Restaurant Review: Michael's (Santa Monica) A+

Date Dined: 5/20/06
Grade: A+

C and I went to Michael's on Saturday night (not too far from my old digs in Santa Monica) for a bit of a belated birthday dinner.

We've been there twice previously and been overwhelmed with the fine food, airy decor, and great service. This time was no exception. We started the meal with a seafood cocktail appetizer (which came with a sort of guacamole mousse...excellent). C had the Scottish salmon with beech mushrooms and artichoke ravioli. I had the seared Maine diver scallops with curried lentils du Puy in a butter lettuce sauce. Both were superb. We paired our meals with a 2002 Schweiger Chardonney. Normally we're not big white wine fans, but the Schweiger was a great accent, light and dry. For dessert C had the frozen banana and mascarpone parfait with rum roasted pineapple and fresh passionfruit caramel sauce while I ordered the deconstructed strawberry and rhubarb strudel with strawberry consomme and white chocolate sorbet, both exquisite.

For us, a restaurant's quality can easily be broken into three categories: food, atmosphere, and service. For all the nicer places we've dined at in the LA area, Michael's is still the tops when you combine all three categories.

Plus, it's always cool to see owner/master chef Michael McCarty (who we've seen on the Food Channel from time to time) going table to table and introducing himself, making sure everything and everyone is okay. Just adds a nice, personal touch to an already great place.