SANTA MONICA

A little known book called Santa Monica in Vintage Postcards depicts several images that show why people used to flock to Southern California to buy up Santa Monica property. Postcard titles include Moonlight on the Pacific, Sunset Point, Pleasure Pier and Where the Mountains Meet the Sea. Today, Santa Monica still holds a small sense of old fashioned charm infused with a steady stream of urban trappings.

Map from historic66.com

This was my first time in Santa Monica, and I walked a good portion of the usual suspect tourist spots. I ventured down the pier, walked along the beach, saw Hotel California (not the Beverly Hills Hotel on the Eagles album cover) and made it to the final destination stop on legendary U.S. Route 66 where a sign reads, "66 End of trail."

Photograph by Michael Ontiveros

City planners skillfully mapped out Santa Monica with a concen- trated downtown shopping area that sits on a bluff overlooking the Santa Monica Bay. If you like to walk, you can get there from the beach by taking one of several staircases that are linked between the beach and the bluff. Once I got to the top, I ventured out to the Third Street Promenade - 30 city blocks of retail shops and retaurants. On this day, I saw a stylistic mix of American and European shoppers. I think the shopper's fashions were much more interesting than what I saw in the Third Street shops.

Stefanosnewyorkpizza.com

I did find one outstanding slice of pizza at a place called Stefano's. They are currently carrying a unique promotion in recognition of the Seal Team 6. Anyone who specifically asks for a "Seal Team 6" will get a free slice of Sausage, Egplant, Apple smoked bacon and Leeks 6" pizza. Once I tasted the pizza, I discovered that it was as good as any NYC pizza joint I've been to. It is interesting to note that Stefano's states that each pie they make is expertly tossed - the East Coast way. Imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery.

After leaving Stefano's, I found two very interesting retaurants. The first one is a celebrity dive where locals and famous folk have been showing up for over 44 years. When you walk into Chez Jay, it feels like you're in a time machine - fascinating clientele, hard drinking and great storytelling. In fact, they have a saying that is often repeated, "Nothing much changes at Chez Jay."

Misfit Burger by Da Xu of Buy Local Market
Finally, the second retaurant I stumbled into was The Misfit Restaurant and Bar. It has a curious decor of red velvet and old wood. They carry a welcoming selection of Farmer's Market picks, along with a mix of Edna Lewis' fried chicken, lobster club sliders, and burgers. On the wall there is a cryptic quote from a 13th century writer that reads, "Now is the time to turn your heart into a temple of flames." I'm sure it isn't true, but it made me wonder if it is was a prophetic nod to the very weird but popular British television series with same namesake -
The Misfits.

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