pieces of hazelnut in it, making it my favorite of the cup. The vanilla had little black vanilla bean dots making it the most aesthetically pleasing. I regretfully did not get the white chocolate, but I heard people talk about how amazing it was. This place is great. In the heat, it will become quite popular especially since it is so close to the beach. They also do To Go packs. And they take credit cards. Go check it out.

N’Ice Cream
1410 Abbot Kinney Blvd
Venice, CA 90291

Abbot Kinney Festival

Last Sunday my boyfriend and I stopped by the free Abbot Kinney Festival. I always thought that this part of Venice was a safe, trendy, hippy-wonderland; Little did we know that hours later this festival would tragically become gang related murdering grounds.

The event began in 1984, as an annual celebration of the diversity of Venice and homage to it’s founder Abbot Kinney, a tobacco millionaire who founded Venice in 1905. The event extends from Venice Blvd all the way up to Main Street, and also includes some side streets, bringing in about 150,000 hip, attractive people. Supposedly, there was a name change this year to Abbot Kinney Community Association in order to better reflect it’s goals. In my opinion, that doesn’t sound as much fun as the word ‘festival.’ But hey, I get it.

With a very low budget, we bought some tri-tip sandwiches and walked around looking at cool stuff. One cool tent/table we found was the I Heart Guts company. I was so in love with the stand that I forgot take a picture of their cute plush toys, but I want make sure the five people who read this blog, know about this place. It was created in 2005 by some amazing illustrator girl (power!) who just likes organs. (Mistakenly, I thought it was a guy that made these. But, now that I have found out the truth that a woman is the genius behind this, I like the guts even more!). I fell in love with the spleen plush toy and wanted to purchase it for my friend who unfortunately had to have her spleen removed two years ago. Sadly, the spleen is not up for sale, but will be soon! I really liked their t-shirts too, especially this one:

So check out their fun website. Buy something. For me. And enjoy!

Here are random pictures of the Festival (the NRA stand really stood out to me as strange and that is why I am putting it up here, imagine seeing this table next to green tables, Obama tables, hippy tables, etc. It just sort of seemed out of place.):