Produce Driven Fast Casual Comes to Culver City with Picnic LA

Last month Edible Skinny was lucky enough to experience the new delectable world of Picnic LA.  Picnic LA is a fast-casual, produce-driven concept by Brad Zions (Lemonade), Elliot Silver (Vice F&B), and Noah Ellis (Vice F&B, Red Medicine) located at the corner of Culver Blvd. and Duquesne Ave. in downtown Culver City.  From Roasted Beets with Cara Cara Orange, Black Currant, Fried Garlic, and Shiso (a fabulous combination with a super tangy bite to it!) to Mary’s Chicken Leg “Tagine” with Caramelized Lemon, Tahini-Leek Sauce, and Parsley this is the world of the craft flavor profile combination.    If Restoration Hardware ever decided to start a restaurant, Picnic LA’s food would be their dishes!

The blue and white bedecked restaurant features a menu of elegant foods prepared simply, with an emphasis on seasonal veggies and composed salads, along with roasted free-range chicken, beef, and other proteins.  Its menu is dynamic, seasonal, and features flavors seen across the diverse city we call Los Angeles.  

 

Chef and partner Alex Resnick (not to be confused with Alex Reznik of Top Chef) previously worked with Ellis at Red Medicine and is heading up the seasonal, largely market-driven menu full of ins and outs in flavors and styles.  Resnick takes food seriously the way an IRS agent would approach doing his own taxes.   For Resnick, it’s all about the details. 

My absolute favorite dish was their Green Lentils Du Puy with Spicy Mustard Vinaigrette and Crispy Shallots, while my guest (Miss Julia Reed Nichols) adored the Farro & Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pickled Shallot, Peanut, Thai Basil, and Mint.  These are dishes as intricate as the Alt-J song they’ll accompany at the Hollywood Bowl. 

The masterfully branded eatery will also feature a retail component with picnic kits and accessories, foodstuffs, wines, and other specialty items curated by Silver and Ellis.  Leveraging the latest in hospitality technology, the restaurant is designed from the ground up to make in-store ordering, order ahead, and pick, and delivery as fast and convenient as possible for guests.  “Picnics on Demand” are available for take-out and delivery, making it easy for guests to picnic at the beach, the Bowl, or the back yard.  

And don’t forget to leave some room for dessert!  Picnic LA’s Pineapple Clafoutis was fantastically moist and peppered with thyme for that perfect sweet savory combination.    Other sweet tooth offerings included Picnic LA’s Key Lime Pie Bar with Graham Cracker Crust and made with Sour Cream and Dark Chocolate Pot de Crème made with Valrhona single origin dark chocolate, toasted coconut, and crunchy feuillentine.  Yummm (with 3 Ms!!!)!

So if you’re looking for that perfect 20 minute meal (other than Chipotle…) or require the perfect symphony of flavors for your trip to the LA Philharmonic, Picnic LA just might be the local neighborhood spot for you!  

I Love Paris in the Summertime

So I don’t know if you know this but Paris is très chaud in the summertime (actually thanks to global warming it seems to be très chaud everywhere). The heat in Paris is that sticky hot heat that causes your typical America to run for the air conditioning dial. But since AC is very limited the City of Lights I decided to make the best of a mal situation and find a sanctuary of lunch on one of the loveliest islands in Paris (and not the one that houses Notre-Dame).

Considered on the most romantic parts of Paris the two islands that lie in the middle of the Seine River (Ile de la Cite and Ile St-Louis) are some of the city’s most enigmatic attractions. Ile St-Louis is (in my opinion) the most charming place in Paris. The 17th century stone house, boutiques, and specialty shop make it the perfect place to amble about. Strolling along these cobblestoned streets I decided to partake in the wonderful Parisian experience: the outdoor picnic.


I slid into a Fruit and Vegetable store to purchase two beautifully fragrant peaches, I could write pages on the soft fuzziness alone (2.69 € for two). Next I discovered the perfect From Eger, the cheese shop (but calling it just that cheapens it). As I entered the shop of Christian Le Lann, Fromeger-Affineur I was slammed with a bouquet of stinky cheese smells. It was easy to read that the man watching football behind the counter was not into embracing the English language. Terrified at my mediocre French I desperately searched around for something self contained, something that I wouldn’t have to request in grams (Yes, all I could think about was David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day). Joyfully eyes fell upon the smallest wrapped round cheese Tentation de Saint Felicien Double Crème L’Etoile du Vercors. Quite a mouthful, Tentation is the the cheese, L’Etoile du Vercors is the cheese group that makes it (6.8 €).

I walked the Quai de Bourbon, to the tip of the East side of the island, to the little park housed there. Up until this point my sister and I had noted every place in Paris we went so many people were speaking English (it should be noted we were seeing a good amount of tourist sites), so I was happy to discover this was not that case; Here, I was surrounded by natives, speaking their native French tongue. I sat down arranging my spoils when I felt a wonderful puff of air skip across my shoulders.

That breeze alone made it the best seat in the City.



I dug in. No Silverware, no napkins, lots of finger licking. The Etoile was so creamy it tasted like butter (truthfully for a moment I thought I had accidently bought butter). The peach was full of juicy sweetness that spurted with every bite. It had been awhile since I’ve eaten a peach whole. There’s something so inherently sexy about it. How French, I thought.

I paused for a moment to drink from my SIGG bottle (every good Green girl doesn’t go anywhere without it…) and I noted how the water tasted sweeter. I have always felt that real quality food can enhance your palate (just in the same way cardboard fast food can deaden it). And while Frenchman fished the Seine and boats full of tourists drifted up and down I thought that is exactly what this meal had done. Through my taste buds I had discovered the most quintessential f French philosophies: Joie de Vivre.