By Amanda Cushman Real Simple Food
I HAVE BEEN INTERESTED IN THE dramatic transformation of Culver City from a sleepy suburb to a restaurant destination in the last three years. It seems that the city is really going for it now. Every week there is new construction under way and restaurants are two to a block now.
I recently visited Akasha, which specializes in new American cuisine, offering comfort food with sustainable ingredients. I was impressed by the physical space but under-whelmed by the food.
The bar is great with a long wine list and good service. Elegant and sexy — it’s a good place to meet friends or perhaps meet someone new.
We went with a few people and got seated right away. We all had wine, which was very good, and then waited for the bread to arrive. It took a while and was a strange sight when it did come as it was a small loaf, uncut served with a very small ramekin of butter and a butter knife.
No one really knew what to do but eventually we figured out that we were supposed to tear it into serving size pieces. This arrangement was very un-sophisticated and not only messy but awkward, not to mention that there wasn’t nearly enough butter. We asked for more, but it never arrived.
The appetizer we chose was a white bean hummus, which was nice, but the serving was miniscule for the over-inflated price of $8.
When our entrees arrived I was disappointed to see my friend sitting with a plate of just three scallops when she paid a whopping $28.
I think the idea of three of anything as small as a scallop served as an entrée is laughable, especially when my friend told the waiter she was going to split the dish with her friend. Maybe they could have thrown one more scallop on there if they had a little decency.
My entrée was a pizza and salad and the latter was very good. The pizza though was worse than bad. There was a tough crust, no sauce to speak of, three strands of basil and hardly a hint of cheese.
The price for this small rectangle of chewy dough was $12. I kept thinking I could have gotten a whole pizza for four for that price at the local place in my neighborhood. Who were they kidding.
We were not satisfied and needed more food so we ordered dessert which was an assortment of cookies (3) and an apple tart. The cookies were okay although over-priced at $8 and the tart was passable.
So my impression of the place is this; they have a beautiful place to have a glass of wine at the bar and skip the rest.
The place is quite large so the rent must be high which explains the prices for the inadequate portions and medium level food. There is a claim on the menu that the food is all organic and they use local produce. I am all for that but please give me some flavor and make sure your clients are satisfied.
That said I make a simple and delicious pizza at home that would be put Akasha to shame. Try it for yourself.
AMANDA CUSHMAN is a culinary educator who has cooked professionally for 25 years. She teaches privately for groups of two to 20 students. She has developed hundreds of recipes for cookbooks as well as food magazines and Web sites. She
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 22, 2008. Read the original PDF.