Grand Baja Treat: Sol Cocina Playa Vista

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With a dynamic menu, a cool look, and strong service, Sol Cocina has taken root in the new Playa Vista Runway complex, offering beautiful food in a beautiful setting. Forget the re-fried beans and rice, this is Mexican cuisine the way it was meant to be served and prepared.

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A covered patio caters to warm SoCal nights; inside the modern, rich dark wood and gold light makes a romantic setting. The glass-walled, open kitchen allows diners to see the magic being made under the auspices of executive chef Deborah Schneider and chef de cuisine Tia Baker.

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This isn’t the first time Sol Cocina’s sophisticated Baja-based cuisine has been brought North, partners Rich Howland and Matt Baumayr have restaurants in Newport Beach and Scottsdale. The partners have taken what Howland describes as a “leap of faith,” opening in Playa Vista, where some 80% of residences are not yet fully occupied. But diners living far from the planned Playa Vista community are filling the tables, drawn to this inventive, flavorful cuisines.

SOL Cocina - Grilled Agave Shrimp Taco

Howland notes “This is authentic, non-Americanized cuisine. We have 27 different salsas made fresh in-house. We use no jars or bottles, everything is fresh.”

From the seafood samplers to specialty tacos, drinks, and desserts, there’s something flavorful for everyone to enjoy. We loved our tasting experience on an early-open press night, and can’t wait to come back for a full meal. The menu strongly leans towards the pescatarian, which is exactly our style.

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The beautiful Just Chillin’ includes Gulf shrimp, crab, mussels, and oysters on the half shell. The Tropical Ceviche comes spicy with Habanero chiles, tropical fruit, cucumber, avocado, and catch of the day marinated in lime and orange juices, fresh squeezed.

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Not only is the seafood fresh, it is also sustainable, from oysters to the TJ Whole Fried Fish, served with warm tortillas and salsas – ready to be made into a fresh at the table fish taco.

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Grilled sweet, street-style corn is also cut at the table, served with butter, lime, chile, and cotixa cheese with a drizzle of chipotle. Possibly my favorite taste was the Peel & Eat Shrimp roasted in the shell with garlic, Cotixa cheese, lemon and chile.

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Vegetarians are hardly forgotten in the dining experience, with offerings such as a Spice-Roasted Butternut Squash with crispy onions, and a mushroom taco. Beet & Watermelon salad comes with crunch Pepita brittle for a sweet and salty addition to queso fresco, red onion, arugula, and watermelon with lemon basil vinaigrette.

SOL Cocina - Beet & Watermelon Salad

Vegan and gluten-free options are also available, and carnivores will find surf and turf options that include a grilled Angus filet, and deep-fried duck leg confit among the offerings on the menu.

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And the guacamole – it’s amazing.

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Press night included wonderful drinks and dessert tastings, too. From frozen margaritas to cucumber/jalapeno, watermelon, and blackberry/ginger margaritas, Sol makes excellent use of their 70 plus tequilas. We also watched a demonstration of the creation of a “fish bowl” offered for groups, featuring champagne, tequila, fresh frozen fruit, and Cointreau, as beautiful to look at as it is to taste. These are craft-cocktails at their best.

We found the ultimate indulgence in Nachos Dulces, warm tortilla chips that are dusted with cinnamon sugar, drizzled with dulce de leche, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, toasted almonds, and crushed Ibarra chocolate. Pretty amazing.

Can’t wait to try it? We’ll be heading back soon for lunch or dinner – why not join us – for a taste of Baja right here in LA.

Sol Cocina is located at 12775 W. Millenium Drive, Playa Vista between Lincoln and Sepulveda off Jefferson Boulevard.

  • Genie Davis; Photos: Genie Davis and Sol Cocina

 

 

 

 

 

Botart: Barrels of Art for World Art Day

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Celebrating World Art Day, an exhibition featuring Botart International artworks offered barrels of fun and fine art at the Brewery arts complex on April 17th.

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Botart is a collection of art pieces produced on wooden wine barrels, featuring work by invited artists around the globe. These beautiful free-standing pieces are as varied as the artists chosen to create them. At the far right, the beautiful glowing pastel of Hung Viet Nguyen’s barrel.

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Above, artist Cynthia Friedlob created “Tipitina,” titled after the classic new Orleans jazz song that was this Los Angeles artist’s inspiration. “My art is inspired by jazz. I essentially created a Mardi Gras piece to lighten it up. There are beads on top of the barrel. The black stripes on the barrel represent city streets – it’s very much a New Orleans-style piece,” Friedlob explains.

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Hanging behind her barrel was her painting “Notes 101C” which is one of a series of paintings based on general chords and orchestral passages. “I was inspired by the great jazz towns of the 40s and 50s, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and St. Louis,” Friedlob says.

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Above, Yvonne Beatty with Baha Danesh.

Yvonne Beatty’s barrel is titled “Linear.”  The title refers to the way “wine” is written in a variety of languages. “I looked up the word, and each of the images on the barrel is based on a particular script in which the word ‘wine’ is written. What I discovered is that calligraphy is based on a actual being in the world. There is a ghost of a living creature in each script image,” she reports. Beatty’s both charming and pointed painting of another living creature, a squirrel armed with a gun, was hung behind her barrel.

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Titled “Phil,” Beatty says of this piece “I know this squirrel. He lives in my backyard. He’s protecting himself from hunting season for squirrels.” The hyper-realistic piece is created in acrylic ink and paint on canvas.

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Sunflowers burst from both an oil-on-canvas painting and the wine barrel created by Ada Pullini. “The painting is a sunflower field in Tuscany that I painted while burning up in the sun.” The heat and intensity still radiates.

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The exhibition was curated by Shawn Barrett, with creative direction from Andre Miliposky and Baha Danesh. A tour of a number of artists’ studios at The Brewery complex was organized by Dale Youngman.

Art work was also on display at Gallery I-5 in the Brewery complex.

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Above, the delicate, mosaic-like landscape of Hung Viet Nguyen. From trees, to sea,  the work depicts an internal, spiritual world as well as the external.

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  • Genie Davis; all photos: Jack Burke

 

Fresh and Fine: Fundraiser for South Bay Contemporary

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A beautiful sculpture by June Diamond graces the trees at the South Bay Contemporary fundraising gala, Fresh.  The piece, “Chain” will be installed at the Hollywood Sculpture Gardens in the Hollywood Hills in the next week, but for the gala event, it was one of a number of site-specific installations, creating a lush outdoor gallery.

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Held April 23 in the Italian-style courtyard of the Shriver estate in Rancho Palos Verdes, Fresh was exactly that, a bright and engaging artistic take on the fundraising scene.

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Above, video installation by artist Cie Gumucio, who describes her work as “sometimes whimsical, sometimes profound.”

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The mermaid skirt on the sculpture above was just one of several at the event, with additional, mylar-created pieces available to try on and dance in, all created by artist Beth Elliot.

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Above, the work of Rob Hutchins, retired mechanical engineer and vibrant sculptor.

The art highlight of the evening was for us the the beautiful sculpture garden installed, with a wide ranging variety of pieces from artists such as Cansu Bulgu, who created Transformative Sand drawing sessions; a vibrant video installation by Cie Gumucio (above); Taco Bell sauce tarot readings from Chrysanthe Oltmann; sculpture created from tire shavings by Nate Jones;  a brilliant kinetic wind sculpture by Rob Hutchins (above); as well as pieces by Anne Olsen Daub, June Diamond (top of article), Jake Dotson, Beth Elliot (above), Jan Govaerts, Patty Grau, Theatrium Elysium, and Thinh Nguyen.

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Above, artist Sylvia Greer with her table centerpiece.

Silent Auction Sculptural Center Pieces created magic in the courtyard and was donated by many artists who will also have their work displayed in the upcoming Skyline exhibit May 7th at SBC’s Loft in San Pedro. Participating artists included Anita Dixon, Lauren Evans, Patty Grau, Sylvia Greer, Nicholette Kominos, Connie DK Lane, Carolyn LaLiberte, Kristen Marvell, Karrie Ross, Denis Richardson, Peggy Sivert, Ron Therrio, Tracey Weiss, Jaye Whitworth, June Diamond, and Ben Zask.

South Bay Contemporary director Peggy Sivert Zask, said the evening was about “unity” as much as it was a fund raiser to support SBC and the culture of contemporary art in the South Bay. Certainly attendees were unified in their enjoyment of the asparagus crostini, chicken alfredo, crab cakes, and quinoa salad, the fun and fruity mixed drinks and homemade wines, and fun touches like the silver mylar mermaid skirts for swirling, live music, and the chance to peruse the art-filled auction tables.

Stay Fresh, South Bay Contemporary – and readers, don’t hesitate to volunteer to support SBC, through donations, attendance at events, and administrative support. Founder Peggy Sivert Zask is looking to welcome a wide community into the artistic fold south of LAX.

  • Genie Davis, Photos: Jack Burke, Ron Hutchins’ sculpture photo by Gloria Plascencia

The Superhero and his Charming Wife: It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a play

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Based on his own dream, Aaron Hendry, artistic director of Not Man Apart, wrote and directed The Superhero and his Charming Wife, running through May 18th at the 18th Street Performing Arts Center in Santa Monica.

This vibrant performance includes incredible dance and physical moves by an absolutely first rate cast. You’ll never look at sheets of plastic the same way again after you see them transformed into living waves. Performers dance on boards carried by stagehands/background performers, there are leaps, dances, and feats of daring-do as passionate as any that could be created by a caped hero.

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The fear of the unknown is the theme; demons, witches, wives that appear and disappear, whether a person is more than who he or she appears to be – all of these elements are addressed. Choreographed superbly by Michelle Broussard, you have a superhero who works for a living just like your average cop on the street, and his volatile marriage, made the more so by the fact that his wife can morph into different women. Played by Jones Welsh, the superhero craves order and reason; his wife Julie is either simply looking for herself or under the spell of a witch or demon.

This is both a lively if surreal hero’s journey and a pop cultural tour de force, complete with off-the-wall humor and fierce action.

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Not strictly plotted, this is a dreamscape and visual landscape on which emotions from fear to heroism to passion are writ large, scenes and set pieces resemble pages torn from a graphic novel, and the collective experience of the performances is magical and mysterious, evocative of the true superhero which is the human heart.

THE SUPERHERO AND HIS CHARMING WIFE  runs through May 15 Friday/ Saturday at 8:30 p.m.; and May 8 and 15 at 3:30 p.m. at Highways Performance Space at 18th Street Arts Center, 1651 18th Street, Santa Monica, 90404. For reservations and information, call (310) 315-1459 or visit http://highwaysperformance.org/.

  • Genie Davis; Photos: courtesy of production