Lemonade L.A. - a.k.a. Leah's Dream Lunch Spot

We managed to make it to the beach!

     When on the road you manage to eat out a lot…well, always.  In Boulder, we never went out to eat – partly because we try to eat healthy, and partly because we were poor grad students (mostly the latter).  Anyway, now all we do is eat out which has certainly shocked our systems.  Hence, when we find healthy, delicious options for food, we are fine with returning to the same establishment multiple times in one week (hence why we enrolled in the My Panera rewards program).

     Fortunately, after visiting Dole Headquarters while in L.A. we stumbled upon a nice neighborhood with a glorified outdoor shopping area and a sign for a restaurant that simply read, “lemonade.”  We were unfamiliar with this place, but an ice cold lemonade sounded delightful.  Certain they would have lemonade we ventured in to give it a try, despite our uncertainty of what the food would be like.   We came to find, simply put, it was divine.  I had walked into my eating habit heaven and I was floored with wonderful, albeit many, choices.  Read on.

     As far as I know, lemonade is only in California and there are limited locations; however, in our short time there we managed to visit two locations: Westlake Village and Manhattan Beach.  When we arrived at the restaurant in Westlake Village, I was flustered by the choices, deciphering between market options, sandwiches, braises, soups, etc. and the school cafeteria-esque way in which you placed your order. Plus, the menu posted behind the counter is no help since it doesn't list all the options.  Luckily, since we went out of our way to Manhattan Beach in order to enjoy lemonade again, I made sure to check the menu online ahead of time and our second time there I ordered like a champ.

This is only half of the amazing market portion options!

    Now you are wondering why I love this place.  I like to pick at different things when I eat.  A bite of this, a bit of that, a taste here, a forkful there, bites from others’ plates – you get the idea.  I am the annoying person that can never decide what they want, asks everyone else what they plan to order, and then make sure everyone is willing to share part of their meal with me.  My best friend and former roommate Amy was the first to point out my quirky eating habits, and made me realize how often I pull out leftovers, take a bite out of each of them and put them back.  What can I say, I have a hard time making decisions.  In addition to "picking" I also love salads with all sorts of toppings and flavor combinations.  Picture side items such as three bean salads or roasted veggie quinoa salads or cold noodle salads or leafy green salads or roasted vegetable salads with bulgur.  Let’s put it this way, the Whole Foods salad bars excite me more than I can explain because they have countless little salad like options. 

From Left to right: Broccoli, Ricotta and Champagne Vinaigrette - Brussels sprouts, red flame grapes, pistachio, parmesan - Orecchiette, asparagus, perlini mozzarella, sorrel - Pineapple chicken, green beans, coconut, apple jerk dressing

     Anyway, to my point, at lemonade the first thing you can order are portions from the market.  There are about 15 - 20 different choices of salads / sides to choose from and you can order 1 – 6 portions. You can get 1 to go with a sandwich, soup or braise, or you can get 4 or 5 portions for a filling lunch and still have enough leftover for dinner.  The options were endless, but all were healthy, flavorful and catered to my “picking” and undecisive eating habits.  This place allowed me to eat about 4 different side salads as my meal.  It was like I had walked into a culinary heaven that was made for me.

Clockwise: Crunchy cabbage, sunflower seeds, black bean vinaigrette - Brussels sprouts, red flame grapes, pistachio, parmesan - Italian chop vegetables, garbanzo, gruyere - Soba noodle, kimchi marinated vegetables, toasted peanuts - Watermelon radish, ahi tuna, snap peas, black sesame, ginger

Blueberry Mint and Cucumber Mint Lemonade

    Don’t worry, it gets better.  Remember, we entered this gourmet dream because of the appeal of a large glass of lemonade and boy, were our expecations exceeded.  They not only had old-fashioned lemonade they had the most flavorful and refreshing lemonade flavors I have ever tasted.  Better than 5 cent roadside lemonade from an eight year old, too.  We tried blueberry mint lemonade, pineapple cardamom lemonade and our favorite for it’s refreshing and soothing taste - cucumber mint lemonade. They also served a blood orange lemonade, watermelon rosemary lemonade, spinach pineapple lemonade, guava limeade and arnold palmers. 

    On our first trip we both had two sides along with a sandwich for me and a miso short rib braise for Lucas.  We both loved our meals and were determined to find other locations where we could have this again, knowing we would not be as far north as Westlake Village againi.  However, on the second trip in, we both stuck to what was the most delicious part of our first meals - portions from the market.  We loaded up on a bit of this and a bit of that, and were able to stretch the deliciousness through both lunch and dinner.  Mmmmmmm Mmmmmmm.  We loved every bite of our meals, and we didn’t even venture into the white truffle mac and cheese and the plentiful, mouthwatering dessert options.  

Dinner with the Walrath Clan!

     I may argue lemonade could be ranked in the top three for the best meals on the trip thus far… and don’t worry, we have been eating quite well.  Best meal definitely goes to a homemade meal with the Walraths - cousins on my Mom's side that live in L.A.  This included a homemade meal that included a reunion with family, a beautiful view, many items fresh from the Walrath garden, a trip in Bruce's VW Bus and homemade hot fudge...nothing can top that (which reminds me, I need to blog about that)!! Second best goes to a splurge we made for a delicious meal in Bend, OR and lemonade may win for the #3 spot.  We loved it and I kept saying how we needed something like lemonade in Boulder because it would be a hit!

     As we venture into Arizona (and as I sit on the side of I-10, in the middle of nowhere, in the heat of the desert, with a blown tire and the closest mobile tire replacement company 80 miles away) I am beginning to think about what types of infused lemonade we can attempt to make while we are in Arizona for the next two week.  Weather forecast is calling for 118 degrees on Saturday, so my guess is we will yet again be craving a tall, ice-cold lemonade.  Will keep you posted if we can recreate something as wonderful as what we had in L.A!

 On a side note - we saw this truck as we left L.A. and headed to AZ.  It is hard to tell, but if you look closely you can see that person is hauling a dog and multiple goats, among other things...