Jack N Jill's

In honor of their new restaurant opening, I wanted to pay homage to Jack N Jill's. With one location in Beverly Hills and one in Santa Monica, there are certainly rich families filling the seats, but it's not due to high prices. It's all about the great food, great location, and great atmosphere. Chase and I have come here a couple of times and really enjoyed it both times. For one of the first times since the creation of this blog, I am having a hard time remembering what I ate here. I do recall once having the California pear salad (pears, peppers, feta, raspberries, walnuts in a citrus vinaigrette), which I remember being good. Looking over the menu again, everything sounds great, especially the breakfast goodies. I believe the second time we were here is was for breakfast, and I tried the Savannah Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes. Yum! Good reason to believe that their new restaurant, The Creperie, on Robertson will have superb breakfast! Other intriguing dishes on the Jack N Jill's menu include the Malted Belgian waffles, country fried steak sandwich, chicken ponzu wrap, and last but not least, the Louisiana Banana Pudding. The atmosphere is very relaxed and family friendly; don't expect anything fancy here. Free 2 hour parking is available up the street and you can do a little shopping on the way back to the car.

http://www.eatatjacknjills.com/home/bh_menu.html

Tender Greens

If you think salad is all you can get at Tender Greens in the heart of Culver City, think again. While leafy greens are the staple of the restaurant, there are several other options as you go through the buffet style line. If you want to start with a salad but have an entree of a bit more substance you can choose a simple salad. Simple salads come in Caesar, spinach, arugula, red and green butter lettuce, and mixed green varieties. Heartier salads also have a Caesar, but have more options with a Chinese chicken salad, cobb, Ahi tuna, grilled veggie, bbq chicken, and flatiron steak salads. Many of the same items can be found on the entree menu as well, which can be served either as a traditional entree with a side of mashed potatoes or on a sandwich with a side simple salad. If you are in the mood for soup, Tender Greens has both chicken soup and tomato soup. The best part is that nothing on the menu is priced over $10, a small price to pay for the taste and quality of food that you are getting. A value this great doesn't come without some other price to pay and that usually comes in the form of long lines out the door during lunch hours. I've only been for dinner, when the line was not a problem and we were able to easily find a table. The actual interior of the restaurant is pretty small and I think there are only a few if any tables inside. The outdoor patio that backs up to neighbor restaurant Ford's Filling Station is where most of the seating is, so this is probably more of a fair weather place. Of course, Tender Greens also does catering, so there's always the option to enjoy it at a place of your choosing! With free 2 hour lots in downtown Culver City, there's really no reason not to try this place. It's worth it!

http://www.tendergreensfood.com/

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