Akasha, the newest addition to growing downtown Culver City, instantly brought me home to New York, specifically, to the cobblestone streets of the meatpacking district. It was the ambiance that did it: the attractive clientÚle, the “we’re chic without trying” decor of exposed beams and pipes, the dim lighting, and of course, the wait. Even with a dinner reservation you’ll be directed to try a cocktail at the bar until your table is ready. And the Velvet margarita, made with organic tequila and blood orange juice, is worth that wait.

The menu options incorporate organic and local ingredients with a great selection of seafood, salads and pizzas, to name a few. I saw braised short ribs and had my selection, I’ll rarely turn them down, and I’m glad this meal was no exception. The short ribs were beyond delicious and I cleaned my plate in seconds. The meat fell to pieces and was complimented perfectly with the parsnip-potato puree (glorified mashed potatoes) and the Asian style sauces. We ordered a side of the onion rings, which were amazing. I’m not sure why, but the usual fast-food selections are always better when prepared in a nice restaurant and paired with a smoked paprika dipping sauce, for instance.

Akasha is best known for its turkey burger, which is ground with olives, jalapeños, red peppers, onions, tomatoes and house made pickles. It wasn’t easy to turn down the turkey burger, especially with the house made pickles. I live for pickles. That’s not an understatement either, I even buy those single pickles in the bags they’re delicious. Anyway, I did not taste the turkey burger because I was busy inhaling my own meal, but I did try a bite of the pickle. Unfortunately, it was terrible, and I gave myself a pat on the back for passing on that dish. Bad pickles can ruin even the perfect burger. I did try a bite of the organic chicken sausage pizza, which was tasty, very flatbread wood-fired taste to it. These pizzas seem to be on menus all over LA, the more posh and definitely more expensive version of an old favorite.

I finished off the evening with the chocolate hemp gelato, which came with caramelized bananas and chocolate chip cookies. The gelato was tasty, the bananas were not fully cooked, and the cookies were very crunchy, while I prefer mine soft.

I know for certain that I will go back to Akasha. The scene is nice, I wouldn’t go to dinner there in my tee, jeans and flip-flops keep the tee, keep the jeans and throw on some heels. It’s not cheap, but the food is great and worth a little extra spending.

Akasha
9543 Culver Blvd
Culver City CA 90232
310.845.1700
$$

Photo by jslander 

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