Wednesday in Santa Monica
Farmer's Market heaven and Perucian Scallops for dinner
At the beginning of April, Moss and I headed to Santa Monica with one mission in mind: the farmer’s market. We both had a rare Wednesday off, and decided to make a day out of our trip to the beach cities.
Farmer’s Market
We started our day bright and early at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market, and I can now confidently say that Wednesday at the SaMo Farmer’s Market is LA’s elite farmer’s market— although, this seems to be a preexisting consensus. With wide streets hosting a variety of vendors, plenty of parking, and just a few blocks up from the ocean, you really can’t ask for more.
I’m kicking myself for not writing down the names of every vendor we stopped at, but I know for certain we stopped by McGrath Family Farms, Schaner Farms, and Harry’s Berrys.
First, we picked up some citrus from Schaner Farms for Moss’ bakery job, and proceeded to do personal shopping for ourselves (and we splurged).
We went home with a haul that included: first-of-the-season rhubarb, little gem lettuce, snap peas, herbs, squash blossoms (a favorite in our household), cornflowers, blackberries, strawberries, and snapdragons for a bouquet.
Layla Bagels
After our morning at the market, we started checking off our list of restaurants we’d been wanting to dine at in the area. We grabbed breakfast at Layla Bagels: sourdough bagels with a crunchy exterior and soft interior (dare I say comparable to Courage, but a little cheaper).
We split a sesame bagel with plain cream cheese; on one side we got the Lily (tomato, cucumber, pickled onion, capers, herb cream cheese) and on the other half, the Scarlett (heirloom tomato, lemon zest, chili flakes, cream cheese).
The bagel was, truthfully, very good— it had great texture and fresh ingredients. Obviously, it’s on the pricier side for a bagel, but I would happily order it again next time I’m in Santa Monica.
Gjusta
After bagels and some time lounging in the park, we decided to grab an afternoon pick me up. Out of our three meals of the day, I think lunch at Gjusta was the weakest, but I don’t have any complaints. We didn’t want to order anything too heavy, as we were planning to have an early dinner, so we ordered some basic items from the menu.
Moss and I split a plate of French fries (hand-cut fries sprinkled with parmesan, served with harissa ketchup and aioli) and a market greens salad, along with an iced latte and an iced mocha.
On our way out, I snagged the last piece of Banana Cream Pie (caramelized bananas, dulce de leche cream, topped with whipped cream and cacao nibs) that we had been eyeing when we walked in earlier. We took the pie home with us to eat in bed later that night. The pie was perfect— creamy, caramely, decadent and light.
Dudley Market
Dinner at Dudley Markey was the highlight of the day (in addition to the farmer’s market). We didn’t have a reservation, so we arrived not long after opening and were seated at the bar— one of our favorites seats in most restaurants, anyway. The restaurant is just off the busy Venice Beach strand in an unassuming alleyway. Our dinner here was my favorite meal I’ve had in a while; maybe due to it hitting all of my cravings, maybe due to atmosphere, or simply maybe because it was a good meal!
Moss and I each started with a glass of orange wine while we studied the menu— the restaurant was hosting a winemaker that night, and unfortunately I didn’t write down the name, but we were served a glass of effervescent, light skin-contact wine that paired perfectly with our meal.
We started with the Peruvian Scallops (with ponzu and serrano), which seem to be a menu staple, and were my favorite item of the night. The scallops were fresh and buttery, garnished with just the right amount of citrus and heat.
Next, we moved on to a veggie dish, a nice buffer between our seafood starter and red meat main course: roasted carrots with whipped ricotta, salsa verde, and urfa briber.
We ended the meal with the restaurant’s namesake item: the Dudley Burger (wagyu beef patty, bacon jam, cheddar cheese, dill aioli, arugula). The burger is on the smaller side, and on another night I could easily and happily eat this alone, but Moss and I split it this time around. I don’t need to wax poetic about a burger— it was tender, juicy, perfect!
& that sums up our Wednesday in Santa Monica~