Pampering Yourself in Santa Monica

So you've come to Southern California to visit. You've rented a car (you'll suffer without one). Now you should spend at least one day in Santa Monica, walking, eating and unwinding. Get a massage at Burke Williams day spa on Third St. It's worth the money -- an investment in happiness! Then walk around Third Street promenade, browse the stores, have some great fries at Benita's (dozens of sauces to dip!), have lunch at the Crocodile Cafe on Ocean and Santa Monica, go to the beach, and later on have a Caipirinha or a mojito at Border Grill! That's the life you deserve!

Quick Tips:

Carry sunscreen with you even in winter, you'll need it!

Best Way To Get Around:

A possibility in your trip to Southern California is to be based out of Santa Monica. There's lodging here for all budgets. Get yourself a rental car to get out of Santa Monica and enjoy the rest of the Los Angeles region. Within Santa Monica, you can walk around and leave your car in one of the public lots around Third Street promenade.

This is my favorite Indian restaurant in the Los Angeles area! (and I've tried about 15 in the vicinities of this one). All the curries I have tried are wonderful, and they come served in cute iron-cast bowls with candles underneath to keep them warm. I love the Chicken Tikka Masala (great creamy sauce!) and the Dal Mahkni (a great lentil and bean dish!) and the Saag Panner (spinach with homemade cheese, yummy!). Get some rice and garlic naan (Indian bread)to accompany your dishes. I also usually get a mango lassi to drink before the food arrives. I'm getting hungry just telling you about it!

Some of the best breakfasts in the area! Friendly staff, delicious food, and the best biscuits I have ever had in this wonderful family-run Scottish eatery! Very packed on weekends, this place offers free coffee (and sometimes free biscuits, if you're lucky) to those waiting. I always get eggs (they are big farm eggs with orange yellows!) and ham; it comes with home fries and the great biscuits I was telling you about. I always eat the biscuits first (with butter and jam) because I don't want them to get cold and also because I'm afraid to fill up before I get to them. Great selection of teas as well, which come (as all tea should), with huge teapots of water.

The Food Channel's Two Hot Tamales (Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken) run this beautiful and aventurous nuevo Latino restaurant. This place has a very imaginative menu that combines different Latin American cuisines to create a bold and delicious set of dishes. Great tapas, and amazing drinks. Sit at the bar and sip a superb caipirinha or mojito -- the margaritas are a cut above as well -- while you munch on the chips and salsa. All the entrees I've tried are excellent, but my favorite is the garlic shrimp. The decoration of this place, with huge lamps and colorful tables and paintings make it a very pleasant dining spot, and a true Southern California experience.

This is an easy-going restaurant with delicious sandwiches and pasta dishes. It's part of a small chain, but it's well above in quality to places like TGI Fridays, and much friendlier too. As you walk in you see cozy wooden booths and a corner view of the kitchen. Get a booth far from the patio door because it's often drafty. Or sit outside if it's nice and warm. My favorite dishes are the wings, the green salad, and the ravioli. They serve cheesecake from the Cheesecake factory, and it's quite good!

A cozy little cafe right on the beach boardwalk, Fig Tree's is a perfect excuse to go spend the morning (or afternoon) in Venice Beach. Only a few minutes away from Santa Monica (you could walk on the beach, or rent a bycicle if you have no car), you NEED to see Venice Beach before you leave Southern California. Great beach, lots of strange people walking, jogging or selling esoteric stuff, and some great houses particularly if you walk inland a bit (take Rose St., for example).

All right, back to the Fig Tree's Cafe -- small, friendly place, with great cakes and pastries (last night I went there and had the most delicious apple and pear cobbler served warm with vanilla ice cream on the side), and also many tasty sandwiches, pastas, and breakfast items. The far eastern ginger noodles are excellent (great udon noddles in a light ginger sauce with peanuts and grilled tofu), and so is the burrito (the latter is served with a perfect green salad). The chai is amazing, and it comes in a nice big cup, like you're at home. They also serve beer and wine, and they close at sunset, so go early. I actually watched the sun going down on the Pacific there last night while sipping my chai and munching on the cobbler -- what a view, and a happy belly, too!

Il Fornaio, "the baker" in Italian, is a beautiful restaurant with excellent pasta, good selection of wine, and amazing breads and desserts. Plus, it is across the street from the beach. Don't be discouraged from trying this eatery because it is part of a chain -- the food is actually outstanding, as is the service. The dining area is very cozy, with soft lighting and lots of wood and nice plants. I love the ravioli and the Caesar salad -- the portions are generous, so share a salad so you have room for dessert. Desserts are absolutely delicious! I have tried a bunch of them; perhaps my favorite is the flourless chocolate cake. You may want to only get a salad and make dessert the main course. This place would be great for a date, although the last time I went there was with a bunch of friends -- we had lots of fun, overate, and afterwards walked over to Third Street promenade to do some window shopping. What a treat!

This nice, cozy, little Italian neighborhood restaurant, very popular with locals, offers excellent dishes at resonable prices. Plus, the exciting, flexible menu allows you to mix and match from a long list of pastas and several delicious sauces, as well as add "toppings" to your pasta such as calamari or mushrooms. The ravioli and the spaghetti are outstanding with any sauce: I have tried the marinara, olive oli and garlic, and the creamy garlic and they are all yummy. My favorite, however, is the gnocci (a roundish potato dumpling pasta), and I get it with the olive oil and garlic and lots of parmesan! I forgot to say: start off with a salad -- they are wonderful and huge, so share the SMALL salad; it's plenty big for two. The specials are often superb, so consider getting whatever they are offering that day; once I had the best pumpkin ravioli. Rarely do I have room for dessert, but once I tried the banana pudding, and it was great. There are only about 15-20 tables in two dining areas, so this place fills up quickly -- it is a common sight to see people standing outside waiting for their numbers to be called, so call in advance or plan on an early dinner. They have VERY CHEAP & TASTY lunch specials, too.

Address: 1460 Fourth Street, Santa Monica
Phone: (310)587-3366
(other locations in the area include Pasadena and West Hollywood). There are separate facilities for men and women.

Here is where you come to get a massage, and I assure you that your face will glow afterwards for a couple of days! When I'm jet-lagged, I get a full-body Swedish massage here, and I feel alive again. It's a bit pricey (about $75 for an hour-long massage; you can get shorter treatments, or herbal baths for about $25), but it's a treat to your body and soul, so if at all possible please splurge and do it.

How does it work? Call in advance to make a reservation (earlier in the day may be enough notice). You need to make reservation on the phone, but you can check their ebsite for treatment descriptions and prices: www.burkewilliamsspa.com/
Arrive at the spa at least half an hour earlier so you can use the whirlpool and sauna. When you arrive, they give you a locker with a nice bathrobe and flipflops, and you can lounge around, read magazines, go to the sauna, sit in the jacuzzi, take a shower, eat fruit, or drink iced water while you wait for your treatment to begin. ENJOY!