Elizabeth Daniels 6/10
1) Tiato: Way back when, The An family (Crustacean) announced plans to open two new restaurants, AnQi now serving in OC, and a market cafe called Tiato. Tiato soft opened in a Santa Monica office building courtyard (entrance is through courtyard) with both indoor and al fresco patio seating. The space is BIG and there's a lot going on here. Tiato is essentially divided into two areas for different dining experiences: the salad bar and to-go area, and the regular restaurant component. Both dining spaces share the same menu, though those who chose to dine in must fork over a few extra bucks because the prices are amped up by a couple of dollars, just fyi. And the menu, as expected, is a Cali-Asian hodgepodge from turkey meatball soup to banh mi to poached salmon. 2700 Colorado Ave, Santa Monica
1) Tiato: Way back when, The An family (Crustacean) announced plans to open two new restaurants, AnQi now serving in OC, and a market cafe called Tiato. Tiato soft opened in a Santa Monica office building courtyard (entrance is through courtyard) with both indoor and al fresco patio seating. The space is BIG and there's a lot going on here. Tiato is essentially divided into two areas for different dining experiences: the salad bar and to-go area, and the regular restaurant component. Both dining spaces share the same menu, though those who chose to dine in must fork over a few extra bucks because the prices are amped up by a couple of dollars, just fyi. And the menu, as expected, is a Cali-Asian hodgepodge from turkey meatball soup to banh mi to poached salmon. 2700 Colorado Ave, Santa Monica
2) Xoia: And on the other side of town, more Asian, right on time, welcome to Xoia Vietnamese Eats. Local Echo Park resident Jose Sarinana is behind this project and brings the house specialty, cao lau, a pork noodle dish made with al dente short noodles only found in Hoi An to eastsiders. The rest of the menu involves noodles, banh mi, buns, soups, Thai agua frescas, and a few sweet treats. 1801 W. Sunset Blvd., Echo Park
