Lunch in Santa Monica on Montana Avenue

Today we took a walk to Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. To get to Montana it is lovely to take the Pacific Palisades Park walkway. It has a beautiful vista, which overlooks the ocean. The park has a good vibe and has some amazing coastal foliage and is a sweet spot for loungers, dog walkers, personal trainers, joggers, and fitness groups.

The walk crosses Montana Avenue. As you walk up the avenue you there are lots of small, high end boutiques, cafes, and restaurants. Honestly, Montana Avenue aesthetically is just an OK street. Personally I feel it lacks in character, in comparison to other shopping districts around the world. The beauty is its location, as it is a stones throw away from the Ocean. It also has a reputation, as well known entertainers are often spotted on this street.

Our first stop was at the yogurt shop Menchies. I always loved the concept of eating dessert first. Why not? The place is totally self serve. You pick your yogurt flavor or flavors and then doctor it up with decadent candies and fruits. My inner child was activated and I had to restrain myself from going nuts with all the abundance of treats. It was delicious.

We decided to eat on the go. As we were strolling, we had a random interaction with a lady who was carrying two coffee cups across Montana Avenue. Now that is a challenge! She looked very frazzled as she was trying to cross street and when she got to our side, she said to us, "Thank God you all are walking. You are my witnesses (if she got hit, she had implied), folks just do not stop around here." I have to say, she is totally right, folks driving in LA and Santa Monica rarely stop for anything. One has to always be on the uber defense, while walking, biking, and driving in So Cal. Interesting coincidence, today in the Huffington Post there was an entertaining and helpful article called How To Bike From Echo Park To Venice Beach Without Dying. The stereotype is very true; the car culture has turned folks into supremely crazy and self-serving drivers.

We continued to meander our way up the street and then decided to eat lunch at Cafe Montana. The ambiance is very nice. It has an open feel with floor to ceiling windows, great for people watching and great for feeling like one is in a fish bowl. The service was good. I ordered the eggs Benedict and Don had a chicken sandwich with buffalo mozzarella. The food was decent, but not amazing, and it was over-priced.

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But this experience did spark a philosophical discussion about napkins. What does the way a person handles a napkin tell about that person? I am so curious, I feel it could this be another form of self-analysis. Check out our napkins. Which is the lawyer's and which it the artist's? Ha! I would say mine is a sculpture.

Overall, our afternoon walk on Montana Avenue was a pleasant adventure.