The Nickel Mine, West LA's New Neighborhood Social House

by @btsunoda

The Nickel Mine is a brand new bar located in West LA. I hesitate to call it a bar because it is so much more than that. It’s located on Santa Monica Blvd and there is no sign on the building. I guessed I was in the right place because from the outside, I saw a few big screens with the Dodgers playing. Due to the large picture windows, the interior of The Nickel Mine is full of indirect light. The walls are lined with aged brick. Bar height tables and chairs line the center. Regular height seating is available along the windows. On the west side of the bar, they have comfortable couches and chairs. With the bookshelf along the wall, it mimics the appearance of someone’s reading room. I like the fact that they have games (e.g., Connect 4, Zenga) available throughout the bar. Their menu is quite extensive. It’s broken down into grub, brunch, wine, beer, cocktails, whiskey, scotch, bourbon, tequila, mezcal, gin, and rum. Ten draft beers are available. I was surprised to see the Chicken and Waffles were made with a Belgian waffle on the brunch menu.

The Garlic Knots are served with a spicy marinara sauce on the side.

Knowing that I was going to try a few different offerings, I promised myself that I would only eat one. Wrong. There was something about these piping hot garlic knots combined with the marinara sauce that made it so addicting to eat.

The Chicken Caesar Salad was topped with large slices of chicken breast, shaved parmesan and crunchy croutons.

What made the salad surprising was the fact that the romaine lettuce was extremely fresh and crisp. An assortment of wings was served next: Buffalo, Teriyaki and Lemon Garlic. Despite my strong inclination to prefer something other than Buffalo wings, I’d have to say it was my favorite among the three.

Coincidentally, it was National Beer Day. To celebrate, I had samplers of some of their draft beers.

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Prova Pizza, West Hollywood's Newest Italian Pies

Pizza lovers in West Hollywood should rejoice with the opening of Prova Pizza, serving up Italian style pies at a reasonable price. Prova is the new restaurant from Vito Iacopelli, who was head chef of Michael's Pizzeria in Long Beach.

Now, he's bringing his 100-year old recipes to the wood burning oven in West Hollywood (he also has an oven for his catering trailer, in case you're planning a party soon)

The signature pie at Prova is the "Vesuvio" (salame di Napoli, fresh ricotta, mozzarella, ground pepper, San Marzano tomato, fresh basil, olive oil, $18)

After placing the toppings, a thin layer of dough is placed at the top before baking in the oven again. This makes the top layer puffs up. He then pokes a hole in the middle after taking it out of the oven, letting the hot air escapes through a hole, sort of imitating a smoking volcano.

Iacopelli also brought the most beloved pie from Michael's, dubbed "La Vito" (mortadella, pistachio, oregano, stracciatella, $14)

Mortadella sits atop the pie, and stracciatella (shredded burrata) is layered over them, and pistachio crumbs is scattered throughout. The chef, who hails from Puglia, either makes the stracciatella in house or gets it made by a fellow Puglian. I really liked the fresh cheese, which I think makes the whole pie.

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Sushi Omakase and More at Hamasaku

Full disclaimer: I came here on a hosted media lunch, but I had also come back twice after that on my own dime (granted one of them was using the 30% off from the awesome Blackboard Eats). Hamasaku in West LA has actually been open for many years and is a Zagat favorite, but for some reason I hadn't really heard much about it and had not been until I was invited in. I've missed out! This place was great.

The omakase listed on the menu ($75) actually includes a lot of cooked items, so here's a tip: Go on any other day but Monday and sit at the sushi bar, preferably in front of the sushi chef, Yoya, who used to work at Sashi in Manhattan Beach.

My sushi lunch omakase started with some Uni with fried Yuba (tofu skin)

Big uni pieces and so fresh, but the best part is the contrast with the crunchy yuba. What a wonderful start to my lunch!

Next, a sashimi plate of: Blue fin tuna, aji snapper, young king mackerel, octopus. Served with kabosu (a sort of citrus) paste

Agedashi tofu. I always love the delicately fried agedashi tofu and the broth

 Big eye tuna from Hawaii

This tuna is very rich and fatty, almost like a chu-toro. Loved it. For the sushi they use haiga-mai (half-milled) rice. It's half way between brown and white rice so it has more nutrients than white rice but tastes just like white rice.

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My Vienna: An Austrian Gelato Cafe in Beverly Hills

My Vienna invokes an Austrian gelato cafe in the middle of Beverly Hills. Austrian former pro-tennis player Spin Mylnarik learnt the ropes of gelato making from a master in Austria for his wife, who loved the gelato she had in Europe.

Don't you also want a hot pro-athlete to learn how to make gelato and open up a cafe for you?

Here, you won't sit down with your gelato in paper cups. The gelato is properly served in tin cups with a glass of water. All paper cups are strictly for to-go orders only - that is, you'd have to leave the premises with it. He aspires to the cafes in Europe where people spend time sitting down and enjoying their gelato.

The gelato itself is excellent. The Nocchilone (chocolate hazelnut) is a bestseller here, and the European Cookies flavor is the staff favorite. I also like the fruit sorbets, especially the cantaloupe. In fact, I thought the gelato was so good that I had to get a whole styrofoam container to go (you can get 4 flavors to go for $14).

The coffee and teas served here are strictly Austrian.

Sacher Torte and Austrian pastries are made in-house, and gelato cakes are available with special order.

During lunch you can get salad, sandwich, and a small gelato for $10.95. There's a lot of metered parking in the back (which is free after 6pm).

My Vienna Gelato and Coffee
9461 S Santa Monica Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 246-0359
http://www.myviennagelato.com

Specialty's Cafe & Bakery: Westside's New Grab & Go Breakfast and Lunch

Specialty's Cafe & Bakery recently opened up shop in an office building on Santa Monica Blvd, just next to the 405. Their menu offers salads, sandwiches, soups, and of course baked goods. Perfect for the office worker.

You can either order from the computer kiosks or go to an actual person at the register. For the busy workers, they take orders online so you can just come and pick it up right away.

They will validate for 1 hour parking so you can enjoy your quick meal in the dining room.
I knew nothing about Specialty's before, but apparently this San Francisco-founded-and-based business now has 30 stores in California, Washington State, and Illinois. Being a bakery, they also make everything from scratch.

Specialty's has actually partnered with Peet's Coffee and there is always a Peet's inside each Specialty's store serving your drinks. I tried the Jasmine Lime iced tea which I actually really liked. I've been meaning to return to a Peet's soon to have this again, especially now that the real summer is underway.
I was invited to their pre-launch party where we were given $10 to spend. I came for breakfast so I decided to try one of their breakfast sandwiches: the Southwestern Egg & Cheese Breakfast Sandwich.
Made with their ciabatta roll and cheddar, their eggs are mixed in with salsa, peppers, and corn. The toasted ciabatta was light with a nice crunchy crust, but the overall combination with the egg was too dry for my taste. I couldn't taste the salsa and I do think either the eggs could be cooked less or use more cheese. I did like the flavor that the corn added. Well, I just like corn.

The triple chocolate mini bundt cake ($2.49) on the other hand was so moist and rich. I loved the strong chocolate flavor.
They were also passing out bites of other baked goods, including their brownies (try their Lover's Lane brownie for something decadent. I really enjoyed this double fudge brownie topped with coconut and walnut).

Specialty's is really gearing up for people to pre-order on the phone and online. All the phone calls are directed to a central line - you won't get people actually working at your location picking up the phone, they need to be busy serving their customers. It's an interesting model, but hey, online orders are convenient. For those working in the area, it's a welcome addition to Zankou and Yoshinoya. I'd be grabbing some bundt cake or brownie and a cup of Peet's iced tea from time to time.

Specialty's Cafe & Bakery
11150 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(877) 502-2837
www.specialtys.com