Today’s Special: Pea, burrata, and mint crostini, Gjelina, Los Angeles
Like everyone else and their brother, I’m really ready for spring to arrive. I know that March is never an enjoyable month (spring forward, winter’s strong grip, the Ides), but this March seems particularly awful. Perhaps it’s because this year is the first time I’ve had to deal with the doldrums wholeheartedly. Last year, I was overcome with excitement and nerves and stress with my big move to U.S. The year before that, I was planning a trip to Turkey. And the year before that, I was still in awe of my first winter (in Vancouver) without snow on the ground or Arctic temperatures. Vancouver also always has green grass, so even when you haven’t seen the sun for (what feels like) months, the green of Vancouver can be powerful. Here in New York, it’s a lot of… grey. The concrete jungle of the Big Apple loses a bit of its sparkle in the winter, and by March we are gagging for the green and sun and mild weather of a new season.
The past few weeks I’ve been looking at this picture of a dish I had in Los Angeles last month and trying to harness all my mental power toward forcing the green to sprout. The sweet peas and pea tendrils, the luscious burrata, and the pop of mint have you daydreaming about running barefoot in a meadow wearing some sort of loose cotton ensemble. Like a laundry detergent commercial. You can’t help but feel the sun on your face and smell all the buds in bloom. Add that you partake of these crostini in the dreamy beachy hood of Venice and your daydream is upgraded to a spread in a swank fashion or lifestyle magazine.
And one of my favourite things about this plate of spring? I don’t have to pop an antihistamine to enjoy it.
Gjelina
1429 Abbot Kinney Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA
