A Summery Santa Monica Saturday

I had a wonderful Saturday last weekend! I took the bus (boo to gas prices and traffic) out to Santa Monica to have lunch with my dear friend Phil and then we saw a movie at the L.A. film fest before heading back to the east side where we had a rousing game night that culminated in our drunken gang of kooks going to dance the night away at Akbar.

(The movie we saw was "Must Read After My Death." I liked it, Phil did not.)

We lunched at Real Food Daily and while I've been to the WeHo location many times, I've never been to this one by the sea. Phil had the Ciao Bella sandwich which is portabello mushrooms, red peppers, and pesto on hemp bread and I had the Mexicali chop salad which is your basic Mexican salad but it's set apart by RFD's own lime-cilantro dressing. It usually comes with tortilla strips but I had them taken off in an attempt to cut the calories a tad. We also both had the roseberry ice tea which our server recommended, but that was a total bust: paying 3 bucks for watered down apple juice with a pink hue is not my idea of a good time.

I loved the chop so much the last time I had it that I ran to ye olde local public library branch and copied the recipe for the dressing from the RFD cookbook. And here it is, a gift from me to you:

Real Food Daily's Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette
1/3 cup coarsely chopped red onion
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp brown rice syrup
2 tbsp brown rice vinegar
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro

Process the onion, lime and lemon juices, rice syrup, vinegar, coriander, salt, cumin, and cayenne peppers in a food processor or blender until smooth. With the machine running, gradually add the oils. Add the cilantro and process just until is is finely chopped. Season the vinaigrette to taste with more salt and cayenne pepper, if desired.


Real Food Daily
514 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401