DUDLEY MARKET Happened upon the BRAND NEW addition on Dudley Street in Venice Beach. Been open a little over a week. It is in the infamous corner location on Speedway and Dudley where Henry’s Market has been a fixture for decades. Almost kinda sad, but there’s fewer bums now. Of course 8 Dudley–which I loved–closed years ago next door (even though the Cadillac Hotel’s addy is 8 Dudley ACROSS THE STREET) and Piccolo–which I also loved–just closed last week. The chef at Dudley Market is from Barnyard–which is now experiencing unscheduled closures. Whew! Well, with the gossip out of the way, I could not be happier with Dudley Market. A rustic open-table setting, quiet-to low hum. The wine list is extremely well thought out, a beautiful perfect number of #IPOB and #naturalwine selections across varietal- and country-lines. FOUR PET-NATS!!! Pinots in the 12’s and zins and syrahs in the 13’s. Broc, LoFi, Onward, Lutum and Chanin and on and on. The wine-director was one of the most pleasant and comfortable table-side chats in memory. Totally gets it. We were there late and did not want to impact the kitchen terribly so asked for the chef to send out a few nibbles of his choice. What followed were three beautiful little plates–one starring a feathery slab of hamachi, one focused on a generous clump of needle mushrooms, and small salad consisting of arugula, slightly braised peaches and Parmesan. Dudley Market is open for breakfast and lunch, and the dinner menu is still evolving. Very highly recommended. ♦♦♦
BELL STREET Re-visited for 5th or 6th time and I think this was the best meal ever. Fat slabs of rotisserie pork covered in fresh slaw on a perfect bun, salads appearing to cover safe ground but in the mouth creatively tugging at the envelope, and a BTG list which always consists of a red you want to try, a white you want to try, and a rosé you want to try. Towering over all and seemingly omnipresent is Jaime’s amazing personality. Safe at ♦♦♦
MASON BAR Second trip. Still not in love. Everything is reasonably *good* I just… can’t… rave about it. Great standard fare, an afternoon snack, meeting friends. The BTG list is sad. This place has so much potential. Demoting to ♦
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