For dineLA.com
Los Angeles County features hundreds of miles of trails with views of the city and ocean, and while it can be an adrenaline rush to kick up some dust and build up a sweat, life certainly becomes sweeter (and more savory) with a post-hike reward.
Finish hiking the loop at Fryman Canyon and reinvigorate your system nearby with Sattdown’s spice-soaked creations. Chef Tony Hyde built a Jamaican oasis in a Studio City strip mall, complete with a sky-blue ceiling lined with clouds and bamboo fencing. Signed photos from local actors and actresses surround a laminated poster of Bob Marley, who might as well be the patron saint of Hyde’s homeland. A white board touts specials like fish tea soup and rum cake, but don’t neglect lip-tingling classics like jerk chicken, which features plenty of punch from habanero, garlic and mysterious “ground spices.” Sattdown bottles their jerk seasoning and “Tearful of Joy” hot sauce, which screams fire orange. Bring the heat before cooling down with Jamaica’s version of an agua fresca, including one made with purple sorrel and ginger.- Sattdown Jamaican Grill, 11320 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, 818.766.3696, www.sattdownjamaicangrill.com
Hammerhead sharks, scallop shells and spiny lobsters cling to the walls at this tiny Duarte taqueria, which isn’t far from several San Gabriel Mountain trailheads. A quintet of tables and an overhead menu are the other design “highlights.” Not that it matters. What Tacos Ensenada lacks in décor, chef-owner Adolfo Gonzalez makes up for in food. The Sinaloa native spent time in the border town of Tecate, where he developed an interest in Baja-style fish tacos. Yes, they’ve got plenty of lime-soaked ceviches, soups and seafood cocktails, but people flock to Duarte for the tacos. They’ve got crispy fish and shrimp tacos dressed with a judicious amount of crunchy cabbage and ranch dressing. Swing by the salsa bar for radishes, tangy escabeche (pickled carrots and onions) and chile dusted guero chiles to complement the tacos.- Tacos Ensenada, 2171 E. Huntington Dr., Duarte, 626.359.4959
After a run, hike or mountain bike in the Santa Monica Mountains, head due south to the Brentwood Country Mart, where Carol and Steve Salita have owned Reddi Chick since 1979. Order at the counter and carry a red tray topped with cardboard boats to an umbrella-shielded table or to the central octagon shaped fire pit, which is ringed with benches. Whole chickens and racks of ribs are roasted on the charcoal-backed rotisserie until the exteriors become nice and crusty. Sides include crispy fries dusted with a secret spice blend, sweet baked beans folded with bits of pork or cole slaw. Reddi Chick also offers 30 types of baked potatoes, chicken tenders and fried seafood baskets. Still craving something extra? Head next door to Edelweiss candy kitchen for a chocolate truffle or turtle.- Reddi Chick, 225 26th Street, Santa Monica, 310.393.5238, www.brentwoodcountrymart.com/food/food_reddi
Climb the three prongs of dusty Runyon Canyon, which features nearly as many aspiring actors as dogs, and finish below with Persian-tinged ice cream from brothers Mashti and Mehdi Shirvani. A rundown strip mall houses their colorful parlor, which hosts well worn tables inside and a trio of metal tables outside. Flavors inspired by the brothers’ northern Iranian upbringing include creamy rosewater, orange blossom and ginger rosewater. They also have some unusual sorbets like faludeh (rosewater with rice vermicelli strands, sour cherry faludeh and herbal snow (rosewater ice with basil seeds, lemon, cardamom, Arabiangum and more). Feeling less adventurous? No problem. Just order the more traditionally American flavors like chocolate chip and peanut butter cup. No matter the flavor, they press ice cream sandwiches to order between twin wafer discs. Rosewateter saffron ice cream studded with pistachios is the preferred filling. They’ve also got a Clone Cone, which involves sugar cones on the top and bottom with ice cream in the middle.
- Mashti Malone’s, 1525 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood, 866.767.3423, www.mashtimalone.com
Malibu Seafood was already convenient for hikers, but now that their neighbor is the Sara Wan trailhead at Corral Canyon Park, it’s easier than ever. Follow a 2.5-mile loop, which crescendos with a view from the Puerco Canyon watershed. Then descend to Malibu Seafood, which showcases several varieties of by-the-pound seafood behind glass display cases, including ruby red ahi loins, wild Pacific swordfish fillets that sport as many rings as a Sequoia and Pacific oysters, plus garlic smoked mussels and pulled Dungeness crab meat. Mark Ridgeway and his partners started as lobstermen and first sold seafood on Malibu Pier. Now they sell fresh seafood up PCH. Fresh grilled seafood comes with sides like crusty rice pilaf and crunchy, rough-cut cole slaw. Malibu Seafood also sells fried fish and shellfish, New England clam chowder, seafood cocktails and sandwiches stacked with squid steak. They've even got Beachy Cream ice cream sandwiches, made locally. Eat at a red picnic table on an umbrella-covered patio and soak up views of shimmering Pacific Ocean. - Malibu Seafood, 25653 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, 310.456.3430, www.malibuseafood.com
Hikers ascend a twisty trailhead to find remnants from the washed out Mount Lowe Railway and fire-gutted Alpine Tavern, which used to serve as a retreat to Angelenos. Around the corner, in an Altadena strip mall, Bulgarini Gelato will help to extinguish any post-hike flames. Leo Bulgarini and wife Elizabeth Foldi trained with a Sicilian gelato artisan and earned their stripes behind a cart at Caltech, the Laemmle Playhouse 7 and in the courtyard of the Pacific Asia Museum before opening a brick-and-mortar location. They produce a seasonally driven roster of flavors, including arancia rossa (blood orange) granita, tangy goat cheese gelato with bitter cocoa nibs and traditional Italian flavors like Stracciatella and their signature Sicilian pistachio. In warmer weather, they’ve been known to project movies on an outside wall.
- Bulgarini Gelato, 749 E. Altadena Drive, Altadena, 626.791.6174, www.bulgarinigelato.com
