Tender Greens – a Great Halfway Lunch Spot in Studio City

November 17, 2014 by 12 Comments

IMG_6531Salami and kale salad at Tender Greens in Studio City

I’m always looking for good restaurants or bars where I can meet friends who live or work on the other side of Los Angeles. If someone’s coming from Pasadena or Beyond, or the downtown LA area, I look for places near the 405/101 intersection. Studio City is not too far east of that for me, especially if the timing is right and there are no presidents in town or major car crashes on the freeway.

Tender Greens is worth a try for the food alone. And since there are no locations of this slow-food, fast-casual chain closer to Agoura Hills, a meetup with a far-flung pal gives you the perfect excuse to venture out to Laurel Canyon and Ventura Blvd. My friend and I dined there recently at the height of lunch hour on a Thursday as guests of the restaurant to check out their fare.

Yes, the location is a bit…tricky at the lunch rush hour. Parking for this complex on the southeast corner is available (and free for 3 hours with validation), but not quick. So get there ten minutes early and be patient. You will be rewarded.

tender greens studio city

Tender Greens’ setup is the typical fast casual style: order your food at one end of the counter, pick up some optional items and drinks along the kitchen line, and pay at the cashier at the end to receive your order number. Pick a table in the spacious and bright dining room or out on the balcony overlooking the heart of the east valley, and a server brings your meal to you.

tender greens grilled thai octopus saladGrilled Thai Octopus Salad

The star of the show here is the food: first you choose the lead character from among steak, chicken, tuna, or vegetables, then pick the stage. Want it in a sandwich? On a salad? Or with mashed potatoes and crusty bread? There are also twelve “big salads” on the menu at the Studio City location that have been shaped by chef Roy Arendse. Popular choices here are his Mushroom Salad, Salami and Russian Kale salad, and the Grilled Thai Octopus salad. All greens are grown at Scarborough Farms in Oxnard, and the mushrooms come from LA FungHI.

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Arendse also sent out the Backyard Marinated Steak with golden mashed potatoes and a simple spinach salad. This is just like a meal I would make for my family at dinnertime, except it was lovingly prepared by professionals and it was delicious. I can’t always guarantee that myself.

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Of all the lunch items my friend Romy and I sampled, noted above, the standout was the salami and kale salad. The mixture of flavors and the just-right amount of roasted garlic vinaigrette made this dish hearty enough to satisfy the appetite but light enough that you don’t go back to your family or work with a food baby that sits in your belly all day.

IMG_6654Mushroom salad with polenta croutons

I was partial to the polenta croutons served in the mushroom salad, which I noticed when Arendse mentioned that most items at Tender Greens can be made vegan, even these. “I just leave out the cheese,” he said. So I paid closer attention and took another bite. Delicious. I’m glad I’m not vegan because these “croutons” are perfect just the way they are.

tender greens chef Roy ArendseMe with chef Roy Arendse, and a tall drink of something

House made pineapple agua fresca and lemonade mixed with hibiscus tea were the drinks that accompanied our meal and they were light and perfect. There wasn’t much room for dessert – or so we thought. Everything is made on the premises and this being November, pumpkin is a featured ingredient. We tasted a pumpkin cupcake with brown butter cream (okay not tasted, devoured), pumpkin panna cotta with vanilla creme and pepita brittle, a simple delicious macaroon, and a favorite of Arendse’s, citrus olive oil cake. Its simple, moist flavor makes it perfect for dunking, he says.

tender greens desserts

Because we sampled so many dishes, there were leftovers to take home. I believe the true test of a restaurant salad is: will it stay good long enough to eat it again later? In this case the Tender Greens food didn’t have long to wait. My husband snorked it all down when he got home that night. His favorite was the octopus, which he couldn’t believe I had ordered. “It was for a story,” I said. “I had to.”

And I’m so glad I did.

Arendse is also known for his homemade pastas, which he adds to the menu at Tender Greens occasionally during dinner hours. Don’t pass the big board of specials when you go, because one of these or other surprise delights is bound to be on offer that day.

Tender Greens
12050 W. Ventura Blvd.
Studio City, CA 91604
(818) 432-7800

Some photos by Romy Schorr

Filed Under: Around Town, Food, Restaurants Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Learn How to Stress Less at Erewhon

November 14, 2014 by 18 Comments

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Erewhat?

No…Erewhon. It’s the organic natural foods store in Calabasas at the Summit shopping center off the Lost Hills exit of the 101.

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My kids and I popped in there for the first time since they recently opened, to check out Erewhon Chats, an in-store demo series that features experts, chefs, and demos. On that evening the topic was “Meatless Mondays,” and a lifestyle expert was talking about non-meat products you can use in recipes. Unfortunately, (depending on how you see it) my kids were starstruck by the store, and they decided that it was time to ogle the dishes in the deli case, or wander the aisles looking at all the packaged foods. So because if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, we took a stroll through the store to compare prices and selection with the stores where I normally shop.

The organic produce was beautiful and reasonably priced. I even caught my older son wondering about the spaghetti squash, which delighted me because  I thought maybe I could get him to taste it sometime. But no, he saw that Erewhon sells if for 99 cents a pound, and thought “Cha-ching!” We grew spaghetti squash in our garden this year (quite by accident) so he was thinking we could sell our crop!

The healthy foods on offer at Erewhon were intriguing to my kids, who wanted to know what kefir is, and spelt. “Where are the sweets?” asked the younger one, and I am sure they were present, but I managed to steer him back to the deli case, where the most delicious freshly prepared foods were on display. Attendees of the Erewhon Chat were given coupons for 20% off at the deli, so I took advantage of it.

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The boys ordered a giant vat of gluten free organic macaroni and cheese, which they inhaled. I got the vegan plate (might as well try something different!) which was tempeh chicken parmesan with non-cheese mozzarella, roasted vegetables, and maple glazed Brussels sprouts. Which I inhaled! (Actually I did save some for my carnivore husband because I wanted to see what he thought of it. He loved it!) The store also treated us to a bottle of freshly juiced…juice. They have a huge selection, and if you buy six they can go home with you in a nifty six-pack burlap carrying bag. The boys and I all loved the tart lemonade made with pure lemon juice, water, and honey.

Erewhon invites you to its next Chat, which is happening Thursday, November 20 at 6:00 PM. The topic is “Stress Less For the Holidays,” something I plan to do every year, don’t you?

Stress Less for the Holidays will feature experts on stress reduction-focused topics as nutrition, vitamins/supplements and acupuncture and demos, along with Q&A, tasty samples, featured products, and more!

Speaker: Monika Klein is a leading clinical nutritionist, weight-loss expert, and health and wellness advocate. She is the founder of Coaching for Health, LLC, creator of the Skinny Jeans Weight Loss Program™, and was the producer and host of Total Health Talk, a cable television show.

Speaker & Demonstration:Denise Noyer-Erez, L.Ac. is president of Integrative Medicine, a practice dedicated to treating women’s health through acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping and diet and nutrition.

Speaker: Superior Source Vitamins’ Matthew Supkoff will discuss the benefits of supplementation for diet, health concerns, energy and lowering stress. Superior Source Vitamins dissolve in seconds with no pills to swallow.

Demo: Siddha will present their flower essences and homeopathic remedies, such as Emotional Detox, Stress Relief and Sleep that help mediate the internal causes of disease.

Demo: Bulletproof will preview their Bulletproof Upgraded Coffee. Its smooth taste and antioxidant rich infusion will improve your performance and help with your focus and energy throughout the day.

Erewhon Market
26767 Agoura Rd.
Calabasas, CA 91302
(818)857-3366

Filed Under: Around Town, Local Businesses Tagged With: , , , ,

Halloween in the Bubble

November 12, 2014 by 27 Comments

Most people in these parts go trick-or-treating in one of three areas: Hempstead Street, Three Springs in Westlake Village, and Deerhill in Oak Park. When I say “most people” I mean most trick-or-treating aged kids and their parents that we know in Agoura Hills.

For our first Halloween as Agoura residents we went along with the popular trend and ventured off to Hempstead. I was impressed with the organization of the event – the streets into the neighborhood are closed off the car traffic, and emergency response teams and police are on hand just in case. Many of the houses are over-the-top tricked out in decorations and even operate as haunted houses. Of course everyone wants to go there.

But.

That year my kids were 5 and 3, and my husband did not come with us. They each took off in different directions, which is one thing when you’re walking along a normal street, but treacherous and nervewracking when that street is as crowded as Disneyland’s Main Street just after the fireworks.

Dude. It’s just too crowded for me. Plus because there were so many kids, they all had to stand in line at each house for their one piece of candy.

Every year since then, we’ve trick or treated here in our own neighborhood. Only every third house has a light on, and we only see a rare band of other kids out reveling, but it’s much easier for me to keep track of mine, and there’s no waiting in line. There’s no need for me to drive, find a unicorn parking space in the crowded streets around the target neighborhood, and chase my children through the crowds.

Also, it makes our neighbors feel good. There are some houses around here whose owners decorate like crazy, rigging up zombie mannequins that talk to you as you walk by, or full-on mock graveyards with things crawling out of the ground. But hardly anyone comes. Every time they open the door to my children’s cries of “Trick or treeeeeeeat!” each adult has joy on his or her face. “Wow, great to have you!” they say, or “We didn’t think we’d see any kids tonight!” And then they dump half their candy supply into my kids’ bags. After 45 minutes of this, my children are tired and their bags are full.

I know I am in the minority among parents in this town, but I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. Take a chance, I encourage you, and try trick or treating in your own neighborhood. Take back Halloween!

Sadly, this might be the last year I get away with this little family scenario. My boys were asking to go off with their friends this year, and I firmly denied. There were only a few tears, and in the end we had just as much fun as ever. But I’m not sure that will work next year. Sad trombone.

halloween2014

Filed Under: Around Town, Fun, Holidays Tagged With: , , , , , ,