What You're Eating: Best Beet Salads in L.A.
A number of root vegetables have received their share of love over the years. Thankfully beets--like brussels sprouts--have transformed from the vegetable many people grew up hating to something many can't wait to order when they spot them on a menu. With access to farm fresh beets year round, many restaurants have created seasonal salads that showcase beets at their best.
Fishing with Dynamite
1148 Manhattan Avenue
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
(310) 893-6299
www.eatfwd.com
Fishing with Dynamite is more than just seafood, evidenced by the restaurant's new brunch menu and an array of influenced comfort dishes. There's also a visually striking, chunky beet salad with oranges, feta cheese, pistachios and beet chips. It's a mouthful, and you'll enjoy each bite.
Playa Provisions
119 Culver Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90293
(310) 683-5019
www.playaprovisions.com
Playa Provisions' multi-concept restaurant, bar and retail space is one of the PDR community's gems. The seafood restaurant, Dockside, serves a Beet & Heirloom Tomato Salad featuring sweet beets and colorful heirlooms with onions, haricots verts, fried garbanzo beans and a light sherry dressing. It's a bright, fresh salad for the summer with a little crunch.
Augustine Wine Bar
13456 Ventura Boulevard
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
(818) 990-0938
www.augustinewinebar.com
Sherman Oaks' newest wine bar, Augustine, boasts an impressive list of rare, vintage bottles, as well as small plates that will pair well with your favorite glass. The Root Vegetable Caesar is a mix of beets, carrots and parsnips with a horseradish dressing and a bit of fried capers. It's a little something sweet and a little something spicy that plays with the "rules" of traditional beet salads.
Ashland Hill
2807 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 392-3300
www.ashlandhill.com
Ashland Hill's beachside craft beer and wine garden vibe also includes small bites, toasts and shareable plates. Roasted Beets, Cheese & Seeds is a smattering of beets, goat cheese and watercress with sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, farro, a dusting of sesame ash and a lemon and tarragon vinaigrette. If you can't get enough beets, put in an order for the Roasted Baby Beets Toast--beets, whipped burrata cheese, pickled pearl onion and Saba on warm bread.
Artisan House
600 South Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 90014
(213) 622-6333
www.artisanhouse.net
Artisan House is a restaurant, bar and market that easily caters to the midday DTLA breakfast and rush crowds, in addition to nightly diners in the area. They serve a classic Baby Beets and Goat Cheese Salad with roasted hazelnuts, arugula and an orange vinaigrette. It's hard to go wrong with a pairing of beets and citrus.
My Two Cents
5583 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 938-1012
My Two Cents boasts a simple, bountiful Baby Beet Salad with roasted beets, mixed greens, feta, cranberries, shallots and a light vinaigrette. The sweet cranberries and mild shallots may have you thinking about the holidays despite the summer heat. Pair this salad with some of the restaurant's Southern-inspired fare, and you'll get why this spot is one of the city's soul food favorites.
Olive & Thyme
3821 Riverside Drive
Toluca Lake, CA 91505
818-557-1560
www.oliveandthyme.com
Olive & Thyme recently launched a new summer evening menu, and it features a Roasted Beet and Peach Salad with basil, feta and a beet reduction vinaigrette. Lucky for us, California peaches are available through the early fall, so this one should be on the menu for a while.
The Little Next Door
8142 West 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 951-1010
www.littlenextdoor.com
The Little Next Door introduced a new summer menu that includes its revamped Beet Salad. The dish is comprised of roasted beets, an abundance of goat cheese, mizuna, a hefty sprinkling of nutty granola and a drizzle of apple cider vinaigrette. The crispy, nutty clusters in the salad, along with all of that goat cheese, pair well with the soft, sweet beets.
Bowery Bungalow
4156 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 663-1500
www.bowerybungalow.com
Bowery Bungalow takes the beet and elevates it with modern, Middle Eastern flavors. When you order the Roasted Beets, the plate is an orchestrated mix of French feta cheese, toasted hazelnuts, sumac and sorrel. A sprinkling of red sumac adds a bright, slightly lemony flavor to the dish, in addition to the sorrel's mild tang, both of which go well with the salty feta.
