Sightseeing Santa Monica On Foot, Sunday Brunch And BOA For Dinner...

You can click on any of the pictures to see full size, so click away...

On Sunday our daughter had a soccer game she couldn't miss and was likely going to play another after that (if they won, which they did), so we were on our own for Sunday. That meant I could take my sweet time getting ready without anyone getting mad at me or irritating me by constantly prompting me to hurry.



We had reservations for Brunch at The Penthouse Restaurant which sits atop the lovely Huntley Hotel. It was also the first day of Restaurant Week in Los Angeles and surrounding areas. We had rather forgotten about that little bonus.



During Restaurant Week in L.A., every chef is scrambling to put out their very best cuisines, with a Restaurant Week Special Menu. Of course, you can still order off the regular menu if you don't find something you like, but you'd be crazy to pass up the amazing food at affordable prices. Everyone offers affordable delicacies during RW.



So, having forgotten this, we were quite pleasantly surprised when our savvy waitress reminded us of this fact, then brought us the additional RW menu. We both ordered from that menu, which was amazing.



Since we were on vacation, Mr. Snoots ordered a vodka martini up, while I was bit more adventurous and had the Aperol Smash which consists of:


(Hand Pressed Green Grapes & Fresh Local Organic Mint Kissed With Ketel One Vodka, Aperol Italian Bitters & Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice), which was quite pleasant.

Mr. Snoots had the Caesar Salad and the Salmon, which were both truly delicious. I chose to order the Sirloin Burger with Arugula, tomatoes and crispy fried onions, served with the most delicate little french fries ever. I almost ate the entire burger, which is unusual for me. I usually can't finish a burger of any size.



For dessert (which is included in the $22.00 Brunch Special) Mr. Snoots had the Molten Chocolate Devil's Cake (with dark Grand Marnier chocolate) and I chose the Vanilla Creme Brulee (with Madeleines and fresh fruit). It was a total food orgasm, trust me. And the views! The views from atop the Huntley were more than spectacular. They were truly breath taking.



Aside from the fabulous food, I was absolutely certain that the guy sitting behind hubby was a famous rock star. Did I consume any martinis? Well, ummm, yes, I did. So, you might not want to believe me on this celebrity sighting either. However, go ahead and click on the image for a larger view. Perhaps you recognize him. Apparently, martinis impair my vision as well as my already sketchy ability to spot actual real celebrities. Anyone recognize him? Yeah. Me neither.



Once we were finished we went walking around the Santa Monica Third Street Promenade, which I found to be a delightfully cutting edge, trendy area filled with great eateries and places to shop. They also have all these incredibly beautiful multiple topiary of dinosaurs that were also shooting fountains, which truly fascinated me. We did a lot of *window shopping* and *people watching*, with which we were more than happy.



I refrained from taking any photos of the crazy street people because it's just really so sad and tragic. There are so many of them. Besides, Mr. Snoots really doesn't like *sightseeing* so to speak. Nor does he care for shopping. He cares about food. And naps. And football. And golf. And his family. And his business. And his politics. And an occasional surprise in entertainment opportunities. He does not like shopping. It uses far too many brain cells and naps preserve them. Perfectly logical.



It wasn't long before the martinis forced us to retreat to the hotel room for naps. Whew! What a splendid light bulb above my head that turned out to be. By the time our dinner reservation at Boa arrived, we were thoroughly refreshed, so we walked and it was gorgeous outside with the cool ocean breeze.



We originally had reservations to eat in Malibu at The Chart House but decided we didn't want to drive the 6 miles to Malibu. Santa Monica cleverly achieves pulling you in and keeping you. It has so much of everything, everywhere. Everything is cutting edge, upper end and interesting. Besides, we had eaten at BOA Steakhouse when we were there last year and it's been voted the best Santa Monica steakhouse many years in a row, so we stuck to the *tried and true* since we had to beef up for Disneyland the following day. We all three needed sustenance and a good night's sleep if we were going to survive Disneyland and California Adventure in one mere day the next morning.





I ordered the petite filet mignon with the Bernaise sauce, as did SD, and it was true perfection. The hubby decided to have Oh! - the petite filet mignon rubbed with blue cheese. It was clearly a night of comfort foods to prepare us for the largest amount of exercise (in one day) that we've ever had. This, of course, cracked our daughter up. She said, "Oh, do we know two people who could use a gym membership for Christmas?" Ha. Ha. Very funny my girl.



Oh and the dessert was divine, but we were all so full that we only shared just this one. How cool is this?



Anyway, SD drove back to her apartment in West Hollywood and we walked back to the hotel to watch 'The Proposal' (another suggestion of SD's), which is a total hoot and and a half. Definitely worth the watch. Sandra Bullock at her funniest and best. I laughed even harder than I laughed at The Hangover. I actually even stayed up until the end, which is more than I can say for Mr. (Party Animal) Snoots. He was already sawing logs ten minutes into the movie. Sure, it's a *chick flick* but it's still worth a watch for the laugh factor.



Stay tuned to see if we actually make it to Disneyland and The California Experience... It could happen.