Last night I went to Sonoma Wine Garden at the top of Santa Monica Place. I'm not one to frequent restaurants in malls, but this my friend is not just any mall. It's the Santa Monica Place...how many malls do you know that have ocean views from the top floor? And this is exactly where the Sonoma Wine Garden is. Now before this post goes any farther I'm going to make a promise to you my fine readers. I, The Sunset Bandit, do solemnly promise to go back and take pictures of the patio, and of course, the ocean view, so help me God...if I have to...I mean, I guess a sunset happy hour will definitely have to be in order.
Tonight however was in a lovely dinning room nestled in the back of the restaurant. I was with a big group of friends and this worked absolutely perfectly. You could hear yourself think, and talk, or just talk who are we kidding, it's a wine garden. (note: is that a classy version of a beer garden?). We ordered the prefixed menu. It was four courses for $35. The food was hearty and the service was impeccable. We were never waiting for a course and our drinks were always magically full. The price was definitely worth it.
I feel ridiculous saying it, but this iceberg lettuce wedge with caramelized walnuts, blue cheese, bacon, and tomatoes might have been my favorite course. All the flavors were perfect together. You really can't beat a fresh lettuce wedge sometimes.
An old fashioned on the rocks. This one wasn't mine, but man does it look good. I love the one big ice cube for strong drinks like this. It melts at the perfect pace so your liquor opens up perfectly but doesn't get to watered down.
The fries were just the amount of crispy and salty for my pallet. They had a tad of grated parmesan cheese on top that really hit a home run in my heart.
The pumpkin ravioli was good, but not great. It was nice and pumpkiny, very smooth and velvety, but just a bit bland for my taste. I imagine if it was the fall it might have been exactly what I wanted though. Possibly with some warm cider. (just sayin'...)
The arugula pizza was the winner of the three...but the margarita was no slouch. I just loved the blend of mushrooms, arugula, and feta, it was bitter and sweet all once. The dough was nice and thin with the right amount of crisp. Not the best thin crust pizza I've ever had but definitely not to shabby either.
I have to tell you something. I'm a bit of a liar. I named the post after this dish and alas, it was my least favorite of the night. I really, really, rrrreally wanted it to be amazing. Heck, it looked amazing, but it fell flat for me. I have two disclaimers though. 1. I thought it was going to be some sort of bread pudding, and holy smokes, do I love me some bread pudding. 2. It ended up being an apple pie-esque dessert and of all of the desserts in the world apple pie is my least favorite one of them. I should just turn in my American passport now and move to Canada. What American doesn't die for apple pie? Sadly, this one. With that said all of my dinner companions felt the same way except for one, Mac, who ate a fair share of our helpings. I think he was quite pleased that we were in fact less than pleased. He was in love. It just didn't do it for the rest of us. I'd try something else next time (for happy hour, hurray!!).
The murals on the walls were all hilarious and kitchy, just like this one. I'd like the "gorgeous hill town without newspapers" please...
The tables are all quite pretty and the ambiance is a warm California regal. This bar opens up to three huge glass pocket doors onto the patio with an ocean view. Clearly there is a next time in the cards (wait, have I mentioned that I want to come back?). With some sort of decadent chocolate dessert and a fabulous dress with strappy sandals. Yep, that's it, a pink sunset and decadent chocolate. Do you think that's on the menu?
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