Sunday, May 1, 2011

Restaurant Review: Real Food Daily - Santa Monica, CA

 Real Food Daily in Santa Monica

Mister Spooky surprised me this gorgeous weekend by taking me on a sun-and-fun-filled day to the Santa Monica Pier. We strolled the beach, rode the rides at Pacific Park, played some arcade games and, since we were so close to the Promenade, had lunch at Real Food Daily!! Yes, my boyfriend is the BEST!

I have been wanting to try Real Food Daily ever since I first heard about it (it's a SoCal vegan institution and has been around since 1993!!), but I'm not really in Santa Monica all that often (um, like practically never...I'd never even been to the SM Pier before!). I was soooo very excited to try the famed organic and vegan restaurant! From the pier we walked a few blocks up to Santa Monica Blvd. and 5th, where RFD is located (they have another location in WeHo, BTW). It was a Saturday around lunchtime, so it was a bit crowded, but we were still seated right away by the friendly wait-staff. The dining room is very open and has a clean, airy feel, despite how packed it was. Our server was adorably perky and got us our drinks right away. The Mister had the Eel River Brewing Company IPA and I had a deliciously frothy strawberry "milk" (made with hemp milk) shake! Yummers! 

The menu was fairly extensive, and since their portions are so huge (and we didn't necessarily want to lug around leftovers in the hot sun after lunch) we decided to order a few appetizers. We started with their Sea Cake, made with butternut squash, yam and sea vegetable croquette, pesto and sweet chili aioli. Oh my yum! This was reminiscent of a crab cake (which I loved in my pre-vegan days) and I absolutely loved the pesto and sweet chili aioli sauce the cake was dressed in.

 Real Food Daily's Sea Cake

Next were the Not-chos (haha, get it? Nachos, Not-chos?), made with tortilla chips topped high with melted cashew cheese, black beans, pico de gallo, guacamole, tofu sour cream with an add-on of taco mix. For an app, this was a very large portion and definitely satisfied both the Mister and me. We absolutely devoured these! The chips were thick and crispy and the melted cashew cheese gave it a delightfully unique bite! I loooved these and could not stop eating them even when I was stuffed!

Real Food Daily's Not-chos

We just HAD to try a dessert from RFD's bakery (they have their own vegan pastry chef...huzzah!) and with so many tempting creations (German Chocolate Cake, Banana Crunch Caramel Cake, cupcakes, cookies and so much more!!) we finally decided on the Coconut Cream Tart. This light, luscious dessert melted in my mouth and by the end I was scraping the plate trying to pick up the last pieces of toasted coconut and chocolate sauce.

 Real Food Daily's Coconut Cream Tart

Everything lived up to my expectations at Real Food Daily (and even exceeded them!). I loved the unique creations, the extensive menu choices, the friendly service and above all, the amazing dishes. I cannot wait to go back and try an actual entree next time...I just wish they would open up a location closer to me in Orange County! 

Check out my review on YELP!

2 comments:

  1. I wish I lived somewhere real that had decent vegan option. It's hard out here in the wilderness :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aw that's a bummer, Patrick! At least you live in the beautiful wilderness, though! And you can always perfect your vegan chef skills at home! :)

    ReplyDelete

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