Click on images below to enlarge:
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| Brunch at Gjelina
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| We went to Gjelina
for brunch. Despite the crowd visible in this picture, we didn't have
to wait for long.
| While we waited, we ate our beef wrap from the previous day. It was
delicious. It was like it was wrapped in a roti prata. It may be
slightly better than the other wrap. The only
difference I think is that this wrap has a layered crust.
| We ate in the back patio.
| Our corner of the lovely backyard courtyard. It's nicely refurbished
and welcoming with sun and vines.
Also, I like how Di Yin is peering
at the camera in this picture.
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| Gjelina's lofty, open-air interior is nice too. Also, don't miss the
funky chandelier at left.
| "Marinated beet & avocado with citrus, sherry, and toasted hazelnuts"
salad. Good, though I thought the orange was too zingy and overpowered
the other flavors when eaten in the same bite.
| "Duck sausage, nameko mushroom, garlic, and mozzarella" pizza, plus
various topping at bottom-right and a side of Niman Ranch bacon in the
background. Good. Lots of umami flavors. The duck sausage tasted
unusual for meat but was not particularly weird or game-y. It resembled
beef sausage more than chicken sausage.
The bacon was fairly standard, good quality, nicely crispy bacon.
| "Ricotta gnocchi with brown butter and truffle honey." These were an
odd version of gnocchi--the gnocchi were stuffed with a ricotta. I've
never heard of stuffed gnocchi before. This was not much my thing.
Incidentally, I definitely noticed when it arrived because the truffle
smell was strong.
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| "Burrata with grilled peach, prosciutto, arugula, and balsamic."
Burrata is an Italian, milky, semi-soft cheese. I say decent, but then
I'm not much of a fan of burrata. Di Yin really liked the grilled
peaches here (barely visible in this photograph). She spotted a tray of
them by the entrance to the restaurant and ordered this dish because it
included them.
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Gjelina's menu, by the way, includes lots of obscure beers and wines. I
don't recognize any, and it's a long list!
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| Venice
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| A dim sum food truck in a parking lot on Abbot Kinney in Venice.
| Abbot Kinney has some regular houses (pre-dating zoning?) dotted among
its commercial establishments.
| A sample of the commercial shops on the street.
| Another sample. Notice how this old house has been converted into
retail space.
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| Route 152
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| The view north from route 152 on the way home. This reservoir is the
O'Neill Forebay. It's a bit east of the San Luis Reservoir.
| Low-lying hills as seen across the O'Neill Forebay. Again, I took this
picture from a moving car.
| I continue to like the grooves in the hills / the way the hills have
eroded along highway 152.
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| | | The San Luis Reservoir, from an angle that I never previously
photographed.
As it was an hour before sunset, the light was good.
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| Yup, the Sun Luis Reservoir is large.
| Cows, as seen from the part of 152 much closer to 101 than the previous
series of shots.
| Another shot of the cowfield and hills, sans cows.
| An overgrown field with a spotted horse.
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