Eating out: a new chapter

As you may have noticed, TLOML and I like to eat. A big part of settling into a new place is figuring out all our local eating options. Hermosa is clearly not Manhattan but it's also no Saltburn. By which I mean there are more than a handful of places to eat within walking distance, and lots of choice within that handful. It's going to take us a while to eat our way around Hermosa but we've made a good start.

We've had takeout from the local Thai and a nearby sushi place, both of which were decent and will I'm sure be on our speed dial. A creperie and a bar with upscale bar food will also definitely get a repeat visit. There's a place called The Source which is a bit like that place in Annie Hall where Woody Allen orders 'alfalfa sprouts and a plate of mashed yeast'. (Read about the original Source, a 60s 'spiritual vegetarian' restaurant here if you want to get the full context). The Source specialises in juices, and has a menu which makes TLOML scratch his head and say 'no-one really actually likes this stuff, do they?'. I love it for the fabulous salads and pumpkin bread. So we've got some good lunch, brunch or takeout options.

As for dinner, we had our first date night since we arrived in Hermosa's current hot spot. Fittingly for a scruffy surfer town this is a bar masquerading as a restaurant (or is it the other way around?). Hot's Kitchen serves many posh beers and a huge range of delicious tacos. Okay, so it is basically a bar.

Then there's a new kid on the block in Dia de Campo, which claims to be a mixture of 'old school and new school Mexican meets West Coast fish shop and raw bar'. Or, as I think of it, the place with the killer tequila based cocktails. We've only had drinks there so far, having popped in after dinner when I objected that our evening at Hot's Kitchen was over too fast (beer and tacos can only be lingered over so long, after all). But I think we'll be back for a proper meal soon.

And then there's the local destination restaurant. I checked out the menu the other day and in my attempt to describe to TLOML I said 'It's the kind of place with a menu split into 'Swimmers' and 'Carnage', and roasted brussel sprouts as a side'. He knew exactly what I meant. It also uses the word 'Ruffage' to describe the salad section of the menu, and has four vegan specials. Textbook SoCal nonsense and makes LA Story seem like a documentary, but oh, the food sounds good.

That's Abigaile for ya. I must admit that the superflous 'e' is a turn off even more so than the word 'ruffage'. But I suspect my love of pretentious contemporary Californian food (and TLOML's of 'carnage') will mean we aren't put off by that silly 'e' for long.